Beltsville, MD (USA)

[slept later than I usually do and took my time getting ready - headed up to Beltsville to visit Brother Jim (arrived at 1000) - stayed to chat with him for about an hour - then drove back via I-495 (north side of city), George Washington Parkway and I-395 (with mix up that required me to use Glebe Road to pick up Stephanie) - I wanted to thank her for helping me during my recent surgery - we first went to lunch at Bangkok 54 on Columbia Pike and had a good meal - then (1230), we drove (via I-395 and New York Avenue) to the National Arboretum - it was packed when we arrived (around 1330) - we found a place to park near the Conifer Collection and also visited the Fern Collection, the Asian Collection and various other flowering tree areas near the Anacostia River - before we left, we stopped at the old columns from the Capitol - I walked over to get close up views of the azaleas while Stephanie rested - the funniest part of the day was when I listened to what I presumed to be an Italian family (the father was fussing at his children because they wouldn't speak Italian, only English) - after that, we left the partk drove east on US-50 and took the Beltway back to US-1 - we stopped for ice cream at Baskin Robbins (1600) - after that, I dropped her off and drove home via I-395 - more walking at the apartment (to achieve 10,000 steps for the day) - TV with Bob - bed late]