Visit with Mom part 3

After Luray Caverns, Mom and I drove back to Warrenton to meet up with my brother and sister-in-law. My brother and I had not set a place to meet. We were going to decide once Mom and I were close. I decided to go to my brother's father-in-law's furniture store. I mentioned this to mom as we approached town. Mom thought that was a really good idea. I nearly fell out of the car laughing because she agreed with something I said. We had been joking all week about our differing opinions.

We met Spade and Bev and Bev's dad, Mr. Rankin, at the furniture. Mr. Rankin is being celebrated for fifty years as a business man in Warrenton. He showed me the accounting general ledger book that he used back in 1966.

On Thursday Mom and I dropped her old tube tv off at the county refuse and recycling center. Then headed to the National Zoo in Washington, DC. I used to live near the zoo and was a frequent visitor. We were mostly wanting to see the pandas.

It turned out to be colder than we had planned. We were dressed for the rain but not the cold so we grabbed a hotdog across from the zoo to try to warm up.

The landscaping at the zoo has grown so much. I guess after 30 years that is what happens. It was surprising and nice to see the trees so tall. The two adult pandas were out in their enclosures so we had no difficulty seeing them. We could not find the entrance to the inside and didn't see the baby panda, Bei Bei.

Thursday evening I did a thorough cleaning of mom's bathroom. Mom didn't seem to happy with me but I think it resulted in a more inviting environment.

Mom and I had a great time traveling around Virginia. It was a great trip.

I've often mentioned how lovely mom's apartment building is. The photo below shows the building as you approach up the drive.

Visit with Mom Part 1

Old PanAm terminal

I arrived late Monday after a big storm passed through northern Virginia. I am very familiar with National airport so made it quickly to the car rental and out to I395.

Tuesday we drove to the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah National Park. We stopped in Warrenton, Virginia where I went to all 12 years of school.

Just off Main St. The mural behind us is interesting

We placed flowers at Forrest and Ella Heflin's graves and their son Bernard. The Heflin's were our neighbors and owned a farm.

It was raining by the time we got to Shenandoah National Park. We got a $10 senior annual national park pass and drove Skyline Drive to Skyland Resort. I had reserved a cabin for us for Tuesday night.

Cloudy, foggy, rainy Skyline Drive

The weather was changing by the minute... cloudy, sunny, foggy, windy. The dining hall was positioned for sunset viewing. It looked like we were going to get a good one until the last minute when clouds rolled up from the valley and fog rolled down from the top of the mountain. It was classic.

Mom's birthday

Me, Jasmine, Lotus, Carol

 I flew to Virginia on Saturday and picked up my rental car.

Sunday morning my sister Carol came over to Mom's with her grandkids, Jasmine and Lotus. There isn't a lot of room in mom's apartment so the girls and I went for a walk and gathered fallen leaves.

My brother Spade came over, too. Mom, Spade and I met my friends Judy, Lance and Tony at IHOP for brunch. We spent a few hours catching up and sharing stories.

Sunday evening Mom and I went to the church service at her apartment. The pastor, Nellie, is also a docent at the US Capitol. I had not been to the capitol since I was a congressional intern in the 1970's and mom had never been. Nellie said she would give us a tour on Monday if mom wanted to do that for her birthday.

Nellie holding up the dome.

Mom and Nellie in front of the casting for the statue at the top of the US capitol dome.

 We were able to get a parking space less than a block and half from the visitor center entrance. Nellie met us right outside of security and had us with a small group of college students from Honduras. With our small group we were able to take the elevator to the rotund. Nellie had it all planned for mom.

We toured the rotunda shrouded in fabric and scaffolding during the restoration of the dome and hall of statues (former house of representatives) then went down one level to the crypt and to the old Supreme Court Chamber.

On the way back to the Visitor's Center, Nellie told the students that the elderly woman with them was celebrating her 91st birthday. All of them spontaneously started singing Happy Birthday right there in the Capitol Building!

 After the students departed, Nellie took us back to see the Old Senate Chamber and the Visitor's Center Museum. It was truly a special tour and special event for mom's birthday.

We drove out of downtown D.C. during rush hour to make our way to Waldorf, MD to have dinner with my sister Lea and brother-in-law Tim. It was a long day but so worth it.

The trip home on Tuesday was okay. It was raining in DC but the flight left on time. The flight out of O'Hare was not so uneventful. There wasn't even a plane until almost two hours after we were supposed to have departed.

I used the two hours to eat familiar Chicago food. Tri-flavored popcorn and nuts from Nuts on Clark and a Chicago-style hot dog from the secret place on the L concourse.

A Celebration of Ninety Years

My mom, Gracie, celebrated her birthday on Sunday November 9th. She is 90 years young.

Family and friends gathered in the party room of her apartment building. Lots of balloons. Lots of stories. Lots of food.

Mom's sister Donna came from Kansas.

Looking through the picture book.

Mom and her children - Carol, John, Jeff, Lea and Loyd

Grandma and her grandchildren - Kevin, Kristine, Ken, Raymond and Kathy

Great-Grandma and her great grand-children - Jasmine, Anoka, Lotus and Austin (great-great-grandson) 

Friends in Virginia and DC

On Tuesday Mom and I met up with my friends Judy and Lance.  Judy and I worked together at my very first job out of college in 1981.  Lance and I worked together at Arena Stage in Washington, DC back in the 1980's.

Lance gave us a detailed tour of the new Arena complex.  It is truly something to behold and pictures I have cannot convey the size and grandeur.

I got kind of nostalgic walking through the few parts that are still there from what I remember as the original structures.

Lance's partner, Tony, met us a the theatre and we went up to Capitol Hill for dinner at one of their favorite places, Las Placitas.

We all got caught up.  It had been two years since we had met as a group.  This gathering of people from my past has been a Christmas-time tradition.

From the restaurant to Lance's condo to show Judy his truly amazing Christmas decorations.  Lance decorates his place in an unbelievable amount of Christmas.

There are more Dicken's villages than ever, garlands of lights and ornaments, Santas, Christmas Mickey Mouses, an enormous creche, and this incredibly beautiful tree.

We agreed we would only go up to Lance's highrise condo if there was easy parking.  There was this spot that was about six inches longer than the rental.

Not to brag (but I am)...I made it in on the first try.

Christmas in Virginia

I flew to Virginia on Christmas day to spend some time with family and friends.

After landing at Dulles International Airport, I got the rental car and drove to Herndon to pickup my sister Carol.  Herndon is very close to the airport.

Then we drove to Mom's in Burke to pick her up along with the potatoes for the traditional potato soup.  We went to my niece Gracie Kay's apartment.  My sister, Lea, and her husband Tim and his brother Todd were already at Gracie Kay's.

Also at Gracie Kay's was the newest member of the clan, Austin.  He's Gracie's nephew and only 3 months old and cute as can be.

He is successfully unwrapping one of his presents here.

The food was fantastic and the company was even better.  It was a great Christmas celebration.