Flashback Friday

On January 5, 2010 in D.C., Peter was about to start his second semester of his junior year in college. 

Flashback Friday

For today's Flashback I thought: I wonder what we were doing 10 years ago this month? Turns out we were in DC visiting Peter. This picture is from a day when we met up with our nieces Rhone and Lauren. Now we're visiting Peter again, only it's not just Peter, it's Peter and Jessa and ROSIE! And I've yet to blog about Philly's sweetest baby but just you wait, that post is coming soon!

Flashback Friday

This picture took my breath away for the contrast of: very little hair to very much hair. It was spring break in 2007, when we visited Washington DC (and many other places on the East Coast) during a college visit trip for the boys. Peter arrived on campus at American University a few months after this picture was taken, and we've had at least one Harrison living in DC continuously every since. That's a long time, and many visits and fond memories. So it'll be bittersweet when Mary and Andy leave DC this summer. But it's been a good run, we've loved getting to spend so much time in DC, and life does after all go on.

The Start of Summer

We're back from Morocco and I have some catching up to do. Let's first talk about Troy's triathlon! On June 1 in Boulder, Troy completed the first of her three triathlons for the summer. She rocked it and we're super happy for her!

While Troy was busting her butt swimming, biking, and running ..... Brad, Mary, Andy, and I were eating, drinking, and having a great time at a food and beverage festival in DC. 

We stopped in DC for the weekend on our way to Morocco. It ended up making our trip over a bit easier as it almost cut it in half. Plus we got a head start on the time change. Oh, and of course we got to visit with these two goofs!

Pardon our posing. We had some fun taking pictures on the steps in front of our hotel. We stayed at a hotel that's in a happening part of town and walkable from Mary and Andy's new apartment: win-win!

 I learned that selfies taken by people with short arms are much easier when stairs are utilized!

Father and daughter, on Sunday morning.

Also on Sunday morning we brunched with our niece Kelsey. It was wonderful to catch up with her and afterwards we all meandered through the Eastern Market together, where Brad and I bought a print of Long Beach that we'll frame for our guest room. (So yes, you are correct that I am saying we have a Long Beach print that was purchased in Washington DC and has already traveled to Morocco and back. Please don't judge.)

Later in the afternoon we got ourselves over to Dulles for our 10:00 p.m. flight, only to find this sign greeting us. Our delay ended up being three hours, which wasn't fun, but what are you gonna do? Fortunately, the delay was not in any way an omen of things to come, as we had a perfectly wonderful trip to Morocco, which will be the subject of posts to come!

My Visit to DC

I had such a nice time in DC last week. My visit started off with a trip to Mary's school, where I got to meet her second graders. She let them ask me questions. They thought it was such a coincidence that we both wore glasses! It was a fun morning and the kids were great. (So is their teacher.)

It doesn't seem like all that long ago that Mary's second grade teacher was teaching her reading.

While Mary finished up her school day I headed into town and got to catch up with our niece Emily for a relaxing lunch.

Oh, and did I mention that Mary and Andy have moved to a new apartment? They had moved in only a few days before I arrived but there were no boxes to be seen and it looked like they'd been there for weeks. The first building on the left is theirs. Their street and neighborhood are quiet and pretty.

Mary didn't have to work on Friday so she and I had a nice day together. The weather turned quite wintery and it was snowing by evening. But that didn't stop us from doing a lot of walking.

On Saturday I got to meet Andy's mom and dad. They live in Baltimore and came down for the day. They're super nice, which doesn't surprise me at all since Andy is also super nice!

Mary and Andy live quite close to the National Zoo. In all the years I've been going to DC, I've often had good intentions to visit the zoo, but never managed to get there. Well, this time I got there! The weather was a bit warmer and it was easy zoo walking weather.

After dinner on Saturday, Mary, Andy, and I played shuffleboard at Atomic Billiards. (You hear that Peter?) We learned that shuffle board is quite fun and that Andy is definitely the most skilled shuffle boarder among the three of us.

Sunday morning found us having breakfast with another niece. It was great to spend some time chatting with Kelsey.

Also on Sunday we ran some errands, including a trip to the neighborhood library to get some books for Mary's classroom. This is Mary in their neighborhood, which is called Mount Pleasant.

The library was lovely. This is the children's department, complete with a tile fireplace.

We finished off the weekend with a delicious Cuban dinner. My visit couldn't have been better. Well, I guess it could have been, that is, if Brad was there. But he and I are returning together to DC in June on our way to Morocco, and we're already looking forward to it!

Flashback Friday

In the fall of 2009 we were just getting settled in Connecticut and on a weekend when Mary's volleyball schedule allowed, we took a trip down to DC to visit Peter and to see his first apartment. (He was a junior in college and shared it with three friends.) Here are the two future DC residents in front of the apartment on Tunlaw Road.

East Coast

Brad and I had a fun time on the East Coast this past week. He was in Baltimore for work, and I came along to hang out in Baltimore, and of course to see Mary. While he was at his trade show, I showed myself around the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore. First, I geeked out over all the ships. I won't bore you with pictures of all of them. This is one of four historic ships in the Inner Harbor.

Then I went to the B&O Railroad Museum and geeked out over trains. I'm not into trains (except to ride them!) but I found the museum really interesting.

But of course the best part was seeing Mary. She joined us in Baltimore after she got out of work on Friday.

Then we joined her in DC on Saturday.

Brad got to meet Mary's boyfriend, Andy.

On Sunday morning we all went to Union Market for brunch.

No trip to our nation's capitol is complete without a ride in a Car2Go.

After Brad went home I took the train to Connecticut and spent a couple of days visiting friends. This is my stitching group: Flora, Molly, and Bonnie.

Molly's bower was in bloom and she gave us a tour.

She had these regular Cosmos and double Cosmos, which I'd never seen before.

I went to the library and saw the mural that was painted by my friend Cherie and her husband Mark. I stayed with them; they were wonderful hosts and made me feel so welcome.

I was happy that I got to see so many friends. It was a busy but a very happy two days. This is Janet, who was in my bookclub.

I flew home from Boston and it was a beautiful night to fly. Now I'm happily at home and getting ready to head out again on Sunday to visit the Kidds in Colorado.

Coastal Visits

I'm not the only one who made a trip to an east coast recently. The weekend before last, Jessa traveled to Mexico for a wedding. Her mom was there too (above), and I'm guessing that after so many months of not having seen each other, their visit was far too short.

Jessa was in the wedding. She looked beautiful, as did the setting. For all the time she had to spend at JFK (a long layover and then a long delay thanks to a snowstorm) the warm beaches must have been especially inviting.

While Jessa was in Mexico, Peter traveled up to Tangier (a city on the northern coast of Morocco) for a basketball tournament at the American School of Tangier. (That's Coach Harrison in the center of the back row.) Notwithstanding the fact that the boys' team took third place, an inside source told me they had a terrific season.

Peter, if you're wondering where I got these pictures, I've finally discovered the webpage for your school's newsletter. (You knew it was only a matter of time.) And to everyone else, if you're thinking that Peter and Jessa must be happy to have some time to rest and relax at home, think again. Their weeklong February break begins Saturday, and they're headed to Rome.

Back to the good ol' U.S. of A. And who better to segue us than Alexander Hamilton and the other faces of our currency? (I'm already so past Andrew Jackson, and I'm glad that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is too.)

Over the weekend I visited Mary. The weather was ridiculously fantastic, as it was in many of the normally cold parts of the country.

We mostly hung out in and around her neighborhood, but did a bit of venturing further into the District, such as our Sunday afternoon on the Mall. If only it was a few weeks later and we had cherry blossoms too. But I'll take this weather (and this companion) any day, cherry blossoms or not.

On Monday, Mary and I ventured over to Columbia Heights and had lunch with her cousin/my niece Emily.

Also on Monday, we went Atlas Brewing for some President's Day beer in the sunshine.

Last but certainly not least, it was great to get to meet and get to know Andy, Mary's boyfriend.  They live in the same neighborhood, so I had not one but two knowledgeable guides to the fine food and drink to be had on H Street!

Mad for Our Grad

Peter's graduation weekend started without . . . . . Peter! On Thursday night, Lauren arranged for a backstage White House tour. Don, Kathy, Lauren, Emily, and Mary got to go and they said it was fantastic. Peter had his final class that night, and the rest of us hadn't arrived yet. But from those who got to go, we at least got to hear their stories.

Here's the grad guy! Friday night was the first of many meals we ate with a group of 9 or 10 people. Crazy, but fun! This is Jessa and Kathy with you-know-who.

On Saturday morning we visited a local brew pub called Blue Jacket. They have an interesting brewing operation so we opted for a tour. It didn't disappoint.

Afterwards we walked along the river walk on the Anacostia River. After a big meal and a beer (or two) we needed a good walk!

On Saturday night we met Don, Kathy, and Lauren for mussels and Belgian beer at St. Arnold's, one of Peter's favorite haunts.

Sunday was Peter's graduation day. He got his Master's Degree in Special Education and we couldn't be more proud. But instead of a cap and gown and a ceremony, we got . . . . . this. (Which, I must say, we all much preferred.) As you can see, it'll take more than a Master's Degree for this guy to take himself too seriously!

Since Sunday was Mother's Day, we were really excited that Jessa's mom and her two brothers came down from Pennsylvania for dinner. We had a wonderful time getting to know them.

While Mary and Jessa were back at work on Monday, the rest of us spent the day at Mount Vernon, which is about 20 miles outside of DC. (Thanks to Jessa for letting us drive there in her car.) When we got back into DC, Mary invited us to spend the last hour of the school day in her classroom. (No pictures though.) We had a great time, however after even such a short time in the classroom, the non-teachers in the group came away exhausted! From there it was to the airport and home after a happy weekend of family togetherness!