Strike While the Iron's Hot

Orion's been making "I wanna be a blacksmith" noises for several months now. I think our trip to the State Fair in Sedalia a few weeks ago was the final piece. Twenty feet into the fair we passed a blacksmith tent. Orion was very curious. But he was so good. He continued on with us. After a few snacks, rides, and midway games he and John returned to the blacksmith tent were they met a few guys from the Blacksmith Association of Missouri (aka BAM). They were as tickled with him as he was with them. He came home with some blacksmith tongs, a pot grabber of sorts, the newsletter, and a huge smile. For the next few days all I heard about was dues to BAM and the urge to buy pipes, a hairdryer, coal, an anvil, and a brake rotor. Honestly, I had a high doubt that these items would actually create a forge. But I said nothing. Groaning as stuff from local junk stores, flea markets, antique stores, auto mechanic shops, and the co-op started finding their way home.

This weekend Orion organized his goods and got to work. It took just about a day to build the forge. That afternoon he tried it out. He was at it again today. He's hot (no pun intended) for smithing and already has his first order: a fireplace poker for his Meme.

You can check out the step-by-step pictures and his narrative at his blog. Remember it's invitation only. If you've not been invited and you want to be, email me. If you've been invited and you've visited a time or two, you'll remember that you need

Bowling Begins

Hey folks! Schools back in session and the Faculty Staff League started tonight with a flumpwehph. Everyone was happy to be back and delighted to see one another. It was good fun. Regardless of our averages or handicaps, we all seemed to have one thing in common: stamina, rather our lack there of. By the second game several of us noted the balls seemed heavier this year. By the beginning of the third game I knew my right arm was at least four inches longer than my left. I also started weaving on the approach! We were all plum tuckered out by the end of the evening.

My friend and Fairy Godmother (Orion's name for her) subbed for Darryl this evening. She was tearing it up with some super high scores! Spare Time (our team name!) welcomed Sally to the team. I might have some competition there! And one of our new hires from the department joined an opposing team. Looks like we're going to have a fabulous season!

My scores this evening: 115, 103, and 95. A straight shot down. I was not sand bagging (purposely playing poorly at the beginning of the season to ensure a higher handicap and lower average, making it easier to raise one's average). Although I should have considered this tactic. I am pleased to say that last year's average was 102 and tonight's games averaged to 104. Woot!

Mrs. Wishy-Washy

Good ole Mrs. Wishy-Washy. She's one of my all time favorite book characters. One day she takes to cleaning all the animals on the farm. Shortly after getting them all clean, they find a nifty puddle and shout, "Oh, lovely mud!" If you have a preschooler or toddler, you must have this book. It's great for read aloud. The story pattern is easily picked up by kids and in no time they're reading on their own. "In when the duck, wishy-washy, wishy-washy." Of course, I totally identify with Mrs. Wishy-Washy on so many levels. She and I share the same buxom physique, however she has an ability to pull off fuzzy slippers where I cannot! We both find a great deal of pleasure (and perhaps self-medication) in the act of cleaning. And we are both find satisfaction in a job well done! Mrs. Wishy-Washy, I salute you!

Unfortunately, I've not been able to channel my Mrs. Wishy-Washy. My washing machine is on the fritz. It makes quite a horrid noise when one sets it to washing. I paid $60 for a wonderful man to tell me it would be cheaper to buy a new one! Oh no! Washing machines have transmissions? Well hooey! We're looking at nearly $300 to fix a $328 washing machine. The laundry mat is looking better and better. But at $1.50 to wash and $.25 for ten minutes of drying time the new machine would pay for itself in three months. But I would be right back where I am now in four to five years' time. Mr. Repairman assured me that today's washing machines have a 5-6 year life span. And I think he's right. My friend, Shannon, just replaced a switch on her 5-6 year old machine. I need a transmission on my 5 1/2 year old machine. His suggestion: Whirlpool or Maytag, and a front loading one at that.

Well, I've perused the Lowe's website and looked at several machines. And I am still uncertain. Fix the old one at $225 to $300 (depending on parts)? Purchase the least expensive Maytag or Whirlpool ($400). Or sell my first born (any takers?) and go for something a bit more expensive that is "supposed" to last 10 - 20 years ($650-$750). What happened to appliances lasting for decades?

So readers, I have to ask, "What are you washing with?" What kind of washing machine do you have? How long have you had it? Are you happy with it? What kind of detergent are you using? Does it smell good? Do you use dryer sheets, fabric softener in the rinse, or both?" Air your dirty laundry hear! I need help making a decision!

Heidi

Yesterday, Saturday August 23, 2008, Heidi Bottomley Meyer was buried in Eureka Springs, AR next to her mom, Alice. And I was not there to say good-bye or to stand with my friends as they mourned.

Heidi and I attended the same high school. It was a small school. Everybody knew everybody else. But she was my little sister's very best friend. Heidi attended Hendrix College (where Tree and I went) for a time before transferring to the University of Arkansas to complete her teaching degree. Heidi taught in our hometown of Eureka Springs. She was beginning her eighth year teaching at Washington Junior High in Bentonville when she unexpectedly died. She had a passion for the written word and shared that passion with hundreds of kids each year. She was six weeks shy of her 37th birthday.

Heidi has two siblings, Bret and Brandon. Heidi married Donovan Meyer, her high school sweetheart and friend. Her daughter Avery is just about two years old.

It is tremendously sad when someone you know dies. But it becomes tragically incomprehensible when it is someone so good and so young.

For friends who knew Heidi and would like to help, Bret has created a website memorial for her. The family is asking that in lieu of flowers that monetary gifts be made to her memorial fund.

Ten Days

I cannot believe it has been ten days since I have posted! It just might be a record! I apologize; it is simply an indicator of how busy the past few weeks have been. My absence from the blogosphere, the pile of laundry, the unmade bed, the sticky kitchen floor, and the unpaid bills all point to the same, wicked truth. School has resumed!

I have been spending roughly 14 hours every day on campus. This has been my attempt to get caught up so that I can devote more time to research. You may ask how I could be so far behind during the first week of school. I didn't even have papers to grade until Thursday! After all I went to work a week early to get things ready. Alas, I had a student that consumed a particularly great deal of my time (over thirty hours in a week an a half). This student was not prepared to enter their internship and waited until the last minute to begin making corrections to the document that would enable them to participate in the internship. Said student had nearly three months to make corrections. And while the quote "Failure to plan on your part does not constitute and emergency on mine," continually played in my head over the course of dealing with said student, I was still the one who ended up being the most affected. Who pays for a students inability to follow directions, to plan, to organize, or to write coherently? Not the student. The teacher.


That aside, a great deal has happened in the last few days.

• School started for all three of us! Orion is navigating the often choppy waters of middle school. John is taking two courses (Anthropology & Ecology) in the mornings. And I am attempting Meteorology. I say attempting because I am conducting research with the professor of the course (Sally) and hanging out. I fear that I may not have the time to dedicate to studying.
• John has returned to the late night shift of 3:15 to 12:15.
• I am teaching another full load this semester, however I have taught all of these classes before so at least I have a vague idea of what I am doing this time around!
• An old friend died last week.
• Helen, the grey kitten, was adopted by three young ladies, students at UCM.
• I've been pretty sick and I have a mild case of pink eye! Allergy related? Perhaps.
  

And this is only a sampling of what has been happening! I have decided to use my blog as an incentive or reward! When I complete a certain amount of tasks, I will allow myself to post to the blog. Unfortunately, I doubt that there will be much to report. All work and no play makes Kat a very dull blogger!

Let's hope not!

Open House

The boys headed over to the 'Burg's Middle School for Open House at 6:00 this evening. They came home with Cap'n D's and piles of instructions, schedules, and lunch menus. Woah!

Orion moves up to 6th Grade this year. He is officially a Middle Schooler. Before he went off to Camp Subi this summer he participated in three of the four weeks of summer school at the Middle School. This helped him out tremendously. According to J, Orion just marched in as if he owned the school and visited with his summer school teachers and introduced himself to his new teachers. Go Orion, go!

I've spent the past thirty minutes deciphering and copying his class schedule. Over the next nine months Orion will have 17 different classes and 12 different teachers. His core classes are Language Arts, Reading, Social Studies, Math, Science and Band. These classes will meet for an entire year. Then he has single semester classes (18 weeks) and hex classes (6 weeks). He will have one semester of Boys P.E. He also has nine (9) hex, or six week, classes. These classes will meet for six weeks and then he will move on to the next hex class. His hex classes are Technology, Art, Music, Study Skills, Keyboarding, Math Art, Nutrition, Communication, and Whizitivities (Science stuff he thinks!).

I will admit that I am wary of these six week courses. I watch college students take these one and two hour courses. They may end up with six or seven different classes in a semester. That's six or seven different professors, syllabi, assignments, etc. Too much busy work. I hope the same is not true for middle school hex classes.

I just completed writing Orion's schedule down for him. Like many middle school, Orion's school will meet on a block schedule. That means he will have Math, Reading, Science, and a hex class or two on one day for about 90 minutes and Language Arts, Band, Social Studies, and another hex class or two on the following day for about 90 minutes. The one exception is Life Skills 101 which meets daily for 25 minutes.

To make matters more interesting the schedule they handed him had all 17 classes listed, beginning with first period classes and ending with fifth period classes; this included red days and white days. It took me quite a bit of time to figure out where he was supposed to go and when! Even better his lunch period lands smack dab in the middle his Social Studies class and his Reading class. How weird!

Well, it's all straighted out! I created a list of only the essentials: locker number, combination, and class schedule.

Tomorrow is nearly here! It's time for bed! Wish us ALL luck!

Time Stands Still...

Time passes more slowly, almost seeming to stand still, when one is surrounded dark skies, bright stars, and the near deafening racket of frogs, crickets, and other creepy crawlies.

I was up late last night; in fact, I was up much later than I had expected. I was working on presentation I will give today in the Earth Science and Biology Department at UCM. Our topic is Successful Teaching (aka Classroom Management) and my presentation is for graduate teaching assistants.

I finished getting my thoughts, ideas, and activities organized at roughly 1:00 a.m. this morning. Nola and I stepped outside for a quick walk through our darkened back yard. In a matter of few minutes we saw two very bright meteors zipping across the sky. I wasn't sure but I thought that I several more, but faint in the hazy sky. Joy!

Nola and I decided that since we were already up, we would go a head and wait another hour for the moon to set. And at 2:00 a.m. I turned off all the lights in the house and we stumbled into the back yard.

It was a near perfect 65 degrees last night and the skies had cleared up considerably. I was unable to see the eastern horizon (for my house and the large trees in my back yard) but I had a good view of the rest of the sky. It was dark, but the faint haze seemed to reflect some of the 'Burg's light back to us.

Nola and I sat. And we sat some more. Quietly waiting for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. Allowing our eyes to relax. Opening our eyes to the night sky.

Quietly yet brightly, several meteors flashed across the dark sky. Most of them headed southwest. Several more, dim and stealthily meteors marked their paths through the stars. Even more appeared as faint tracers, perhaps they were nothing more than some shadow of a youthful indiscretion.

Still we sat. My back was beginning to complain from sitting too much during the day and from now being scrunched down in an unforgiving, metal patio chair. The grass was wet on our feet. The mosquitoes were oddly underrepresented. Or perhaps it was all that garlic I have been consuming?

After each flash of light I would wait. My hand on Nola's back. Just one more. I'll go inside after one more. But another would reveal itself, and then another. I stifled a yawn and considered pulling an "all-nighter." I reminded myself that I had work in only a few hours.

Slowly I got up. Stretching my back. Thinking, next time I'll put a tarp out and lay on the sleeping bag. Nola and I made our way back to the house. Carefully I shined the flashlight at the kitchen clock. It was only 2:30. I had seen over 30 meteors in about 30 minutes! And I wasn't counting the 'tracers' that I was uncertain about. How many could I have seen if I had driven 10 minutes to the south of town? Would the camera have cooperated with the hazy night? How lucky I am that it cleared up and that I was able to catch a few 'shooting stars'?

I was so excited and enthralled that I forgot to make a wish. If it's not too late for that wish: I wish for great viewing of the Leonids in November.

Misconceptions of Astronomical Proportion

What have I done? I participated in a Writer's Workshop, that's what "I done." I decided to participate for two hours graduate credit so that I may easily renew my Missouri Teaching License. Part of the requirements for graduate credit included creating, revising, and submitting a manuscript for publication. Holy smokes!

And as of today, August 12, 2008 I have completed my first book proposal. After my professor evaluates my manuscript proposal I will submit it to NSTA Press (National Science Teachers' Association) for consideration.

My proposed book is called "Misconceptions of Astronomical Proportion: An Illustrated Guide" and I will rope my friend, Sally Zellers, into being co-author. The book will target school teachers. I have suggested ten chapters. Each chapter will cover a common misconception in astronomy, provide the current scientific understanding complete with illustrations (gotta find an illustrator!), and lastly offer teachers developmentally appropriate (bases on National Science Education Standards) activities and demonstrations that teachers may implement in their classrooms. What fun!

Sally and I had often talked about writing a series of these books over misconceptions in biology, earth science, and possibly chemistry. But both of us seriously doubt our content knowledge in at least two of those areas. However, through the process of creating my manuscript proposal, I realized that Sally and I could serve as editors for books over areas that may be beyond our 'cognitive scope.'

I've not give much thought to chemistry, but for biology I will be looking for misconceptions about evolution, plant life, reproduction, and more... If you're interested in writing a chapter for my common biology or chemistry misconceptions books drop me a line. I'm so excited! Some of you may be hearing from me via email in the very near future!

Wish me luck!

Meteor Shower Blues

Well folks, it's just about 11:30 in the 'Burg and I'm thinking I just might cash it in and call it a night. The Perseid Meteor Shower really gets cranked up tonight and viewing after 2:00 a.m. is supposed to be spectacular as the moon will have set and my side of the planet will be face forward in the debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle. Of course, Mother Nature has other plans. Late this afternoon giant cumulus clouds started puffing up; it looks like rain is on the menu for the next seven or eight days. I'm not complaining. I love the rain. Especially mixed with loud thunder, bright lightning, impressive winds, and a bit of hail. However, I had hoped to catch a few meteors during this year's Perseids. Seems like there's only been three or four, seriously clear and successful Perseid events for me in the past twenty years. Talk about patience! Perhaps it will clear up in a day or two before the next front rolls in and I'll be able to catch a few late bloomers.

For those of you with clear skies, find a dark spot, have a seat, look up, relax, and enjoy the show.

Space, the Final Frontier

Sunday, August 3, 2008

(Air and Space Museum foyer.)

Up at 8:00 and out the door by 9:30. We were determined to get to the Air and Space Museum by 10:00. We were there by 9:50 and waited with about fifty other people for the doors to open. It was worth the wait.

(Planetarium and IMAX tickets! W00T!)

By 10:03 I purchased tickets to the Planetarium Show and a 30 minute IMAX show about Black Holes. Of course, these tickets were spaced apart throughout the day and were nothing more than thinly veiled excuses to SIT for a few moments.

(American Astronaut Space Suit, National Air and Space Museum, D.C.)

We started on the first floor with monuments to astronauts who have given their lives in the name of exploration and science. The exhibits that really got me bawling were the ones dedicated to Apollo I, The Challenger, and The Columbia. I should have brought Kleenex. Who would have thought that pictures of old astronauts, galaxies, planets, and stars would cause such a visceral reaction?

(Don't take pictures of me when I'm bawling!)

We paused for an early lunch (Closer to noon than 3:00 pm.) at the food court. We had three value meals priced at about $7.50 each. They didn’t taste any different than the $3.80 value meals here in the ’Burg. It was a chance to sit and a chance to eat.

(Orion enjoys Chicken McNuggets in style!)

Energized we returned to the exhibits and just soaked it all in. There were probably just as many folks at the Air and Space museum as there had been at the Natural History Museum the day before, I believe that the openness of the Air and Space Museum made it feel less crowded at times. There was still a great deal of ‘look and run’ which made me wonder why people even bother coming to the museum. Are they afraid they might learn something?

(Lunar Landing Module, National Air and Space Museum, D.C.)

(Orion seems a wee bit lost.)

The gift shop was quite interesting. But I was disappointed to find that they didn’t have 3X tee shirts here either! Does the Smithsonian not want fat people to sport their goods? They had an impressive toy store where Orion found a plane and a mini-kite. We left at 5:00 via a cab as I had to make my way back to the hotel, freshen up, and make it to our official opening ceremonies for the conference by 5:30.

(I thought it would a nifty treat if the public restrooms had been equipped with these instead!)

ATE welcomed new comers and then we proceeded to dine on beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Desert was the best. Several choices of cake or pie and some very good coffee. Dinner left me hungry. I should have eaten two pieces of pumpkin cheese cake, but I refrained.

It was nearly 10:00 before I returned to the hotel room. Orion was dying to go swimming. He and J had marched up to Union Station to have dinner. I think at a place called Johnny Rocket’s. Orion loved it. I think we may have to check that joint out together.

John escorted O to the pool and I took a long shower and then a longer bath. It was time for bed. Tomorrow we'll visit the National Gallery of Art.

(The National Gallery from the steps of the Air and Space Museum)

Things I learned on Sunday, August 3, 2008

• I miss pumpkin cheese cake. It shouldn’t just be served in October and November.
• I still want to be an astronomer.
• Orion’s head is filled with all these weird ideas for contraptions and inventions. I wonder if he will be instrumental in our colonization of Mars or the moon.
• I still hate crowds.
• Astronauts have chutzpuh.
• Calculators and slide rules played an important part in our race to the moon. I wonder what would happen if Astronauts now had to rely on Wikipedia?
  

(To the moon, Alice!)

(Yes Tree, this pictures for you!)

The First Day

Saturday, August 2, 2008

(Are we there yet? Looking down Constitution Avenue. Who said the Natural History Museum was a 15 minute walk from the hotel?)

I was up by 7:30 and dressed by 9:00. I registered for the conference and cruised by to pick up a pre-conference workshop on PowerPoint. I left early. The workshop was designed for true beginners. Much of the time was going to be spent using pre-made game show templates available online.

Around 10:30 we headed north one block and had breakfast at the Billy Goat. Well, I had breakfast and the boys had Cheese Borgers. The three of us ate for less than $20. I was most impressed by the speed and efficiency of the short order cook. Wow.

From there we headed south and west approximately one mile, it felt like three (it was already very humid and nearly 95), to the Natural History Museum. Our first of the few Smithsonians we had decided to “take in” while we were in town. The building itself is worth several days of study. And of course, there was so much to see inside too! We’d decided before we left the ‘Burg that we would NOT try to see everything. We wanted to take things slowly. Soak it all in. Appreciate. And maybe learn a little something.

(Uhm, just a tiny bit creepy?)

The stuffed animal exhibit, officially the “Mammal Exhibit” was first. And not my favorite. When I say stuffed animal I mean taxidermy. While there were many, many animals on display and the descriptions were interesting, it was a bit creepy. I kept thinking, “Is this where zoo animals come to die?”

(Orion investigates ancient sea life.)

From there we methodically walked from one maze of exhibits to another. I would have to say that my favorite exhibits included the marine life fossils (however I saw NO signs of foraminifera), dinosaurs, rocks and minerals, and the rocks and minerals gift shop (It was nice to look!).

(Cool!)

The worst part of the day had to be the throngs of people who were quite literally running through the exhibits. I would be reading an explanation of stromatolites off the coast of Australia and adult humans (using both terms loosely) would push me out of the way or stand in front of me. All in all many of Saturday’s visitors were quite rude.

(Orion inspects a chuck of amethyst.)

At one point I had had enough so we escaped out doors to a shaded part of a butterfly garden. There we consumed street hot dogs and bottled water. Just sitting and have some personal space helped a great deal.

(A piece of home. Orion and I pose in front of a giant chunk of Arkansas quartz.)

By 5:00 people started leaving the museum in throngs. I was delighted to discover that the museum stayed open to 7:30 in the summer, instead of 5:00 as the brochure indicated. There were still many folks milling about the museum, but the Ice Age exhibit was nearly empty. It was a nice way to end a hectic day in one of our nation’s most popular museums.

(This is less than half of the throngs we saw at 5:00 pushing out the doors!)

By 7:00 our feet were sore. I wanted desperately to take off my tennis shoes but feared I’d never want to put them back on. We grabbed a cab to dinner. Phillip’s Flag Ship boasts some pretty fine seafood. You can order from the menu or eat from the buffet. We chose buffet. There were hundreds of people at the restaurant- including several parties of 20 and 50. We sat out under the awning overlooking the Potomac River. It was actually cooler out there than inside the restaurant.

The buffet was impressive. They had everything you might ever want to eat: turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, pastas, roast chicken, BBQ ribs, a huge salad selection, fried shrimp, fried clams, a desert bar that was several yards in length. But my favorite part included huge copper kettles where folks lined up to enjoy crawdads, boiled shrimp, crab legs, stone crabs, steamed mussels, and more! I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in my ability to keep up with others at the restaurant. But I have to admit that I was a bit of a light weight in the arena of consuming mass quantities. I tried. I paced myself. But it was no use. It was a great place to people watch. It was also a great place to remind me how much we have, how well off we are, and how much we waste. (Note: I saw more crab and shrimp being thrown away from folks who had eyes bigger than their stomachs. That made me sad. There was probably enough food to feed the entire homeless population of D.C. being thrown away that evening. It pleased me that even with Orion’s often odd food choices and pickiness that we threw nothing away.)

The cab ride back to the hotel was quick. I noted to myself that so far, our two cab rides were in very lean cabs. We rested a bit and the boys headed off to the swimming pool for a little bit of fun. I turned on the television to view what was on cable (something we don’t have in the ‘Burg). After about 30 minutes of flipping channels I gave up in frustration and turned it off. It rather made me glad I wasting my money in the ‘Burg with their over-priced cable packages.

(A ropey rock formation for Sally!)

Things I learned on Saturday, August 2, 2008

• I hate crowds.
• Hot dogs and water on the “front” of the museums is about $2.50 more than the hot dogs and water on the “back” of the museums. We came in the back way so we weren’t tricked.
• Humans don’t always act humanely.
• Taxi cabs can be feet savers.
• It’s not the heat; it’s the humidity.

I Really Hate to Fly

Friday, August 1, 2008

Up at 5:15 on approximately four hours of sleep. Cranky with 14 hours to go. Our boarding passes wouldn’t print last night so stopped off at campus before driving to the airport. By 6:05 we were headed north on highway 13 to catch I 70 West. It is a 90 mile drive to MCI in Kansas City. Personally I think the Kansas City Airport is closer to St. Joseph, MO.

We hit the city as the first of the commuters started their mornings. It wasn’t too bad as we went around K.C. on I 435 (Bridge construction on I70 and I29.)It took us exactly 90 minutes to make it to MCI and another 10 to get to economy parking (more construction). We parked in section C “All that Jazz.” It was the same place I’d parked on my trip to Toronto nearly a year ago!

The shuttle arrived in no time and we were on our way. But I could feel the telltale tightness in my chest and the knot forming in my gut.We checked our bags and the Northwest Airlines gal was very helpful. We had cheap tickets (Travelocity) and they bumped all three of us to different seats. We weren’t together. She got Orion and me together with John in front of us for our trip to Minneapolis. Security was a major pain and I am beginning to think that T.S.A. stands for The Security Assholes. A very long line and grumpy folks made us nearly the last passengers to board at 8:45.

The plane left promptly at 8:57. The flight to Minnesota was good. But I cringed with every cough, sneeze, or sniffle I heard on the plane. Planes are a hotbed of diseases- stir them up and spread them around. I was also plagued with thoughts that I had left the car unlocked in economy parking, that the pets would demolish the house, that the house would be destroyed by some catastrophic event. I tell you, this line of thought makes for terrible travel.

We walked the Minneapolis airport mall and split a burger and fries at T.G.I.Friday's before boarding. Orion liked the rail-tram. I liked the Body Shop. And John liked the burger!

The flight to B.W.I. left on time and arrived a bit early. We flew over a thunderstorm. That made for a pretty bumpy ride (Think: roller coaster!). Orion and I read a bit and colored a bit. I was so tired I thought I could have slept. I even closed my eyes. But alas, I could not!

The descent into B.W.I. was horrid. I always have trouble with my ears so I buy gum and chew away the entire trip. It was no use. Halfway down and I was nearly deaf and tears from the pain ran down my face, making for a most unhappy camper, rather flyer.

We finally landed and despite the antihistamines and gum, I was deaf. We made our way to baggage claim 13 and I went in search for my friend Jennifer who was arriving at the same time on Southwest- baggage claim 4. She’d already come and gone. Oh no! I ended up walking the half mile baggage claim area three times. It was only 4:55 Eastern and 3:55 Central, but my body insisted it was well after 10:00 pm and that I should be in bed.

The shuttle arrived promptly and took us to the BWI train stop where we picked up the MARC. Six dollars a ticket is a deal for the 35-45 minute trip to D.C. Cabs are $75 and the Super Shuttle would have run $57 for the three of us!

We had a bit of trouble navigating, but a kind pilot on the shuttle helped us out. My deafness coupled with unfamiliar accents distorted by poor microphones was a definite impairment. I kept asking John and Orion, “What did they say?” or “Is this our stop?” John may be a 21st century man (and possibly a metrosexual), but he still balks at asking for directions. He was happy to purchase the train tickets, but when I asked which platform he shrugged. Thank goodness for Arrival/Departure signs.

(Looking north for the MARC at the BWI Train Stop, 5:40 pm, August 1, 2008)

The wait for the train made me question the decision to travel in August. Baltimore is very humid. The heat, the humidity, my deafness, the exhaustion were all negatively impacting my already fragile well being.

(Unsure of the laws in Maryland, I use my mental powers to flip John the bird. How dare he take my picture when I'm feeling homicidal?)

The train trip was actually soothing. The temperature inside was cool and the rocking motion of the train helped me with my now foul mood. But would I be able to make it from Union Station to the hotel without murdering a stranger, or worse one of my own family? We arrived in D.C. at 6:30. We were hot, tired, sticky, hungry, and dirty… “Eat here or go on to the hotel?” I knew if we chose hotel I was not going to leaving again. We chose hotel. We walked the 2-3 blocks to the hotel with our luggage bumping along behind us. (Thank you, Jennifer and Ruth, for lending us your luggage with wheels!)

The Hyatt is a big hotel. The Capitol looms about two blocks south. The Hyatt is undergoing a seven million dollar renovation of their lobby. (Think: Plaster dust and a maze of temporary walls.) Check in took nearly an hour. No, I’m not kidding. The hotel had my reservation. No problem. The receptionist was slow. Some problem there. But when I pulled out American Express Travelers’ Cheques to pay her with she insisted she could not take them. Around and around we went. Finally the other receptionist explained that they were just like cash. Grrr! And to top it off, she insisted on keeping a hold on my credit card as well. Still not certain of the Traveler’s Cheques. Stupid bitch!

But I continued to smile. Switching my weight from one foot to the next as I stood there.

During the 50 minute process I watched the other receptionist check in six people! This was just like my luck when picking supermarket lanes. I did get to see some old colleagues and friends as I stood and waited.

The room was small, but nice. We all stripped off our travel duds and put on something clean. We found the Lobby Restaurant on the 11th floor (construction again) and it was very good. Orion enjoyed a $15.50 cheeseburger. I had Maryland Crab Penne for $19 and John had steak and roast potatoes for $22. Expensive? Sure! But not the most expensive meal we would have.

My only complaint from our dining experience would have been our service. We were seated, served water and bread, and then we couldn’t get anybody to take our order. Once we did, the server dropped bread on our table, touched J’s fork during dinner, took J’s plate while he was eating, and splashed us with coffee. It was the first time in years that I tipped somebody less than 20%. He got 15% - still more than I wanted to give. We made our way back to the room and crashed after showers. I don’t think I rolled over or stirred till a family decided to have a group meeting outside our room at 7:30 am. Grrr!

Things I learned Friday, August 1, 2008

• I really do despise flying.
• Unhappy people make the world difficult (especially at security in the airport!).
• Mean people suck.
• Stupid people exist outside of Missouri and Arkansas.
• It really is good to see a familiar face in a strange city.
• Having unlimited hot water is a dream.
• Wide bathtubs rock.
• Men don’t ask for directions.

Safe and Sound...

(Our Capitol from Constitution and Third Streets, Saturday, August 2, 2008)

We made it home safely! As many of you know, I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. last week for the Association of Teacher Educators Summer Conference (ATE). With the help of John's mom, who purchased our Travelocity tickets (Round trip with taxes and fees $179! Thanks Loree!), I was able to take John and Orion with me. After dreading the trip much of the spring it occurred to me that 1) John's always wanted to go, 2) Orion would really dig the museums, 3) The hotel room would be nearly $200 a night whether I slept alone or not, and best of all 4) The Smithsonian Museums do not charge admission. Things came together and the Leslies left at the butt crack of dawn on Friday, August 1. We returned close to 11:00 pm on Wednesday, August 6. It was a long week. And I kept a journal. So over the next couple of days I plan to share with you our adventures and pictures from our trip to D.C.