Trip of a Lifetime Part 1

Trip of a Lifetime
First off, I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!  I know I did.  Over the Memorial Day weekend I had a trip of a lifetime.  I spent 4 solid days with my Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa in DC where we were always sightseeing.

Some of the sights we visited were sights I visited before and wrote about them on this blog.  I will either not refer or refer briefly to such a sight for the purpose of reducing the amount I have to write and the amount my readers have to read.

Thursday, May 23rd
The travelers arrived in DC by car in the afternoon after driving all the way from Geneseo, IL over 2 days.  First I opened the rest of my birthday gifts.  I want to thank everyone who gave me a gift!  It means a lot to me that people care enough about me to listen to me and spend their valuable time and money on me.  Afterwards we finished our light day by eating at Al's Steakhouse and Dairy Godmother's in Del Ray in Alexandria.

Friday, May 24th
Today was the day we explored the National Mall by foot.  We woke up bright and early at 6 :00 AM.  We were at the National Mall by 8:00 AM.  It was cold (about 60°F) and windy.  It was similar to the weather when Mary and Gail visited me.  We hit the Washington Monument, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Albert Einstein Statue, and Constitution Garden.  The Einstein statue was new.  There was a group of school children taking pictures of the statue.  They were taking a long time.  So we left without taking many picture of the statue and none with us in the pictures.  Also at the Lincoln Memorial, I was put in charge of my Grandma's camera.  This way she would get the best pictures, enjoy all the sites, and the group would be able to move quicker.  Over the entire time of the trip, I took over about 350 pictures.  She will have a fun time sorting through them.  There are some funny pictures and many pictures to look through.  Hopefully the person behind her in line to use the photo machine at Wal-Mart will not be too upset with her when she takes so much time at the photo machine. :-)

Then we went to the American History Museum, Art Sculpture Garden, Air and Space Museum, US Botanic Gardens, and Grant Statue in front of the reflecting pool by the Capital.  At the American History Museum, we saw Old Glory (flag at Fort McHenry, which the US National Anthem inspired), Julia Child's kitchen, and First Lady's Inaugural Ball Gowns.  At the Air and Space Museum, one of the highlights for me was seeing the drones including the predator drones the US military uses.  Also we took a guided tour, which we were not able to finish because the guide went so far in depth and it was tough to just stand for so long after we had walked such great distances.  The US Botanic Garden was nice and had a bunch of exotic and native plants.

Next we went to the Old Post Office Pavilion where on the 12th floor we were able to get a wonderful view of DC.

Saturday, May 25th
Today was our Trolley Day.  We purchased all day passes for Old Town Trolleys to take us where we wanted to go.  However we were still ended up walking 6.86 miles.  Our first locations were on the Green Line: National Zoo, National Cathedral, Georgetown, and Embassy Row.

Before we got to our first stop, the National Zoo, we passed by the hotel where the attempted assassination of Reagan took place.  Once we got to the Zoo we saw the most famous animal in the Zoo, the panda.  We were lucky to arrive when we arrived.  A zookeeper threw a stick a bamboo right in front us and the panda raced towards it to chow down.  It sat there patiently right in front of us as we took great pictures.  Some of the pictures can be seen below.  Then we saw some elephants, seals, eagles, otters, farm animals, and orangutans.  The Zoo is much better than I thought it would be after spending enough time to see all of the areas of the Zoo.  I was able to get 4 rolls of toilet paper people were handing out.

Next we went to the National Cathedral.  I learned it has a school where you can send your kid for only $60k per year.  This is a massive cathedral in the 13th century Gothic style.  It is built on the highest ground in the DC area.  Some of the highlights of the building are the Rose window (over 10,000 individual pieces of glass, changes color throughout the day as the sun moves through the sky), space window (stained glass window with space scene and actual moon rock), Woodrow Wilson burial site in the church, pulpit where MLK gave his last sermon, and Darth Vader sculpted into the building.  I have to say it was an interesting and eerie place.  Some pictures can be seen below.

We rode the trolley back to our starting location to get to the Orange line Trolley through Embassy Row and Georgetown.  In Georgetown you can buy a house for $9 million.  There is also a 9 foot wide house in Georgetown.  Embassy Row is cool.  The bus driver went about 5 minutes straight without a break telling us which country an Embassy building belongs.

Once we arrived back to the starting point, we got on the Orange line to give ourselves a break.  The orange line travels around the National Mall.  So we were able to see some new buildings and building we saw the day before.  After the loop and stop at Crumbs Bake Shop for a cupcake (not as good as Red Velvet, Georgetown Cupcakes, or Alexandria Cupcakes) we went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.  It had wax figures of all of the presidents and figures of entertainers and sports figures.  Most of the figures looked really life like.  This was true from a distance and up close.  I got a picture with Ovy (Alex Ovechkin), the Caps star player.  The last stop for us was the Hard Rock Cafe in DC.  Then we went back to the hotel.

Panda

Panda

Elephant

National Cathedral

Rose Window

National Cathedral

Alter at National Cathedral

Crumbs Cupcake

 

Me and Ovy

Bethany Softball and People Visiting

Bethany Softball
On Friday, May 17th we had a double header against Plymouth Haven Baptist.  We lost both games 10-6 and 7-3.  Again in each game we had 1 bad inning where we made some errors and the other team strung some hits together.  Also two older men on our team tweaked a muscle in their leg.  So we were playing with the minimum number of guys on the field and batting.  I do have to say a fair number of girls on our team can play ball.  I think we could have an entire infield (except for the pitcher) of girls and have the same or better defense we have now.

This time I played the outfield.  Another person came this week for the first time and pitched.  He did a good job.  We played a 3-1 outfield configuration, that is 1 short fielder standing in the grass directly behind second base and 3 outfielders playing at a more normal depth behind them.  I helped direct people where to stand in the outfield.  They needed direction because they would play too deep, shade the person to pull to much, or not remember the place the person hit the ball last time.

Also I was finally able to get my bat going.  I was able to hit solid line drives to left center and right center.  I probably went 5 for 6 last night with multiple extra base hits.  I came close to an inside the park home run.  The 3rd base coach sent me home figuring the other team would have a bad throw or the catcher would not be able to catch the ball, which happens often in this league.  However the most important part was everybody on the team having fun, hustling, and playing the best they can play with other members of Bethany Lutheran Church.  I am really happy to see that happening.


People Visiting
Next week my Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa are coming to visit me over Memorial Day weekend.  There are a lot of exciting activities planned!  There will be more information and pictures later.  I have been cleaning my place and preparing for their arrival.

Meal of the Week

Meal of the Week
This week I made Beer Brats with sauerkraut and maple flavored Bush's Baked Beans.  After boiling the brats in the beer, I grilled the brats to get a grill flavor and make the brats crispier.  The maple flavored baked beans did not taste very good.  I recommend sticking to the regular style.

Beer Brats, Sauerkraut, and Baked Beans

Beer Brats

ISUPK, Bethany Softball, and Andy Stanley's Sermons

Israelite School of Practical Knowledge
One day this week while I was in Washington DC, I found an interesting group.  On the corner of 7th and H Street at the entrance of the Chinatown metro stop stood the group.  It was a group of 15 black men standing together preaching their truth.  They all stood together in a circle with signs showing some of their beliefs.  Here are some sign content and topics I remember:  Jesus is black, abortion, Islam, and a picture of a lighter complexion Jesus had the number "666" and the words "The Beast" written on the picture.  Another sign showed the 12 tribes of Israel and the their truth about the 12 tribes of Israel   For example "Judah = Negroes", "Manashah = Cubans, and "Gad = North American Indians".  There were 3 men speaking into a microphone preaching their truth and using the Bible as partial support for their positions.  The topics ranged from black women, Barack Obama, abortion, and how people have been led astray by other religious organizations.  This particular group is the Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK).  Links to information about the group can be found here and here.

Bethany Softball
This week Bethany had a doubleheader against Down Town Baptist.  We won one and lost the other game.  The scores were 8-3 and 10-12.  In the game we lost we had one bad inning where we gave up 8 runs.  In the inning our team had multiple errors and other team had a few hit along with a walk or two.  I pitched the entirety of both games.  It was tiring.  It was not easy to throw strikes.  We did our best and had fun doing it.

Andy Stanley's Sermons
My Dad shared with me two sermon series he listened to on cassette tapes in his car years ago.  One of them deals with handling stress and other deals with God's will for your life.  Both sermon series are good.  They rely on God's word for support.  If you are having any issues with stress or direction in your life or you want to know more about the subjects, I recommend getting the sermons series at the below links.  They are only $1.00 per sermon.

Dealing with Stress: http://store.northpoint.org/catalogsearch/result/?q=dealing+with+stress&x=4&y=13
Discovering God's Will: http://store.northpoint.org/catalogsearch/result/?q=discovering+god%27s+will&x=3&y=18

Softball, Furniture Shopping, and Meal of the Week

Softball
This week we had our first scrimmage of the year against New Hope North.  We played 2 innings.  In each inning, the teams would bat through their entire order.  We did this so people could get to bat and be ready for next week.  Next week we start playing actual games.  Our team had a lot of fun out there, which is the important thing.  I pitched the whole time.  It was not easy throwing strikes and being so close to the batters.  At the plate I had 2 solid line drive hits.  One was a 1B over the 2nd baseman's head and the other was a 3B to the fence in left center.  After the game we went to Lucky's Sport's Theater and Grill, which is near the ballpark.

Before the game I received the official team shirt and hat.  They can be seen below.  I really like the colors because they are the colors of the Green Bay Packers.  The number they gave was the same number I had when I played high school football, i.e. 56.

Team Jersey and Hat

Backside of Team Jersey

Team Hat

Furniture Shopping
Jon and I went out Saturday, 4 May 2013 to look for a dresser for his room in the basement.  We went to Target, JMD Furniture, Thrift Store Center, and Goodwill.  None of the store had what Jon needed in the price range he wanted.

I did learn Jon needs to watch more American Pickers.  We were at one of the thrift stores and he was considering buying a dresser.  We were getting information about the dresser from a worker.  After she gave us the price, which she said was marked down already, Jon asked her, "Is the price negotiable?"  "No," the lady quickly responded.  He needed to use the lines the American Pickers use to get a better price.  We ended up going to Whole Foods, so Jon could buy food for his dinner.

Meal of the Week
I made the spicy oven baked chicken recipe from my Aunt Mary and Gail.  I wanted to clear space in the freezer and my cabinet.  This time I had a side dish of cheesy potatoes.  I do have the ingredients for next week's dish.

Getting Ready to Bread Marinated Chicken

Chicken, Cheesy Potatoes, and Milk

Rebuilding Together and Voters Meeting

Rebuilding Together
On Saturday, April 27th, I participated with Bethany Lutheran church in Rebuilding Together.  Rebuilding Together is a national nonprofit that rehabilitates homes for low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly and those with disabilities free of charge. There were about 20 Bethany members participating. Various jobs included painting a shed, painting windows, fixing a fence, and clear out a tree. During a storm last week, a large tree fell down and landed on a metal chain link fence. The tree's largest diameter was about 2 and 1/2 feet. The tree was enormous. Throughout the entire 8 hour day at least 2 people, usually more, were working on removing the tree. Fortunately for us, both of the neighbors wanted the wood. So we only had to cut it up and transport it a short distance. One of the neighbors started a fire in his fire pit where we burned a large portion of the brush.

The tree landed on a metal chain link fence and mangled it. One fence post was severely bent and a second fence post was driven about 3 and 1/2 feet in the ground because the tree landed squarely on top of the second fence post. The metal chain link part of the fence was mangled by the tree and us when we wheel barrowed wood to one of the neighbors. Some of the top metal bars were bent. After removing the old fence posts, we cemented in new fence posts, inserted new top fence bars, straightened out the metal chain link portion of the fence, and tied the metal chain link to the fence posts and top bar.

Zach cutting wood in Front of the Fallen Tree

People Getting Ready to Work on the Fallen Tree

Digging up the Fence Post Driven Into the Ground

Fence Post Driven Into the Ground

Voters Meeting

Later in the day on 27 April 2013, there was a Voters Meeting to talk about African Immigrant Ministry (AIM) and Bethany Lutheran Church.  The meeting was potluck style and I brought some brownies.  The focus of the meeting was to inform the voters of AIM and what some possible options are for the future.  There was also ample time for people to ask questions and voice there opinions.  I was one of those people. Now the comittee is going to try to answer some of the questions and then the voters will decide what to do.

Bethany Softball, DuPont Circle, Blood Drive, Potato Truck, and Meal of the Week

Bethany Softball
This week we were able to practice.  I have not played in since last spring during Iowa Intramural.  We did some fielding and batting practice.  I did some of the pitching for batting practice.  It was fun to get out there and play.  After our practice, another team practiced.  They looked much more athletic and focused on winning than our team.  Our team is there to have fun.

DuPont Circle
Jon and I met up with a few of his friends from back home at DuPont Circle Saturday, 20 April 2013, afternoon.  We hung out at a few bars in the area.  One of the bars was called Board Room DC.  It's theme was board games.  They had a cabinet full of board games you could rent board games such as mouse trap, hungry hippos, and Apples to Apples.  We picked Battleship.  In the two games I played, I won using an unconventional placement of my ships and systematic approach to picking bombing locations.

Board Room DC

Blood Drive
I donated blood for the first time on Thursday, 25Apr13.  When I set up my appointment, the lady gave me recommendations on what to do to have a successful donation.  She recommended to be hydrated, not to consume caffeine, and eat 1 hour before giving blood.  I followed the directions and I had a successful donation even though I needed to talk to the Phlebotomist about the Redskins while giving the blood.

Blood Donating Center at USPTO

Potato Truck
The Idaho potato truck came to the USPTO for the Wellness Fair.

Me and the Spud Truck

Meal of the Week
This week I made Tuna Helper.  I made it because I had a coupon for it and I have never eaten it before.  Somebody in my townhouse thought we moved to a trailer park.  Next I made Italian Dressing Marinated Chicken Breast.  Jon and I thought they were delicious.

Tuna Helper

Grilling Chicken