Washington, DC (USA)

[the pre-Government Shutdown angst was getting stronger all day - following previous successful conventions of the Apocalypse Happy Hour team, a few of us from our office decided to meet up at Eastern Market for drinks (a mini-"Fiscal New Year" event) and a light dinner - the group wasn't big, but the spirits were raised for a few hours as we relaxed on the rooftop at Pacifico Cantina - the weather was nice (perfect temperatures) - we toasted each volley between the House and Senate, hoping that each one would be the last (to no avail)... - we left with hope for the events of October 1st...]

Towson, MD (USA)

[got up early to enjoy the great weather - left the house a little before 0800 and drove (via I-495, Baltimore Washington Parkway and I-695) to Towson to visit Hampton National Historic Site - arrived around 0900 and took a self-guided walking tour of the 18th Century Georgian plantation - the site is well preserved, with lots of ingenious methods that the colonials used to maintain the modern conveniences (a green house for citrus fruit throughout the year, an underground ice house for ice cubes in August, a creamery house that took advantage of a cooling spring and shady trees, etc.) - there were lots of great interpretive signs throughout the park - to get from one end of the other, I had to cross a busy road-race street (brought back some memories) - met up with a small group at 1000 and enjoyed a house tour provided by a volunteer - for more than an hour, we learned about the history of the Ridgely family, who occupied the property for over 200 years - the reason everything was so well preserved on the property was because it never left their hands before the site was purchased by the government - for all the family's riches, the site is actually heavy handed on the guilt - most of the signs and much of the tour expressed how many people slaved (literally) to make the Ridgely family wealthy - I was not turned off by the effort to paint the excess as ill-gotten, but it appears that the site is much less worried about offending anyone about the subject because the owners were not officially Founding Fathers - perhaps this could be compared to what a tour of Bernie Madoff's (vice Steve Jobs') home would be in 200 years... - after the tour, I paid my respects at the impressive family cemetery (including crypt) - gas tank almost completely empty and iPhone saved me (irony) with a gas station location - got back on I-695 and drove back to BW Parkway (noticed several signs left by friendly Maryland DOT workers that said "to get to Baltimore Washington Parkway, use I-95" - wonder if the tourists know which one is free...) - stopped for a sit-down lunch (Wendy's) before getting back on the Parkway - saw backed up traffic going the other way (early bird again...) - got off in Greenbelt to check out the Park there (another NPS site) - it is a nice green place with campsites and hiking trails - saw lots of deer (no fear) - it was getting a little overcast, so I got back on the Parkway and headed towards DC - switched to US-50 and drove south towards I-295 - finally located RFK Stadium... - wary of traffic cameras - crossed the Potomac and got off at Telegraph Road - home by 1400 - glad to have the chance to experience another great slice of Americana!]

Alexandria, VA (USA)

[took care of yardwork today until it got dark - decided to get some exercise tonight, so I headed over to the Yellow Line (1945) and took the Metro to King Street Station - walked the entire length of King Street (in both directions) on a pleasant evening - enjoyed about 30 minutes on the waterfront, watching old riverboats docking and walking along the boardwalk, dirt trail - not crowded at all (except near Murphy's) - got a drink at Las Tapas - headed back to the Metro station - timed it almost perfectly and I was back at my car by 2200 - home soon after]

Warrenton, VA (USA)

[finally had a chance to catch up with one of my customers at an off-site where we have several employees - I got intel that I needed to be at his office by 0700 if I wanted to meet with him, so I left the house around 0545 - used I-495, I-66 and US-29 (much faster than later in the morning) - made great time - caught up with Ed by 0700 and was successful in achieving my goal of getting feedback on our staff by 0800 - took care of office duties for about three hours before heading out for lunch near the corner of I-15 and I-66 (Kabul Kebab - good gyro) - left for Alexandria around 1300 and finished the day from my home office]

Albany, NY (USA)

[woke up at 0600 and had breakfast at the hotel - got on the road around 0645 and made good time through the city on I-90 - found out that the toll road was free for people who got off on I-88 (nice!) - enjoyed a peaceful, scenic drive on the north side of the Catskills - mountains, foliage, very few cars - a bit misty - first time on this road, would definitely use it again! - got on I-81 in Binghamton (kind of a maze with some backtracking) - stopped at the Pennsylvania Welcome Center for a break and then continued south on I-81 - more traffic today, some construction delays - otherwise, pretty easy drive - did see some cops today but very few for the entire trip - got gas one more time (and lunch at Wendy's) near Jonestown (1115) - near Harrisburg, used I-83 and PA-581 to get to US-15 - that road was OK (after some jams on the way through Mechanicsburg - progressively faster with less and less traffic - very familiar drive after crossing Maryland border - got home around 1345 - good time! - took a nap to get back on "normal" time]

Albany, NY (USA)

[woke up at 0500 and took care of some last minute packing - wanted to beat the rain, so left the house around 0600 - drove out of town via I-495 and I-270 - continued on I-70 until I reached I-81 and then turned back to the northeast - made good time into Pennsylvania before I had to stop to fill up my tank (Shippensburg - 0745) - continued with very little traffic - some construction, but otherwise good speed - as I approached the I-84 intersection, I gave Clarence a call to see if he could meet up - he said he was available, so I took I-84 into New York and switched to I-87 near Newburgh - worst traffic of the day - met him at the New Paltz exit and we had lunch at the nearby College Diner - followed him via a back way to his house near Esopus - visited with him and Wilma for about an hour before heading back on the road - took NY-32 north into Kingston and took some gambles to locate NY-9W (was successful) - driving north through pretty towns at the base of the Catskills for a while - near Saugerties, tried to get out of a line of traffic and used NY-32 again until I intersected NY-23 - back on NY-9W again all the way into Albany (with a stop for gas just south of town) - as I intersected with US-9, I encountered a city street fair and had to solve a puzzle of one-way streets to get back on track - eventually (1600) located the Comedy Works near I-90 in downtown Albany - everyone was already there (Dad, Beth, Katie & family, Carolyn & friends) - we had snacks and drinks for a few hours, celebrating the launch of Carolyn's new magazine - the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce cut a ribbon for her - we cleaned up around 1800 and then went into the lounge for dinner and a comedy show - the food was good and we met some of Carolyn's friends - the comedians were funny at first but as each new one made it to the stage, the content got progressively raunchy - thank goodness the event ended at 2100, because I imagine that someone far worse would have stepped up to the mic if it went later... - despite the short time we were able to spend together, I took my leave of Carolyn so I could get sleep for the ride home - drove Katie to the hotel on the east side of the Hudson River (East Greenbush) - said goodnight to her and her family before getting to bed (very tired!)]

Thurmont, MD (USA)

[visit with Mollie to the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo in Thurmont - on the way home, attempted to visit Great Falls but it was too busy - we just continued back to the house]

Beltsville, MD (USA)

[drove to see Brother Jim (helped with computer) in Beltsville - spent some time visiting - drove home and got ready for Randy's 65th Birthday Party - used I-395, (behind Pentagon), GW Parkway, Spout Run Parkway to Arlington - had a great time (friends from all his former jobs) - stayed late - home via same route - traffic jam on I-395 and tricky exit on to I-495]

Front Royal, VA (USA)

[we drove out to Shenandoah National Park to finish Mollie's Junior Ranger Patch (see SEP 2012) - made it there around 1200 and were able to reconstruct her book (she lost it) before we joined Ranger Larry for a 1.5 mile hike along the Appalachian Trail - very nice views and history, camaraderie with others in the group - explored around a bit more before leaving - stopped for Arby's "linner" on the way out of Front Royal - good drive home with no issues]

Chantilly, VA (USA)

[worked Downtown, then drove out to Chantilly via I-395, GW Parkway, Spout Run Parkway to I-66 (LOTS of traffic) - product demo - then home (slow, accidents)]

Thurmont, MD (USA)

[got a late start, but drove up to Catoctin Mountain National Park - tried to find a place to park, no luck - tried nearby Cunningham Falls State Park, even worse - back to the National Park, found place to park and Mollie did Junior Ranger - capped off by three mile hike to the falls - hot! - explored nearby (visited Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo to plan a future visit & visited Pryors Orchards for peaches, cider and jam) - ate dinner at Cozy Restaurant in Thurmont (where Presidents and media folks eat when Camp David is used) - looked around their museum - drove home (lots of traffic)]