DC - Part 1

Whew, we did so much in DC it was ridiculous. I was always the trip planner for the family vacations we took growing up and my family would probably say that I am a schedule Nazi but Craig has me beat. And being a military brat, most of our family vacations were visiting friends/family while we were moving and we knew a lot of people in DC, so I had already visited at least 3 times that I remember but we still found lots of new and interesting places to explore so I won't complain about the grueling pace of our trip and the sore muscles it left me with.

I'll tell you up front, this will be a long post or two. I will just talk about each place we went to, show a few (okay, it will probably be a lot of) pictures, and give our recommendations but we did so much, it's gonna be long. Our ratings are on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being the best.

Capitol = 3 (Craig = 3 MacKenzie = 3)

It was a little disappointing because we signed up for the VIP tour through our Congressman and had heard from others that his pages take you around, but we just ended up on the general public tour. Craig said it made him reject the thought of ever voting for that guy as the public tour was really crowded and hard to hear. And I think the pre-tour video you sit through made Craig want to spew with all its "legislative branch is the best thing in the world" propaganda, but I tuned it out. Even with those negatives, I did enjoy seeing the rotunda and the statue gallery plus we did snag a cool picture of this guy from North Dakota. And anytime you get to see something North Dakota-related on a non-North Dakota trip, it's pretty cool.
Then, due to a miscommunication, we had to leave the Capitol to go to Mr. Congressman's
office to pick up our House and Senate passes then head back to the Capitol to sit in the House gallery (the Senate ended its day while we were in line so we missed that). It was pretty neat just to be sitting there but as it was Friday afternoon, there were only about 7-8 Congressman there and they were only discussing when they should take vacation - boring!

Botanical Gardens = 3.5 ( Craig = 3 MacKenzie = 4)

I hadn' t heard of this until I read someone's blog post with DC recommendations. It was on it, was something new, and was near the Capitol so we said - "why not?" Turns out, there isn't a good reason not to go here. It didn't take too long but it was a very nice break from all the crowded historical sites and I really enjoyed just walking around looking at tons of plants I had never seen. It was also one of my favorite places to take pictures. I'll probably be posting pictures later to get your recommendations on which to have printed. I think Craig got a little bored and wished he had something about Lincoln to read but that probably because he didn't have a camera like all those little kids did.

Ford's Theatre = 4.25 (Craig = 5 MacKenzie = 3.5)
Just reopened (we actually went before the grand reopening but still got to see all the new parts) and fairly nifty. We bought our tickets online instead of waiting early in the morning for the free ones but even if you don't, I think it would be worth waiting for, just to see the place where the whole thing went down.
(I know you don't really need to see two pictures of us waiting to enter, but I love this one of Craig because it illustrates the fact that this particular tourist spot is heavily weighted toward the older visitor).

The museum downstairs is pretty thorough, covering Lincoln's presidency, Booth's history, and the events of the day. While I didn't know much before the trip, I had learned quite a bit earlier that weekend from other museums and thought I might be bored, but I still found new information to keep me interested. My only negative with it was the timing, you go through the museum for a specific amount of time before heading to the real theatre for the presentation and it was longer than I needed in the museum (but not longer than Craig needed :-) Once upstairs, you see one of two small plays or a talk by a park ranger. You don't really know which one you will get. We got the park ranger talk and he pretty much went over what we had just read. It was a little long and while Craig enjoyed it and I probably would have too if I hadn't spent the day sightseeing, but since I had, I found it really hard to stay awake. I managed, but the lady next to me did not...and no, she was not a silent sleeper.

I might have enjoyed the plays more but that would have seemed weird, to be sitting there, seeing his seats, seeing the stage Booth leaped onto, breaking his leg, seeing the aisle they carried Lincoln out on...and being entertained, instead of seeing it as the more serious, historical site that it is. The ranger said that he considered Lincoln's assassination to be the worst act of terrorism in the U.S to this day. I would never have thought about it in those terms, but after reading all about it, I think Craig and I decided it did fit the definition of a terrorist act but was not necessarily the worst.

That's about it for now. We'll pick up our trip again soon (and hopefully on a happier note :-)

Kid Pics

I've noticed a tourist trend that appears to be quite common these days. I have not previously frequented touristy locales, so I don't know how old this phenomenon is. But when I see a tourist family out and about, it is very likely that one of the kids will be carrying and using the camera. And I'm not talking about 16-year-olds; these kids are about 10. Instead of having mom or dad take quality pictures, the kid(s) get to take photos that are undoubtedly subpar.

I assume this is happening because, when kids see things that look fun, they want to do them. Helping in the kitchen, driving the car, and holding the baby are some examples. When they see the camera, they demand, in whiny fashion, to be the family photographer, and mom and dad relent.

I figure there are two reasons that this is occurring. First, with the advent of digital cameras, there is no more film to waste. In the past, a parent would resist turning over the camera because there were only 24 or so photos on the roll of film, and he/she wouldn't want to pay to develop bad pictures. Now, large memory cards allow almost unlimited photos to be taken. If they are bad, they can be deleted later. The only risk is that the family will go home with no good photos from their trip.

The second reason is that, as far as I can tell, parenting is becoming more lax. In the past, parents might have said, "I'll run the camera. You can do it when you're older. Now shut up and look at the dinosaur or we're going home." Today, parents try to argue and reason, and when they give in once, kids know that they can get their way next time. So parents simply surrender the camera. Hence, the multitude of kiddie photog wannabes.

This concludes my essay on the interplay of modern parenting and modern technology.

DC !

More pictures coming soon but first sleep, grocery shopping, and lots of calf stretching.

Who's Your Daddy?

I never really paid a whole lot of attention to the question of whether Thomas Jefferson really fathered children with Sally Hemings, one of his slaves. From what little I gleaned, I thought they had proved it was true. But then I saw this book at Barnes & Noble last week: In Defense of Thomas Jefferson: The Sally Hemings Sex Scandal. In it, author William Hyland, Jr purports to debunk the story in true lawyerly fashion, since that's what he is.

I don't think I'll read the book, because I'm not that interested in the story, but I decided to poke around a little to learn more about it. Here you can read the reports of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. The majority report says TJ is the father, the minority report says it is not proven. Here are a few observations of mine:

• There seems to be a strong yearning by many for this to be true. I don't know if it's a racial thing, a "tar the Founding Fathers" thing, or what.

• The fact that Jefferson was home during the window of conception for each kid is strong evidence for paternity.

• The DNA evidence really isn't, though, because only one Hemings descendant was able to be tested, and it doesn't rule out Jefferson relatives (like his brother Randolph) as being the father. All it proves is that one Hemings kid (Eston) was fathered by a Jefferson.

• The TJF majority seems to lend too much credence to the fact that one Hemings kid, Madison, stated in 1873 that Jefferson was his dad, and that Hemings family lore says Jefferson was their father. People like to believe that they have famous relatives. People would much rather be Thomas Jefferson's kid than Randolph Jefferson's, so that would easily explain the family lore, which becomes less credible with each generation. Plus, Madison would obviously have been too young to have any firsthand remembrance of these times, and he didn't have a fatherly relationship or anything with Jefferson that would corroborate his gut feeling.

• All things considered, I am skeptical of Thomas Jefferson's paternity in this case.
  

The Beav Plays Ball

On Monday the Beav's baseball camp started. I took an early lunch break to get him there on time and we go sign in. I stole a glance at his schedule before he headed in and see that he is playing a game at 8pm, right before I pick him up at 9:15. So I ask if I could come and watch. The guys says "Sure, there will be lots of other moms there."

My external reply: "Great, thanks"
My internal reply: "What! You think I'm his mother? Do I seriously look old enough to have a high schooler? I know we live in crazy times but I think 8 is a little young to have a kid. Even if I had he was just barely old enough for camp and I had him at 16, I would still have to be 30."

I might be worried that at the ripe old age of 24, I am beginning to look old and haggard had I not recently been in a conversation where someone expressed disbelief that I was in a certain homegroup because "Isn't that for couples? You're not old enough to be married are you?" Apparently, I look old enough to have a 15 year old but not old enough to be married.

Anyway, I head over to watch him play that evening. I grab my camera and get in my stealthy picture taking mood so as to be assured great pictures and a non-embarrassed brother. The sun was setting. The light was perfect. The grass was green and bright. The boys were out in the field with the Olsen field sign right behind them and Kyle field behind that. I really couldn't have imagined a better place for a Aggie sister to take pictures of her brother playing ball. And you will have to imagine it as well because as soon as I turned the camera on, the battery died.

But it was still a nice night. By 8:30 it has cooled down to 90 and there was a bit of a breeze in the stands. It was the first time I had been comfortable outside in a number of weeks. And I did get to watch him play which I rarely get to do so I left happy and he left tired...and hungry. I forgot how much teenage boys eat, especially when the eat "dinner" at 4:00 and play 4 more hours of baseball.

Last night he finished up camp so we get to get to hang out this morning then head back to the airport. He will be flying home while Craig and I start our little summer vacation. It would be an understatement to say that I haven't seen a whole lot of Craig this summer so I am super excited about having 3.5 days for just the two of us. Unfortunately, life has been pretty crazy for me lately so I have no posts saved up. You'll just have to wait until next week to hear all our crazy adventures in ....