Dave's mother and sister, Julie, flew from Columbus, Ohio to join us for a few days while James and Tammy flew in from Seattle and Meg flew in from Texas. James was leaving for his flight and we orchestrated the picture in about 60 seconds. We only took one picture, so I'm glad it was a good one of all of us together! [It would have been a complete portrait of our nuclear family if we had Kara, Luke and our grandsons Jacob and Blake.]
THE C&O CANAL
After James, Tammy and Meg arrived on the 4th of July, we spent the first day together hiking along the C&O Canal near Great Falls and Potomac, Maryland.
The National Park website is here and has this description: C&O Canal follows the route of the Potomac River for 184.5 miles from Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, MD. The canal operated from 1828-1924 as a transportation route, primarily hauling coal from western Maryland to the port of Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of original structures, including locks, lockhouses, and aqueducts, serve as reminders of the canal's role as a transportation system during the Canal Era. In addition, the canal's towpath provides a nearly level, continuous trail through the spectacular scenery of the Potomac River Valley.
Everyone but Dave and I continued on the Billy Goat Trail--which is actually quite rigorous and involves climbing up and across hot rocks in the humid, summer heat.
Dave and I enjoyed some other scenic points.
The Canal has been around and operating since 1828. The historic looking boat here is in the lock, so that water runs in on one side, but is locked in because the other side is closed off with a huge wooden gate--
causing the boat to raise several feet and be able to travel upstream
with the help of these mules.
ANNAPOLIS
The next day we were off to Annapolis, capital of Maryland. We went to visit the Naval Acadamany where we met seafarer J. Paul Jones, who looked a lot like Julia.
I had reminded everyone to bring their ID to get past security there. When we arrived, I was the one who had ironically forgotten my ID. The nice man asked my 8 children and their spouses/fiance and my mother-in-law if they knew me and they all vouched for me, so I was able to get in. :)
All 11 of us then took a touring boat around the bay. Tyler and Erika were enjoying their last view of Annapolis before the moved west the next weekend.
THE CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C.
The next day Dave drove us all down in the van to the capitol where we had tickets for a tour.
Afterwards, we had lunch and then spent a few hours at the National Museum of Art--making a full and enjoyable day of history, and a nice get together as a family.
