MY ADVENTURES N AMERICAN HISTORY & OTHER ASSORTED SILLINESS TRIP REPORT; SEPT '18

[knewton64]

A Little something to keep ya n the mood ....

T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Just when you thought Life was gonna be easy yesterday in DFW, along comes this -

(IMO, that stretch of highway = not a place not 2b on during inclement weather as well)

and I had the joy of unknowingly driving right n2 the middle of the



Took me dang near two and a half hours to get home......
and
once traffic began to clear -
people were honking their horns, using their flashers, throwing make shift confetti out the window in celebration, etc
Some were even actually getting OUT of their cars to celebrate......

I almost had a flashback there for a moment watching all that unfold in front of me:

I too wasnt dreaming, we were actually starting to move (very far East Dallas County) ....
Made it through ok but very tired -
very stressfull day -
I will say though a lot of the drivers around me enjoyed listening to my Muppet songs I was jamming to to get my mind off this -

Saw 4 car wrecks cuz of this!


So in celebration of all this craziness, me feeling very lethargic and what not, how about a little case of the Minons to cure what is ailing me or anyone else cuz to me, time for a giggle of the day

(I even called two radio stations asking them if they could bicycle n2 me some much needed Whataburger since I was ssssssssssssssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo stuck in traffic)
Thought about ordering Dominoes pizza.......

ANYWHO -
Bought me some luggage yesterday for this adventure.....



So from an earlier posting , can ya guess which one? -




P.S.S. Found out on local news yesterday the cause of the Tanker accident??
EXCESSIVE SPEED
(IMHO, let this be a hard lesson to all of us: while driving around a curve - SLOW DOWN
cuz to me, that tanker Driver Dude who caused all this mess to me OWES all of us poor Smucks who got caught in all this traffic...... LUNCH



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

FINISHED IT -

FYI -
Im going to be putting more green grass in the front and back areas, few more trees and such but for the most part - it's done.


and
just put on order from Ebay.....

(I plan to have him on the front right)








UP NEXT:

starting on it on Monday......





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

HAPPY EARLY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE -

1,704 MORE HOURS UNTIL THIS ADVENTURE BEGINS **




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[Sabeking]

Our family did a trip a few years back. We went to Virginia, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. We went to many historical sights. This was my oldest dd’s dream trip. My youngest dd hated every minute! Flash forward 4 years, now my youngest dd loves history!! She took honors history this year. Yesterday she went to library and checked out a book about George Washington! She doesn’t even like to read. I wish we could have a re-do on that vacation! Enjoying your pictures!

 

[knewton64]

Our family did a trip a few years back. We went to Virginia, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. We went to many historical sights. This was my oldest dd’s dream trip. My youngest dd hated every minute! Flash forward 4 years, now my youngest dd loves history!! She took honors history this year. Yesterday she went to library and checked out a book about George Washington! She doesn’t even like to read. I wish we could have a re-do on that vacation! Enjoying your pictures!

Hi - glad 2 meet cha!
and
welcome aboard.


Ya know, speaking of George Washington....
Ok....... I just experienced a "DUH!" moment (hate to admit it)......
Speaking of George Washington, I'm watching a You Tube segment on him and I didnt even realize that WASHINGTON DC is named after him..... DUH! I should have known that.......

Oh well.....
ANYWHO -
glad 2c she's reading about him -

Not to worry though as I am also doing a wee bit of reading up on some of our Nations' historical characters -

Reason??

Well.....
to me, there is nothing more fun and entertaining than being able to temporary suspend reality for about 3 to four minutes and carry on a quick conversation with someone from out of our Nations' past.

Ya never know - I just may chance across Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, etc or I just may land in front of an experience......
I gotta think quick on my feet -

- and to just have at least a basic understanding of what I'm looking at to me just really enhances the experience.

AND -
ya layer it with some of appropriate music softly playing in the background on my Iphone (WITH EARBUDS) to me just really makes the overall experience of what I'm looking at POP and come alive.


Example, after seeing the Annie Moore statue in Ireland, I decided to play this song on my I-phone while approaching the Statue of Liberty a few years later ]

......followed by of course, "America" by Neil Diamond.

So in a silly way, what you are seeing on this travel blog are just a sampling of the songs I listen to to and from work (I-tunes on my I-phone) , thus I always stay in a vacation mode - even during lloonngg days on the job.




Now.......about the Lincoln Memorial.........



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

- HERE Z A LITTLE SOMETHING TA KEEP YA IN THE MOOD -


as I plan on working on the Legos Capitol building while watching the Capitol Fourth on tv as I'm sipping on a "few" margaritas.

P.S.S.
Now here's where it gets a wee bit mental. I'm beginning to conceptualize a little better on my attempts at putting together a Tyco HO scale Bicentennial train set and inside the oval train track (figure 8 train track??), I am trying to put together a Lego Washington D.C. city if ya will of sorts; complete with a highway / streets and Hot Wheels cars, street signs, highway signs, Lego people, Marine One Lego helicopter , etc


So, along with the White House, currently working on the Capitol building......
along came this idea I saw just a few days ago -

Now, its being added to my RR / Hot Wheels / Legos creation that I plan on having up and running by late December -



Pics and video on her I promise as you will see them posted on my DCL Sept '19 vacation blog listed below in my signature.
MY ADVENTURES N NASSAU BAHAMAS WITH DISNEY CRUISE LINE; SEPT '19

Legos, jazz music and margaritas - a rather quirky but fun and relaxing way in my opinion to spend time with Ladybug as she and I are out and about in the backyard in search of dem pesky squirrels......

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10211994993689792

(she can hit my chin easily from a standing vertical leap)


1,656 MORE HOURS UNTIL THIS ADVENTURE BEGINS **




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Enjoy our day of Celebrations and see ya next time -

(Yours Truely last time I was in Philly; Sept '09)

and -

(I'm ordering the Legos version of this today)



P.S.S.
and
Pssssttt!!! Here's a list I'm going to be adding to when I'm on this adventure:
1) While in Colonial Philly - when during this time you stood accused of a crime, you had to go before a jury of your Peers and walk up one step & into a semi circle of a place....lean against railings if necessary as thats where you then argued or pleaded your case. Thus the phrase, "To stand trial" was born.

2) While in Colonial Williamsburg -
"saved by the bell:"

on this one, many people were buried alive...so people got wise to this and began to place a piece of string around your finger and tie it up to a bell above your coffin. Should you wake up in your coffin, you job was to ring that bell like crazy and hope the gravedigger gets you out before its too late.


"earmarked"

ok....an general explanation of this one is ya wouldn't want to be caught stealin cuz the Governor wud literally "Pierce" your ear lobes...without any medication to numb the area .....and he may take part of the ear lobe off when he rips out the nail! OUCH!!
per se, he wud take an hour per ear! **DOUBLE OUCH**!!


T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Had a rocking good Fourth -

among other things,
may I introduce to you my first every 1K + Lego creation

Very proud of it - looking forward now to the Lincoln Memorial followed by the 2,000 piece Saturn 5 rocket.
pics forthcoming I promise -

Poligize 4 the mess, but here is the WH and the Capitol building side by side -

- You can see how there is more White House grass, i have some picnic tables out on the South lawn, WH Easter eggs back in the back yard as well, Lincoln is on the far right in the front yard w/a few Hot Wheels cars out in front. i've put the two buildings together at this time to get a better idea of scale as I'm slowly moving towards assembling all of this n2 my Tyco rr creations of sorts; with the unveiling of it around late December) -


ANYWHO -
and as luck would have it.....

you know you are really n2 all things Disney when......
the backside of your front door looks like this

and lucky received this in the mail just a few days ago (will look neat also just right behind the door)....

I have for sooooooooooooooooooo long literally living (I travel every 6 months) out of the last of my suitcases (a 26 inch one) and it really feels nice to get back n2 a 28 inch suitcase.....
Tempted to get a new luggage strap but for now i like it cuz it matches Mickey's buttons.





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Just a little blip about this upcoming adventure of mine -

Feeling very blessed to finally be able to tour the Lee house this time -

- very somber, quiet but beautiful place. You walk up the stairs (going towards the Lee house) and it’s right there you see the Kennedys ....(I did not know this and that caught me off guard - surprised me ) .... I then looked up to avert my eyes momentarily out of respect for them and it was there I saw the Lee house. Very awe inspiring when you see all of this - and then you turn around and wow ! The view is just tremendous .

.....as I visited the mid Atlantic in 2009- looking forward to actually touring the Lee house.....(did not know the house was confiscated during the c war) .....this time and more in about 7 more weeks ...

and -

and -

(pic taken when I last visited there; Sept '09)


from the "I did not know that" file:
Yes, I remember as a kid (growing up in the Houston, Texas area) listening to "From the University of Texas Health Science Center, I'm Dr. Red Duke" radio and tv spots....

But I never knew of his relationship to Parkland Hospital until I chanced across this -

That and between his mustache (as he got older) , Wilfred Brimleys or Sam Elliott's -
now that's a mustache!



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

First time visitor and looking forward to seeing this -

Some things I never knew -
1. On May 13, 1864, 21-year-old Private William Christman of Pennsylvania, who had died of peritonitis, became the first military man buried at Arlington.

and especially this one......
2. A Supreme Court ruling in 1882 could have resulted in the exhumation of 17,000 graves.
More than a decade after Lee’s death, the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. government had seized his estate without due process and ordered it returned to his family in the same condition as when it was illegally confiscated. If followed, the ruling could have required the exhumation of all of Arlington’s dead, but instead Lee’s son officially sold the property to Congress for $150,000 in 1883.

3. The cemetery hosted the first national Memorial Day commemoration in 1868.
In 1868, General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially proclaimed May 30 as Decoration Day “for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.” The first national commemoration took place at Arlington on May 30, 1868, with General Ulysses S. Grant in attendance and General James Garfield as the featured speaker. Decoration Day was eventually renamed Memorial Day.








4. Arlington is the only national cemetery to hold servicemen from every war in U.S. history.
Although the first military burial at Arlington National Cemetery didn’t occur until 1864, the burial ground holds the remains of those who fought in every war since the Revolution. In 1892, soldiers killed in the Revolutionary War were reinterred from a Georgetown cemetery, and casualties from the War of 1812 have been reburied at Arlington as well.

5. Three World War II enemy combatants are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Scattered among America’s honored dead are two Italian prisoners of war and one German prisoner of war captured during World War II. The three enemy combatants died in captivity in the Washington, D.C., area, and the Geneva Conventions required proper burials. With Arlington being the closest national cemetery, the men were buried there. In total, there are approximately 60 foreign nationals interred in Arlington, most being allied servicemen who perished in air disasters that included American soldiers.








6. Nearly 4,000 former slaves are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
After seizing Lee’s estate, the federal government set aside acreage to be a model community for emancipated, freed and fugitive slaves. Freedman’s Village included farmland, homes, a hospital, a school and a mess hall before shuttering in 1900. African-Americans who lived at the village were buried on the property, and their graves were incorporated into Section 27 of Arlington National Cemetery. Their headstones are inscribed with “citizen” or “civilian.”

7. There may never be another addition to the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Among the 5,000 unknowns entombed at Arlington are the unidentified remains of World War I, World War II and Korean War servicemen buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns. An unknown from the Vietnam War was entombed in 1984, but the remains were exhumed in 1998, positively identified by DNA testing as those of Air Force First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie and reinterred at a military cemetery in Missouri. Advancements in DNA testing may mean that all future remains will be able to be positively identified and no future interments at the Tomb of the Unknowns will occur.

8. Soldiers plant flags in front of every tombstone on Memorial Day weekend.
On every Memorial Day weekend since 1948, troops in the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment—the Army’s official ceremonial unit known as the “Old Guard”—have placed small American flags in front of all of Arlington’s tombstones. Each flag is planted precisely one foot in front of a grave marker and perfectly centered. This year, 1,700 soldiers participated in the tradition known as “Flags-In.” They planted approximately 220,000 flags on the Thursday evening before Memorial Day, and they will be removed at the holiday’s conclusion.



So......all of this got me to thinking about the Lee house and such -
then this popped n2 my head -

and
then this -
The Birth of Lincoln Logs
.......never really thought about Lincoln and Lincoln Logs -



Ah the things I'm learning about the USA -
and whats fun about this is I'm seeing a trend while Im out and about learning and or gearing up for this adventure (like reading from my Gettysburg Atlas) -
which is I can tell that the Civil War / American history is alive and well in people's hearts and to receive two completely different answers from one issue is quite interesting to hear. Nonetheless, I still plan on just drinking in what I see and leave the opinions for later. - I promise.

On a different note, rest assured this adventure will not be all about learning -

Plan on having fun too, meeting new people and just enjoying the sights and sounds of some places I've never been to-

and the food - I'm a foodie at heart.
(pics and video when and where I can I promise)

1,536 MORE HOURS UNTIL THIS ADVENTURE BEGINS **


T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Crazy work week......
Good news - off now to enjoy some much needed r&r in of all places
at home.

the kitchen area


Gonna see how much trouble Ladybug and I can stir up making her her very first batch of pup sickles:

Banana-Peanut Butter Pup-cream. Prepare the following ingredients: 1 ripe banana, ½ cup of peanut butter, ¼ cup of wheat germ. Prepare by mashing the bananas and peanut butter together. Stir the mixture in wheat germ, and then pour into popsicle molds or ice trays and freeze until solid.

For an added treat, use a carrot stick or your dog’s favorite healthy, long crunchy treat as the popsicle stick! When using a popsicle mold, allow the mixture to partially set and insert the “stick” into each popsicle, then allow it to freeze completely.



....... and ice cream. For me, i will be whipping up a batch of gumbo soup, margaritas and a salad folllowed by a ‘mean’ batch of plain m&m brownies. Will letcha know how those creations turn out..... since I have been known 2b a sipping on dem margaritas while cooking.....


oh - um the movie, "The Incredibles" ??

LOVED IT

Had soooooooo much fun swinging my eyes from one side of the movie screen to the next while wearing those 3D glasses checking out all these neat and fun things the writers had hidden in the background....


UP NEXT is the Avengers movie and yes........even 'Wont you be my Neighbor."
(seeing these two back to back Tuesday)





1,440 MORE HOURS UNTIL THIS ADVENTURE BEGINS **




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

**** UM......WE HAVE A PROBLEM....."
(starts at about the 52 second mark)

So I was on the internet the other day and I happened to look down and see someone had called from inside the Washington DC area. So I looked them up and noticed that they weer listed as a tour operator. Sure enough, when i called them - I found out the news that my am Sept 8th Viator.com tour of the Capitol building had been canceled due to there is a "Race for the Cure" that morning in the downtown area and well......traveling on the road that morning would be just a logistical nightmare.

So I backed up a wee bit....
thought it through......

turned around and called up Viator.com and there, they found me this as an alternative:
2.5-Hour U.S. Capitol Building and Capitol Hill Walking Tour
"Capitol Hill is one of the most storied and beautiful neighborhoods in Washington, DC. Begin your tour at the most visited site in the whole city, Union Station. From there, you'll take in all the monuments and memorials around Capitol Hill. You'll ascend Capitol Hill, visit the Supreme Court, and then walk inside the stunning Library of Congress Jefferson Building, which boasts some of the most beautiful architecture in the city. Later, you'll stroll across the street and visit the United States Capitol Visitor Center. With your tour, you'll get reserved access to the Capitol Building as well as a docent-led tour of the Capitol. Reserved Access can help you save hours in waiting time and will get your right in to the Capitol Building immediately after your neighborhood tour ends.

Read more about 2.5-Hour U.S. Capitol Building and Capitol Hill Walking Tour 2018 - Washington DC at: https://www.viator.com/tours/Washin...pitol-Hill-Walking-Tour/d657-3707P15?pub=vcps"


So, I, very glad that the very nice lady on the other end of the phone with Viator.com
was able to rescue me and find me a fairly nice alternative solution so I can still see the Capitol Building.- tour kicks in at 9am as I really do hope that this tour does NOT wind up getting canceled but......

should by a stroke of bad luck it does, be on the lookout for my to head out to a Washington Nationals baseball game the night before against the Cubs.



and speaking of Capitol building, White House and Lincoln Memorial.........

I finally finished it!

and -

and with that, looking forward to a nice quiet work week -
1,368 MORE HOURS UNTIL THIS ADVENTURE BEGINS **





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

So until next time, just remember-

Beagle rule #788.4- Never never ever play a prank on your Beagle by placing an Icecube in their water dish UNLESS you are fully prepared for them to dump dang near all the water out of said dish in order to get at said ice cube..... take note how big a cube we talkin’ about.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10212351488161931

and this little blip caught my eye recently -

T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

**** TIME TO CELEBRATE****

FINALLY! --
after three reservations attempts ........

finally..............



I was finally blessed with a tour that fits my wants and needs via the vendor Viator.com:
Capitol Hill Guided Small-Group Walking Tour

This one is on the am or the 8th at 9am and gets me exactly what I want:
1)Tour of US Supreme Court building.
2) Tour of US Library of Congress.
3) Tour of Capitol building...... WITH an option of viewing the Senate and House floors..... providing of course that the flags aren't flying on either side of the building.


In another words:
"Join an expert, local guide as you explore Capitol Hill inside and out. Don't just view the buildings from the outside, take the tour and venture inside the following: U.S. Capitol Building The U.S. Supreme Court The Library of Congress The Folger Shakespeare Museum and Theater Meet your guide at 9:00 am at the Neptune Fountain outside the Library of Congress and make your way inside the U.S. Capitol for reserved entry for a guided tour of the Legislative branch of the U.S. Government. Then continue across to the Library of Congress Jefferson Building where you will see part of Thomas Jefferson's original collection of over 6,000 books he sold to Congress to replace those burned in the War of 1812, view the main reading room, a Gutenburg Bible and marvel over the stunning architecture work. From there, visit the U.S. Supreme, the Judicial branch of the U.S. Government, and tour the building where cases that changed history were heard and settled. Afterwards, get an exclusive tour of the Folger Shakespeare Museum and Theater featuring the largest collection of Shakespeare first folios in the world. Step back in time as you view some of Shakespeare's original writing, the Grand Hall, special exhibits, and tour the Folger Theater. Tour concludes at the Eastern Market."

(ok...so I'm trying to get a look and feel of the Supreme Court but this is actually taken just outside the National Archives building; Sept '09)



Some of the lessons I have learned in the journey of being new to all of this (requesting tours of WH and Capitol building):

1) Go through your local Representatives....... WEBSITE to request these tours.
2) Learn as much as you can ONLINE about these places and such. Yes, the tours give you the ability to visit potentially your local Representative's offices and viewing Congress' chambers but...... its in my opinion very disjointed and confusing to get these things cobbled together as I am finding out the hard way.

Now, in my opinion, yes you can do 1 & 2..... but to me, Id rather
3) Go through a Professional tour service to book these tours. Yes, you pay some money however to me, its well worth it as its less of a hassle than 1 & 2 as I am finding out the hard way.

And to boot, I get to visit the Eastern Market

for a while before mossying on back to the Hotel and begin to meet my fellow travelers for the official kicking off of this group tour.


We are gettin' there -

1,320 MORE HOURS UNTIL THIS ADVENTURE BEGINS **



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Until next time -

T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Ok......so now here's a little something something I did not know:

(yes, ya gotta watch it on You Tube but IMO, pretty fun info to know)
* just double right click w/your computer mouse over "watch on youtube" 2 view video*



and with that,
1,200 MORE HOURS UNTIL THIS ADVENTURE BEGINS **






T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

Gonna break for a few moments cuz Im starting to feel like this vacation is now just right around the corner and......

I mean hey..... its either the above video or.....

Until nexrt time -




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

JUST A QUICK REMINDER.....

(saw this just the other day......very catchy tune)



iF iF and I do say should I get approved for a pm White House tour for September 7th, I plan on checking out the sights and sounds of a Nats game that evening against the Cubs -

Will know in about 20 more days......
and if WH tour, then I plan on Tussauds Wax museum and or Spy Museum then boogy on over to see the Nats game....


GOT ALL THAT?
pppsssttt!!!! and i hope i get the chance to see a baseball game while on this adventure....


Like I said earlier......

** I VACATION LIKE I MEAN IT**

T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

 

[knewton64]

My DISney luggage tags finally arrived in the mail -

Starting to think a wee bit of my upcoming DCL advenure if ya cant tell already -.....
we be officially kicking that one off ohhhhh in a few more weeks -


but until them weve got a wee bit more time on this adventure to chill out and drink in a little bit of fun -
How about this place.....

I've
Been to it over in Scotland....
loved it -

BUT......
FYI - DONT WEAR TENNY SHOES OR SOFT SOLED SHOES over there as the COBBLESTONE streets of the area by Edinburgh Castle will just kill your feet.

Tho I do like their fudge

and local whisky made up for me wobbly feet by the end of the day.




DON'T LOOK NOW BUT WE ARE AT 1,152 MORE HOURS UNTIL THIS ADVENTURE BEGINS **

T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL