We did a lot: (part 2)

But wait, there's more...

On Friday we all headed down to Mt. Vernon. The day after Thanksgiving was probably not the best day to visit here, as the line going into the house was very long. But the weather wasn't bad, and the grounds are lovely. Mom and I were able to duck into one of the gardens as the others held our place, and further on Ann and I dashed over to see some of the outbuildings. The trip through the house was pretty quick, but we did get to go up to the third floor, which usually isn't open.



Mr S wanted this shot to prove to his students that he was really there. Notice that daughter's hair is considerably shorter than nephew's.


The view across the Potomac from this side of the house is breathtaking.


On our way back, Brother-in-Law and nephew took off in one car for the new Apple store in Bethesda (nephew being totally enamored of all things Mac). The rest of us stopped at Arlington Cemetery and walked to the Kennedy graves.





Most of the group went on to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, but Mom was pretty tired and not really able to face another uphill climb. So my sister and I waited with her at the reception center, and watched twilight fall and the lights come up on the Lincoln and Washington memorials. Then home to the Thanksgiving leftover feast, which is almost as good as the Thanksgiving feast itself.


On Saturday morning, my dear friend Gayle and her husband came by for coffee. Gayle recently taught at Stitches (How to Use Japanese Knitting Patterns), so it was fun to catch up on that - and to hear about her trip to the Shetland Islands. She came with a wonderful gift:



That's WEBS Valley Yarns 2/14 alpaca silk blend in Eggplant. Enough for a shawl. Now to come up with a worthy pattern (all my problems should be so pleasant to contemplate). But I digress.

We left for the airport at 1:00 (a good 45 minutes sooner than we would have needed, but who knew traffic would be so light?) Uneventful flight back to Madison, home in B'ville by 10:00. Couldn't have asked for a better trip.