Great Falls, VA (USA)

[boy, it has been cold! - almost makes it hard to leave the house on the weekend... - drove up to see Kim play at Mass this evening - it was good to see her - she had to practice afterwards, so I went home (via Mcdonalds for dinner)]

Glen Echo, MD (USA)

[Mollie and I got out of the house to enjoy a warmer than normal day (following a COLD snap) - we left the house around noon and drove (via I-495) to Maryland, where we got off on the Clara Barton Parkway and found the the namesake's home in Glen Echo - we had been here before (see APR 2006) but the kids hadn't completed a Junior Ranger booklet there - plus, Mollie had only be a few years old last time, so she wanted to see that place for herself - we had a personalized tour of the home and learned a lot about the American Red Cross and its founder - Mollie got another badge - since it was only around 1430 by this time, we decided to visit Great Falls National Park (which we have tried, unsuccessfully, to enter before...) - this time, the crowds were much smaller (though there were still plenty of other folks taking walks on the sunny, brisk afternoon) - Mollie had just enough time (roughly one hour) to get all the items in the Junior Ranger badge book completed - the tasks included taking a hike along the river and a muddy trail that followed the old Potowmack Canal - we saw kayakers in the roaring rapids (lots of snow melt) and even rock climbers - we could see plenty of people on the other side of the river, too, where we had viewed the same falls in 2006 - Mollie proudly displayed another great pin before the Visitor's Center closed at 1600 (and she saw a wall of pins from the hundreds of other parks she has yet to visit, which she said inspired her to take more trips) - on the way back to our house, we stopped at Mollie's favorite store (Petsmart) to pick up fish for the tank she got for Christmas - we picked out one Silver Molly and three Neon Tetras and took them home to our (and their) home]

Washington, DC (USA)

[today was a LONG day at work - lots of meetings (including an important one with a potential new client near the Navy Yard) that required a suit (not my favorite) - however, I was able to make it to a happy hour that I set up for our VP - more than 30 people showed up for the meet and greet (a far greater turnout than I had planned) - after most people departed, Sean asked several of us if we wanted to go to his favorite hang out in DC (Sax on 11th), a place he had tried to take me once before (several months ago) but was closed - it was an interesting atmosphere (most of it reminded me of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyworld - they had shows of dancers every 20 minutes or so - the place was full of bachelorette parties - Sean treated us to some interesting drinks and a big cheese plate - everyone else headed home in a cab but I walked over to the Metro (sometimes that is VERY convenient!) - got home pretty late...]

Washington, DC (USA)

[Mollie came to work with me again - earlier in the day this time - got some important stuff finished up before we walked over to the Smithsonian (National Gallery this time) - spent several hours (roughly 1430 to 1630) visiting special exhibits (Impressionists, Byzantine art) - it was cold out, but we walked around on the Mall for a while afterwards, and returned to my office via L'Enfant Plaza food court and St. Dominic's (we saw lots of pretty Christmas decorations there, including an indoor creche) - headed home around 1700L (traffic jam) - since there wasn't much food at the house, we ate dinner at a nearby Baja Fresh for the first time (good)]

Arlington, VA (USA)

[my buddy, Randy, invited me to have a New Year's Day lunch at his house in Arlington - there were roughly 40 people (mostly pilots) there and we had a great time talking shop, watching football and eating delicious chili - there from about 1400L to 1700L]