A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall And Away We Go! (Photos)

Hello from Washington, DC, Everybody!

Maxi and I got on our way this morning at 7 AM, our young friend Nissi was right on time; just a titch early, in fact, and as cheerful as always, even at that early hour. She got us to Boston's South Station without any difficulty.

This is Maxi at South Station




Because I had an Accessibility Ticket, the porter came to us early & said he would get us 1/2 an hour before the train was announced to put us on. He did, and he did it so fast, I didn't have a chance to get the photo of the train I wanted. So Maxi stuck his head out the door and took this: (Hope you like it, Diane!)



A mere 9 hours later, our train pulled in to Washington and we were instantly surprised by the high humidity. Here is Maxi at Union Station after a very fun ride.




Nancy met us soon after our arrival and we drove w/out difficulty to the hotel. Thank heavens for GPS!

It's been a very long day, so that's all for tonight.

See you all at some point tomorrow w/ another photo update!

OH Merme so glad that you all got there safely !!!

The pics are great, and thanks.

We will be here patiently waiting for more pictures.

have a fun time & the best of luck to Maxi.

Glad to hear you made it safely. Humid heat is quite the shocker when you're not used to it, I know.

Awesome! Glad you got there safe and sound! Quick thinking Maxi getting the picture out of the window!
Don't let the Humidity keep you from having a wonderful time, :wink:

Yay...now I want to see a photo of Merme

That's right Merme,, hand that camera to someone else,

Great photo journal of your trip, Merme. Glad you arrived safe and sound - have a terrific time.

I 3rd that thought !!!!!

Hi everybody!

Today was terribly busy but loads of fun. The weather has been quite significantly hot and humid... so much so that the a/c in the car didn't even really make a difference!

So by 3 PM, Nancy went to lay down in our nicely cooled hotel room for a little nap, and Maxi went swimming. I joined him poolside for a while.


 

Maxi had to wear a shirt because his skin is unused to such brilliant sunlight, even so late in the day.


After Nancy's nap & Maxi's swim, we had to go back to the University of Maryland for the next event... a welcome celebration held outdoors in the central mall area. While we were there, Maxi took these photos of the permanent statue of Jim Henson & Kermit the frog.



Story continues in next post...

Maxi took this Self-Portrait w/ Jim Henson...


 


Here is Nancy standing on the hill with her back to the crowd on campus. You can see the large gathering happening below her in the background.


 


This is Maxi sitting higher up on the hill in a spot of shade, taking a break from trading state buttons! Maxi is in the mustard yellow t-shirt to the left of the tree.


 

More about the state button trading in the next post, along w/ some pictures...

This last photo for today is of Maxi & some of the buttons he collected. Most of the kids traded fairly one for one. The contingent from Guam (a highly prized button!) drove hard bargains.

Maxi did quite well, meeting kids from Guam, Samoa, Hiwaii, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Indiana, Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Idaho, Minnesota, Texas, Tennesee, Washington, DC; Arizona, Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia, South Dakota, California, Alaska, and Maryland.

The Idaho group also gave out potato pins (Maxi got one) and the Pennsylvania group gave out Heinz Pickle Pins! Tomorrow I will take a photo of Maxi in his new National History Day sweatshirt jacket w/ a better view of his pins.

But here is the one I got of him today.






The kids really had fun going around introducing themselves, and trading the pins. One group (I forget from where) didn't have any pins because the person in their state forgot to order any! We gave them Maine pins anyway. Another group made their own & they were quite nice. Kentucky gave us pins from this year & "historic" pins from last year!

This morning we found out that they changed Maxi's judging day from Tuesday to Monday... while I am at dialysis. But Nancy will take him & I'll be praying. Today we came back to the hotel so he could practice being questioned about his paper.

We also found out that tomorrow night they are having a dance at the university for all the kids in NHD & we are going to try to get Maxi there after doing what we've already planned.


Busy but very happy days!

Sounds swell for Max.

He must be a doer.
Good luck

dodge

OH I am loving seeing about your trip !!! I esp. love the pictures. it is just like being there-----well, almost !!!
Sounds like a grand time is being had by all.
I will be praying for Maxi tomorrow.

Smile, Max!

Lovely pictures, keep them coming!

I am so sorry they changed dates on you Merme

I am so happy that you the trip is going well, and am absolutely loving the pics..it's so good to 'see' you again

Tell Maxi we'll be cheering him on from here

Tamara took the words right out of my mouth,,
I'll say a quick prayer For Maxi's success today thanks for the pictures, and I'm so glad your Sister is there with you two :wink:
There sure are a LOT of people there,, WOW,, Don't get lost

What a crowd! I know Maxi will do well. The nut doesn't fall far from the tree.

ANY NEWS ON MAXI TODAY/
DODGE

Hi everybody, from a very wet tourist in Washington, DC!

This first picture is of Maxi ready to get in the car to leave for the judging. He is wearing his new National History Day sweatshirt jacket w/ all the state buttons on it over his shoulders because it was about 900 degrees out there w/ a million percent humidity!




Another... with a big smile!




They took me to dialysis and then went to the University. Nancy took this photo of Maxi waiting his turn to be judged.

This is Maxi coming out of the room after defending his paper before the judges.


 


And here he is coming out of the building (Jiminez Hall) showing his relief that the rigorous part is over!



 


After that, they went back to the hotel & went swimming. Maxi was still too tense to eat lunch, but swimming soon fixed him back up again! After a good time in the pool, the came in, ate, and rested in the cool air of our room until it was time to come get me.




Tonight we had special plans, so, after a quick dinner in our room, we called a taxi and set out for Lafayette Park which is behind the White House, across the street from the rear of the East Wing.

You see, we had purchased tickets to go on a famous "Ghost Walk". Our instructions were to meet our guide who would be dressed in Victorian garb & carrying a lantern... she was to be waiting by Lafayette's Statue.

When we arrived, we saw the group moving away from the statue & going under a big tree, so we joined them there because it was beginning to rain. Hard.

Here is Maxi standing next to the tour guide who was telling historic ghost stories of the surrounding area.

good to see Maxi is still having a good time & good to see that the strenous part is over. now he & you, can relax & enjoy the rest of the trip, right????

when will the judges let everyone know their findings ???

As it turned out, that was NOT our tour guide! That was the guide for a bus load of NHD kids. When the rain got bad, they all hopped back on the bus, taking the guide with them!

We called the tour company & they told us they'd cancelled our tour but would be willing to do it Thursday night because we'd already paid.

So we hung out under the tree until the storm passed & got pretty wet.

Then we went on an Adventure!

We crossed the street to the White House & Maxi spoke w/ a security officer & got directions, and we set out walking. Nancy & Maxi took turns pushing my chair many many blocks. We went all along the White House, the Treasury Department, a large Civil War Monument, a huge lovely building we couldn't identify, and on to the Washington Monument. There were many people out walking in the cooler air after the rain.

Here is Maxi & Nancy with the White House behind them.




What was so interesting to Nancy & I who have visited Washington many times in our youth & have seen it on TV countless times is, the TV cameras do not do that beautiful city justice at all. It is far more impressive and awe inspiring in person than you can imagine from TV. Plus every time you turn your head you see another reminder of our nation's history. It just goes on and on!

We even walked along a special sidewalk with huge medallions set into the pavement called "The Extra Mile" each one dedicated to someone who did something special... the founder of Easter Seals, the founder of Big Brothers, the founder of Good Wlll, etc. It was really neat!

So we got home at 11 PM without our "Ghost Walk", soaking wet but very happy!

Oh and we made it inside the White House gift shop 5 minutes before closing and Maxi immediately found the item he had promised his best buddy Dom he would find for him... a miniature of the pentagon! Dom is going to be so pleased.

And Dodge, we won't know how Maxi did in the competition until Thursday morning! The awards ceremony is from 8:30 to 11:30 and after that each contestant receives a packet w/ their judges sheets inside giving them their final ranking.

Carol - The junior division was judged today. The senior division gets judged on Tuesday. The judges take Wednesday to calculate all their scores and assign rank to every single student who entered. There are many many other prizes besides Gold, Silver & Bronze for each category and they all have to be awarded. It takes time to decide all that, which is why the awards ceremony isn't until Thursday.

Well, then, what better excuse to go and see the great city of Washington, yea !!!!

I have not been to Washington DC since I was 20 I think it was. Such a beautiful place to spend a few days... Enjoy !!!

Sounds like you are all having a wonderful time, I am so happy for all of you

I love the pic with Maxi having his arms in the air..

Wow

Merme your really not far from my state of pennsylvania.
It is nice to see you in such a sweet setting.

Nicer seeing Maxi smile.
He is a good looking fellow, with lots of spirits..Hoping he is successful.

Prayfully yours,
dodge

Fantastic day by day updates you've shown us Merme Funny story about the "tourist Guide"
I'm so glad the you have the rest of the week to enjoy
I Can't wait to get off work to hear what else you've done seen!
I've never been to Washington DC, Glad Maxi is experiencing it and it's history And Maxi very thoughtful of you to think of your Friend Dom, I'm sure he will so excited to get a Mini structure of the pentagon, Very nice of you to find it and get it for him

Didnt your schools take you to washington? Ours did as our graduation gifts.
Been there. Could not understand the huge rooms .. Huge.

When I was in school our school didn't have a trip to Washington but both my girls went in the 5th grade.

900 degrees is pretty hot. Glad you've survived Merme.

She is joking. Washington isnt 900 º
maybe was 90

10:23 pm already an no report from Merme for the today show..LOL

Glad she is getting out. More than what I am doing.LOL

b

My schools didn't do trips to Washington DC either. The only time I've been there is when my son was 5 and we took him for a visit. That was 22 years ago! Both my kids went on school trips there though.

i think they quit them here also.

Too much problems. And cash.

Wonder where Merme and Maxi are today. Hope they didn't melt in the 900º weather.

On our senior trip my class went to Washington DC. we stayed in maryland & were bussed in every day. it was grand

I'm enjoying this thread so much that I'm going to be sad when you leave. I've never been to D.C., my schools never planned trips there. In high school there was a class that went one year but I wasn't in that class and even if I had been my mom wouldn't have been able to afford it anyway. Almost everyone I know has been there. Looks and sounds like you three are having a great time, despite the heat and humidity. I can't wait to hear about the real ghost tour, your ghost tour was a funny story though. I'm sure Maxi did very well defending his paper and I'm glad the hard part is over.

Hi everybody from your Not Quite So Hot Correspondent....the raging heat dropped after the rain, thankfully!

Today we had to take it a bit easy. Humorously, both Nancy and I, unbeknownst to one another, were standing at the Washington Monument last night thinking "it is only MONDAY? Surely it must be Thursday!" We've done more in just a couple days than we usually do in months! We wore these two old ladies right out!

So in our plans now for weeks and weeks was the Sunset Parade at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington Cemetery. The parade is done by the Marines drum & bugle corps (The Commandants Own), and a precision drill team. It is only done on Tuesday night at 7 PM throughout the summer.

So... we left way early, got lost, and it took us 2 hours to get there. We arrived and waited 30 minutes to discover the parade had been cancelled because of the rain!

Here is a photo of Maxi standing in front of the anchor at Maritime Plaza.



Before we left on the trip, Diane provided Maxi and I with a gift, explaining it was to be used in part for a Special Meal together while we were in Washington. So, I decided tonight was the perfect night for a Special Meal and I knew just the place! My research before coming down really paid off!!

We went to a Crab Shack called The Dancing Crab and Maxi had his first, ever, mid-Atlantic crab feast. Here he is, holding up one crab and a wooden mallet because man oh man, we are gonna pick crab there!




I really appreciate that place because I called & spoke w/ them last week & he told me all about the crab dinner we wanted, how much it cost, etc., and which nights of the week you did not need reservations. So when we showed up tonight and said what we wanted, the waitress told us it was not available on Tuesdays! I told her the young guy I spoke w/ said it was. So... she checked with the chef and he said they had enough on hand to serve it for three people only. So we got it! YAY!


Here is Maxi and I after dinner out in front of the restaurant, our tummies stuffed full of crabs.




It is a good thing we had a chance to catch our breath today because tomorrow is another terrifically busy day!

for Diane, how sweet. I never knew that people buy whole rock crab like that, I thought it was used just in processing factories. My mother works during rock crab season for a local fisherman.

So happy for you all,..rain or not..these are memories that'll last forever :ding: Keep those pics coming

Glsd your gettin a life time of memories and fun.

One never knows.

dodge