Happy Birthday To Me

My birthday was this weekend. It was a fun time. On Friday, one of my wonderful co-workers baked me not one, but 2 cakes!!!! Plus ice cream and lemonade! We had a little party at the end of the day, and I ate a lot of cake.

On Saturday, which was my official birthday, I went to the National Zoo. I saw the pandas, and the red panda, a hippo (it was HUGE), rare reptiles, monkeys, elephants, zebras, and a really big anaconda. Also a lizard who fell asleep while eating lunch. It's a very pretty zoo. Most of the animal habitats are large and look comfortable. The grounds are shady and easy to walk. A lot of people from the neighborhood were there jogging (the weather was sunny and warm). It was a great way to spend the day. Then I went home and ate Harry & David chocolate mousse cake (thanks mom!).


Red Panda

Big Anaconda!!!!!

Pandas!!!!!!



Sleepy Lizard forgot to wash his face......



Today I went hiking at Lake Accotink. It's a nice park, with a trail that goes around the lake. Then I stayed to watch the cardboard boat regatta. Really. People build boats out of cardboard, then try to see whose boat goes the fastest and farthest before it sinks. There are themes, like Pirate boats, sofa-boats, Barbie boats (built by a troop of Girl Scouts), and family teams. It was really fun to watch. I didn't stay for the whole thing. I didn't bring my camera with me, and I wish I had.

In Which I Am on Radio

I was on the radio on Saturday night, broadcast around the nation, listened to by millions of people. Well, to be accurate, I was one of many. I went to hear Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion, live from Wolf Trap National Park. Wolf Trap is an outdoor theater, and it was a perfect night to sit out on the lawn. It was sunny, breezy, mid-80's. The lawn was packed with families and couples and friends and all kinds of people of all ages. People brought picnic baskets and ate dinner while waiting for the show to start. The show is even better in person than on the radio. If you ever get the chance to see it live, I recommend it!

On Friday night, I spent a Night at the Museum. Sort of. I went to Mount Vernon, which is George Washington's estate. When I retire with my billions, I'm going to buy one just like it (but in a state that makes sense). Mount Vernon usually closes to visitors at 5 pm, but this weekend, it was open from 6-9pm, so it was a Night at Mount Vernon. In the museum, real people stood in among he displays and "came to life" as tours went through. Mount Vernon is a stunning estate during the day, but it is truly lovely at twilight, with the walkways lit by lanterns.

My last exploration of the weekend was learning to cook a new dish. I learned to make onigiri, which is Japanese rice balls. Mine are a little uneven, but they taste ok!

In Which I Meet the Lees

I went hiking at Leesylvania State park today. It was pretty good weather: cool and cloudy, but good for walking. Leesylvania (which means "Lee's Woods") is an interesting place. It's on the land owned by the prominent Lee family of Virginia, way back in the late 1700's. If you've seen the musical 1776, Richard Henry Lee was a member of that family. The land is right on the Potomac River, hilly, green, and isolated. Well, not now. Now it's in the middle of new housing developments.

One of the trails, about 2 miles long, goes past 11 historic markers, including ruins of original houses. I will admit that Virginia has a lot of interesting history.

In Which it is Summer

Today the temperature reached 86 degrees. Tomorrow it will be up to 90. It's very confusing to me. It's not supposed to be warm yet! I'm going to have to buy more clothes for work. I have 20 sweaters, but wool is not preferable right now. I want to sit on the porch and read novels, not go to work.

I took the Praxis II exam for teacher certification on Saturday morning. It's the last one I had to take. I did pass the other 3 required tests. I got completely lost trying to get to the tiny office building/college in downtown Arlington where the test was held, and then got a written warning from a police officer when I made a U-turn illegally trying to find a place to park. It was a fun morning, let me tell you. I really wished I could have stayed home and sat in the yard, soaking up the heat.

Fortunately, in the afternoon, I went to the Air and Space Museum Udar-Hazt building. Or Udpar-Hazy. Or is it Upuir-Hazhy? It's a big hanger with lots of antique airplanes and an observation tower. I saw the Enola Gay, which dropped the atomic boms in WWII. I saw some of the earliest planes. I saw a big shiny plane from the '50's, which looks like something that Indiana Jones would have flown in. I saw the Space Ship Enterprise (really!), but not Captain Kirk. I also got a nice picture of the Washington-Dulles airport from the observation tower.

On another note:

In the May edition of Smithsonian Magazine (which I obtained with my shiny-new membership card), I learned an interesting fact about Rochester, NY. On May 16, 1939, the USDA started the first food stamps program in an effort to get surplus food from the farmers to the urban poor. The program ended in 1943, but it was the first in the nation.

In Which I Bcome A True Virginian

I got pulled over for the first time in my life on Wednesday. I was coming out of a school parking lot on my way to another school, and hesitated in the middle of the street because I couldn't remember if I was turning left or right. The cop pulled me over, not for my evident lack of safe driving skills, but because I didn't have a Virginia State inspection sticker on my car.

There is a very good reason why I didn't have one. The DMV told me I didn't need one because the one I had from NY was valid.

SURPRISE!

The DMV was wrong. The cop was very nice. Of course, he was about 12 years old and I had my teacher face on. He did not give me a ticket. But right after work, I got a Virginia inspection. Ironically, I had been at the garage the day before to get an oil change. Alas, the NY sticker had to be scraped from my windshield. All vestiges of my Yankee heritage have been swept away, and I am now a True Virginian.

In Which I Eat

I went to Philedelphia last weekend to visit some relatives there. We went out for Philly cheesesteaks and real stromboli. Yum. It was the best sandwiches I have ever eaten! I could have eaten them all weekend. If you are ever in Philly, stop and get some!

In Which it is Spring

It is definitely spring in Washington. The dogwoods are blossoming in big snowy white tufts, and the annual cherry blossom festival started last weekend and runs through the next. Today was the last day of the peak of the blossoms, so I ventured to go see them (along with about 2 million other people). For those who have been to DC, the cherry trees grow around the Tidal Basin, and a few other patches nearby. The trees were a gift from Japan in 1912.

Today was a Japanese street festival, so there were a lot of ladies in kimonos and people eating chicken teriyaki. It was kind of fun, but I missed most of the big performances because it took over two hours to get there. I had to wait in line to get on the metro rail, then the train had to wait because trains were backed up. Then I had to wait to get out of the station because there were so many people. Getting home was even worse; there was a 20 minute line just to get into the station! It was definitely worth it, though.