Over Memorial Day weekend Lee was a single parent to Madeleine and Everett while I traveled with my mom to visit my Uncle Mike. Mike is my mom's brother and has a special place in my heart because his middle name is Kerry! Mike has had diabetes for about 30 years and recently had to have a foot amputated and the day before we arrived he had to have a toe amputated on his other foot. It was really good to see him and I feel honored and blessed to have had the opportunity.
Mom and I decided to fly into Baltimore to stay with my mom's longtime friend. Unfortunately, she was out of town! but her husband was a very gracious host. Saturday morning, we drove the rental car to the subway line of D.C. and had a whirlwind day in D.C. We started with a walking tour of Embassy Row where we learned many new things. We also walked by a drum circle! I guessed that it was an exercise class, they were all women!
DRUM CIRCLEWe then stopped at the Phillips Collection, which was amazing! This private collection of art was beautiful. Then, off to the National Mall where we went to the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art. It was a beautiful day and such fun to see the Capital, Washington Monument, White House. We walked all around and then collapsed at an amazing restaurant, Founding Farmers. This restaurant is owned by the North Dakota farmers and is LEED certified as well as
a certified green restaurant. Everything tasted really good! After dinner we wandered around the White House and saw Marine One (two of them!) take off (it was really loud), but Obama was at Camp David... unless someone forgot their toothbrush and they came back home to get it... possibly...
We marveled at the new World War II memorial built in 2004 and then realized that it was getting dark and we had a hike to get to the metro station. We then drove to my Uncle's house in Manassas Virginia but we missed a turn and ended up driving right through downtown Washington D.C. on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend at 10pm!
SELF-PORTRAITS AT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
NEW ACQUISITION AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY!
MARINE ONE!
Sunday we visited my Uncle Mike who was in the hospital after his toe amputation. It was great to see him and to pray with him. We spent the day helping Mike with some errands and lounging in his wife's beautiful garden filled with irises and peonies.
Monday we drove to Pennsylvania where we visited with my mom's cousin and had a great day with relatives. Tuesday, our last day, we drove to mom's birthplace and saw the family barn (where my grandpa's parents had a dairy), the house mom grew up in, the church where I was baptized, a famous Pennsylvania covered bridge, and visited the family graves. Then we had brunch at Aunt Dot's. Aunt Dot is my grandpa's younger sister, and one of two of my grandpa's still living siblings. He had 9 siblings! She is 90 and has a great wit! Then, we drove to Pittsburgh and caught our airplanes home. A huge thank you to Lee for being a single parent while I had a wonderful adventure with my mom!
THIS IS THE OLD NICHOLLS FARM, IT HAS NOT BEEN KEPT UP. MY GRANDPA SAID HE NEVER KNEW IT TO BE RED, THEY ALWAYS PAINTED IT WHITE.
COVERED BRIDGE IN PENNSYLVANIA
VISITING GRANDPA AND GRANDMA (MY MOM'S PARENTS) AND OTHER NICHOLLS FAMILY
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