First Hurdle Jumped

Washington, DC
Froody and I have just left Washington, DC. After spending 5 days there I'm amazed by how much we didn't see. There's so much to see and do in our nation's capitol; you need to go there. Go there now! Anyway, we did enjoy some free music at the Folklife Festival at the Mall, caught an Imax about aqatic dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, got a short tour at the Library of Congress Madison Building, and really had a blast at the A Capitol Fourth. Not only did we manage to get in to the free concert on the lawn of the Capitol, but we got to see it all from the steps which turned out to be the best seats in the house since it rained for about an hour while we waited for the show to begin. We both thought that the concert would just be some symphony but it was a real shabang! Jimmy Smits was the emcee and the opening act was Huey Lewis and the News. Man, I so loved their music back in the 80's. There were some other performers, some that we didn't know, but the last one before the National Symphony Orhcestra and the military drum and bugle band was Jerry Lee Lewis. Froody and I got up and danced to his classic hits and I guess we were well received by the rest of the crowd. His last song was "Great Balls of Fire" and, surprise surprise, the fireworks began. I can't describe how it felt to be there watching the fireworks above the Washington Monument. Of course, we weren't alone. Guesstimates of about 200,000 people on the mall is what we heard. So, lots of people, some good music, a bit of rain, fireworks, and free water! I was really impressed how smoothly it all went.

Today we said, "Good-bye" to our friend, Chris, who very graciously put us up in his small apartment. We shared the livingroom with his massive collection of action figures (Japanese and American) and were comforted by their cool, green glow at night. We met him for a farewell lunch at DC's China Town after finding out that our reservations for the china bus to Philadelphia didn't go through. The 3 pm bus was full as was their 9pm bus. After this minor setback, Froody and I went to a Starbucks to formulate Plan C. Luckily, meeting Chris was a pleasant diversion and he took us to a dim sum restaurant. Neither Froody nor I had ever had dim sum so it was quite an adventure in dining! They roll tasty food in little carts and when one goes by you point to whatever looks good and that is what you get. We went through a lot of little plates: shrimp dumpling, trip, chicken feet (yes, the feet not the drumstick), duck, sesame balls, and more food. Sooo good!