A little more DC

We tried to get into the Library of Congress on Sunday, but it was closed. The exteriors of the government buildings are very interesting. This water sculpture is just outside the Library.

We did the double decker bus tour, as we always do in the cities we visit. It is a great way to get oriented, and at least get a view of the things you won't have time to visit or examine in detail.

You may notice that Clay had long hair. He has since cut it for football. His mother cajoled him to get it cut. We told him that the security people would want to see his face. Sure enough the airport security person, asked him to show his eyes! He wasn't joking, either.

The way to get around in DC is definately the Metro. We travelled on the Metro, Amtrak, the Long Island RR, and the NY subway system on our trip.

Harper's Ferry was interesting. It was a nice drive out to see it. I had not known that it had been the point where Lewis and Clark received most of their supplies.

We visited Arlington. Clay was quite moved by it. A few weeks later when Edward Kennedy was buried there, he was able to say that he had been there.

More DC

We did the ususal things in DC.

I was able to make contact with my college roommate. He and I had become political rivals later in college. We ran on opposite tickets for student government office. He went on to law school and had a career as a staffer in Packwood's office and then became a tax judge, with the help of another mutual college friend who had become a Senator from North Dakota. We explored a very interesting air museum out near the airport.

We used our exchange hosts' car to get to this site and to Harper's Ferry. For everything else we took the Metro. Getting a week pass is the way to go.

We saw most of the usual monuments, including the moving tributes to the Viet Nam casualties, and the new tributes to the Korean Conflict victims. Part of it does record the deaths of civilians and UN troups, other than Americans.

A lesser known memorial is called the Rooms. It has several open air "rooms" dedicated to the various eras within FDR's presidency. That's me joining in a bred line. We enjoyed the monument.

We did the museums, of course. The science museums are terriffic. All the Smithsonians are free. Did you know Mr. Smithson had never even visited America?

On to DC

We took the train from NY to DC. It takes you directly into the Central Station, which is also where one catches the tram around DC.

We had not had any luck finding an exchange for NY, but we found a very nice simultaneous exchange with a couple with a house in Takoma, which is just outside DC, and is on the Metro line. There house was a ten minute walk from the Metro, and we included cars in our exchange. We used their car to go to the store and one trip to Harpers Ferry and the Aero Space museum.

We were able to see all the usual things in DC. We saw both houses of congress. The house was having one of their lightly attended debates. The Senate was actually having a vote on a gun control issue, so we saw all the Senators. Clay was quite impressed with seeing John McCain.

We missed our tea with Patty Murray, but one of her new staffers gave us a tour.

Summer Trip to New York and DC

Over the summer I made three trips to California to play in water polo tounaments. About four years ago I received notice that my HS swim and polo coach was being inducted into the Water Polo Hall of Fame. That got me thinking about playing again.

I had been back to competetive swimming for about 8 years, but going to swim meets is not all that much fun. One sits around a lot, waiting for one's event. The results do let you know how your fitness program is doing at fighting off the aging process. Polo is a lot more fun.

Next summer I am planning on participating with a California team in the World Masters in Boras, Sweden, near Goteborg. We will probably spend 3 or 4 weeks prior in Oslo, where we have some time coming on an exchange.

For this summer we had planned to take a trip to NY and DC with our two oldest grandsons, both 12. One of them is in Australia with his family for the year, so we had a great experience with Clay.

For NY we stayed in Flushing at a place we found on VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner). $100 per night with two bedrooms and a kitchen. Our host even showed us around the local China town. Flushing has changed from a predominantly Jewish commuinity (I did see a temple) to a predominantly Asian, with concentrations of Korean, Chinese, Viet Namese and other groups. Each has its restaurants, which makes for some great choices.

Our ride into NYC was on the train. The station was less than a two block easy walk. The train went past the 1962 World's Fair Globe and the USA Tennis Open Stadium. The ride was about 25 minutes to Grand Central Station.

In NYC we wandered around. We saw Times Square. We did the Empire State Building. We walked to Central Park. We rode the subway. We went to see The Fantastiks, which was a reasonable price compared to most of what was available. I remember sitting in the third row to see Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl in 1965 for $23. Tickets to The Jersey Boys were about $150, and we would have been a football field away from the stage. For Fantastiks we were in the 2nd of four rows.

We were able to spend some great time with two of Jayne's nieces. One is a daughter of her brother Byron, one a daughter of her sister Kitty. It is incredible to see how these girls have matured into beautiful women who are coping confidently in New York.

Panama Goodbyes

One of the great things about living in Panama for half the year is that one meets many individuals and couples from all over the world. To be honest, most of the people we meet who are not Panamanians, are usually from Canada. They are serious about escaping the darkness and the cold, just as we are serious about getting out of Seattle's darkness. They all have interesting stories and attitudes.

There is a community near ours called Coronado. It is primarily an expat community and seems to attract expats who are relatively conservative in their thinking, some holding a semi libertarian view. I'm big on freedom, myself, so I can relate, but as a couple we are progressive Democats. I am very open in my communication, and often surprise the libertarians with my view that govenment has a role in helping people.

Before we left for Seattle we had last visits with some of our new friends.

Catching Up: Altos Construction....Australia

It has been quite a while since I posted a log entry. We are currently in Australia visiting our daughter and her family. Over the summer I played a lot of water polo and we took our oldest grandson to New York and DC. But more about that later.

We spent our last several weeks in Panama trying to build a house in Altos, a community in the mountains, about 40 minutes from our Gorgona casita. We feel we need it as an escape from the noise of the Panamanian holiday revelers. The advent of advanced electronics enables them to blast their music to very uncomfortable levels, and they do it at all hours.

We thought we had a good Panamanian crew with an American who understood American quality and could translate our wishes. Through building the foundation we were about 50% over budget and way behind schedule. We shut down the project and came home to Seattle.

The small are is our small bath room. We are hoping it will be large enough

Our design is for a simple 50 m house with about an additional 50 m of deck around it. We built on the bottom of our lot to gain an unobstructed view of up and down the valley. The house will have a bedroom with a walk through open air closet, living room, kitchen, bath with shower, and lots of deck space. The front of the house will be mostly glass. We are working on what type of windows to use. We have seen some bi-fold and multi-fold garage doors that could work. I don't know if we can get them in Panama.

We decided to tint our floors. If it doesn't come out well, we can always lay tile.

Above the house on the lot, we plan to build a pool among the boulders.

From our lot we can hear the water fall that fills a lovely swimming holes. We and our grandchildren hae enjoyed it immensely.

March 09 Carribbean