A Classic Crooner, Boy Bands, Pop Stars, Broadway, and a Living Legend!

Summer is unofficially over (the equinox is not here YET)... I am not sure how it is September already.  I was so caught off guard that I missed my first post-Impressionism lecture at the Smithsonian - I knew it started in September, and I knew Labor Day just passed, but I just failed to connect the calendar dots.  Time flies too quickly.  It is scary. 


I would say where did the time go, but I have the answers - at work, weekend getaways, and in the many moments I had this season enjoying live music.  It has been an amazing summer for music.


 I found myself at quite a few Broadway shows (I love me some Broadway belting).  Looking back, this might be one of my best Broadway viewing seasons in a long while.  This summer, I saw shows solo, with friends, and with family.  There was my 4th of July bender where I saw Finding Neverland, She Loves Me, and Beautiful; and then near the end of August I saw American in Paris and Waitress.  Before the summer season even started, I grooved to Disaster the Musical and tapped along with Dames at Sea.  In DC, I finally saw the classic orchestrations of Bridges of Madison County.  (And there were more this past winter with Bright Star, Allegiance)  In those shows, I saw some Broadway legends and legends to be... I could not contain my excitement to see Gavin Creel along with Zachary Levi, Laura Benanti and Jane Krakowski (She Loves Me) and was giddy before Waitress with Jessie Mueller and Disaster packed with stars including Faith Prince and Adam Pascal. I saw Star Trek legend George Takei and legendary Lei Salonga in the gut wrenching WWII flashback (Allegiance).   I left shows in awe of Keale Sette (Waitress), Lesli Margherita  (Dames at Sea), Carmen Cusek (Bright Star) and Jennifer Simard (Disaster); these are names I will seek out in the future, easily.  All told, I saw 11 shows... and the year is not over.  Many new cast albums have been added to my collection - keeping me dancing in my seat while at work looking over paperwork!

The Lawn at Wolf Trap!

Broadway did not end there... Wolf Trap, National Park for the Performing Arts  had an incredible season.... and one of the shows I attended was with stage and screen siren Kristen Chenoweth (you know her - Wicked, Charlie Brown, West Wing, Glee, Pushing Daisies...)  So, braving the rain (not for the first time), a friend and I picnicked on the lawn to hear jokes and stories along with Popular, Fathers and Daughters and covers from many Broadways shows .... she even stumped us with a little known number from Flora and the Red Menace (leaving many of us to random google searches). 

Wolf Trap delivered more rain and more fantastic moments when I got to see Tony "freaking" Bennett!  My boyfriend and I sat through an epic thunderstorm, with lightening flashing too close for comfort, under a tablecloth, to see this crooner.  I refused to leave... he is Tony Bennett, and he turned 90 years old.  How many more opportunities would be have to see this living legend?  Don't know, but I do know that neither of us had seen him yet, so we weren't going to let wet asses keep us away from this show.  Acknowledging the storm, he cracked a few jokes as the classics he sang referred to weather, rain and sun. We were not exactly in a smoky room at small round tables with candles (how else you think of the old jazz singers with their bands preformed)... but man was it worth it to hear how he can still swing that voice. 

Tony was not the only legend we saw this summer... I got to see a Beatle!  A Beatle!  We went to see Paul McCartney.  And the boyfriend still gets giddy about this show, calling it the best we have ever seen.  He played for over 2 hours, pounding the keys and working the strings - singing songs from Pre-Beatles to his most recent song with Rihanna and Kanye.  It was an honest and true rock concert with lights, lasers and speaker issues... he joked that we all wanted the Beatles stuff and he could prove it with all the cell phones that came out at those moments; he admitted that he likes singing more than that... and that he likes to push.  And the crowd ate it up.  He could have played all night.  Sometimes, he didn't even need to sing because the crowd did it for him... like the entire place singing Hey Jude "lalalalala." It was an amazing, transcendent experience.

Happy 100th National Park Service

The National Park Service has turned 100 years old.  America's best idea has had a centennial.  They have inspired countless millions, as well as the entire world, showing why its important to preserve open space, and history and heritage for generations to come.  Today, the park service is over 413 pieces large; there are 59 parks (the biggest units), and hundreds of monuments, historic sites, memorials, lake/seashores, battlefields, wild/scenic rivers, trailways, etc.




As I explore the country, one of my priorities on my stops have always been seeking out and exploring our national heritage.  Some of my trips are planned specifically around some of the biggest parks, and other times, it is just a stop along the journey.  But no matter what, I know that I will walk away more aware for having visited.  It is always worth it. 




My love of natural parks began before I even knew what they were.  I remember my Nana and Pop-pop taking my sister and I to Sandy Hook to go crabbing.  We would swim out with the nets to help them bring the catch in, and then throw all the fish back before  they died while they gathered a few crabs.  I did not know we were in Gateway National Recreation Area... I just thought of it as the place we went swimming with our grandparents.  Likewise, growing up in Northern New Jersey, I lived just off the Delaware River... we used to swim in a tributary, and close by was a place with lots of amazing waterfalls and where the river cut through the mountains (Delaware Water Gap) ... we loved going there to enjoy the views.  And of course, to our east was the Statue of Liberty where we climbed into the crown before it was eventually closed many times... I was spoiled living so close to the city and pure nature. 




And that spoilage stays with me... I still want it all.  I find beauty in the city and in the country.  And when I travel, I like to find both.  National Parks are one way I do that.  They are everywhere - did you know there is at least one in everystate (as well as most territories).




I didn't start tracking my park visits via passport until recently.  Instead, I have my work cabinets

This is only one!

covered in magnets from parks I have been through since I started my "adult" life.  And my cameras have been very busy documents the beauty and splendor of the everything I have seen.  On this blog, I try keep my recent park visits listed... But I can't say I write about every one. 

Of course my "pie in the sky" goal is to visit all the units.  I just don't have the means to quit my job and do a cross country expedition like a few are documenting on Instagram, Twitter, and in the news.  Instead, I am doing what I can in pieces... and making progress.  According to my Passport app, I have been to 144 units thus far.  Not bad....if I do say so myself.

This year, I promised myself to make a dent in the list of "new".  And I started out strong - in January getting to the Outer Banks in NC to see the Wright Brothers and Fort Raleigh; there my boyfriend stayed in the visitor's center as I took to the trail in a pounding rain storm to see the art deco memorial, and once I returned soaked, we drove to the flight bronze sculpture.  I warmed my bones in February by returning to Southern Arizona to visit Saguaro National Park for sunset (I finally got to visit when I wasn't cooking my head); hiked to the southern border in Coronado National Memorial, and drove to the nearby historical mission Tumacacori.  Then I a cliff dwelling in Montezuma Castle and learned about endemic species at the Well.  Throughout the spring, I did a lot of local roadtrips to visit area parks - including Hopewell Furnace (once a thriving iron casting town) and Valley Forge in central Pennsylvania, Steamtown in Scranton PA marking the immense historical impact Steam engines had on shaping our country, discovered the Monocacy Battlefield and River in Maryland, tried to catch Kenilworth Gardens at peak bloom (missed it) and took some time for myself (and showing others around) the national mall! 

No DC summer is complete without Wolf Trap - the only National Park for the Performing Arts.  This is my favorite place in the summer.  As the Park Service asks us to #FindYourPark , I have taken that seriously.  I love going to our area gem Great Falls and hiking the river trail.  I love going on roadtrips and finding a new place to discover (its ridiculous that I still have not been to Prince William Forest Park yet).  And I love planning other excursions across the country to some huge gems.  But, if I was looking for THE PLACE to call my park, it just might be Wolf Trap!  It combines my love of the outdoors with my passion for the arts.  Where else could I see the National Symphony Orchestra one week, listen to the legend Tony Bennett another, soak in Kristen Chenoweth and her Broadway style belting, dance until my feet were tired with Ricky Martin and reminisce with Bryan Adams?  (and that is just who I saw this year) And the best part, Great Fall is right next door. So, if forced to pick, this might be it... but ask me again in a bit after I visit another park.

I have my wish list lined up. I have a few trips booked - a September long weekend at Mammoth Caves (and other areas sites) in Kentucky, a quick trip to Denver where I hope to make some time for a visit to Rocky Mountain (its been years since I was there), and Arkansas's Hot Springs in November.  My "very soon" list includes Lassen NP in California, Dry Tortugas NP in Florida (I still don't know how I keep missing that one), Patterson Falls - the new one in my home state of New Jersey, and of course, the parks in my last state, Hawaii (I will make it to Volcanoes very soon, I swear).  I have a few others, but my wallet is worried already...

Our National Parks are unique treasures.  And they are ours!  Get out there and explore.  Trust me, there is something for everyone.  You just need to find it!  If you need any recommendations, just ask!

The Stinky Flower -Titan Arum

I don't know how many people out there have been frustrated by the Titan Arum... this flower is one finicky rarity.  And for the many years I have lived in this area, the specimens that the National Botanic Garden raise seem to bloom when I am out of town.   In 2013, when the last opportunity arose, it again opened while I was on travel; and while, I was able to make it home before it collapsed, I missed the flower in all its glory. 

They don't call this the Corpse Flower for nothing

... who wants to smell a flower that smells like a garbage bin in the summer, or like road-kill that has been cooking  on the road for days... well, apparently plenty of people because we stood in line at the Botanic Garden.  And that has never happened for anything else there.  For a moment there, I thought I was going to miss this one too.  We were on DC bloom watch for a week and I had a trip coming up in days... ACK!  I dragged by boyfriend to see the flower and got to see spadix (the spike) still wrapped in the spathe (one huge petal).  And two days later, it finally opened.  A friend and I went, during lunch, to see it/smell it!  Finally!  I guess it is a check off the flower bucket list (I am just not sure I have one of those, yet).

The Titan is the "rock star" of the plant world - (1) it rarely makes an appearance, (2) it is HUGE, (3) it is iconic  (4) it builds suspense and (5) it is picky.  When I say rare, I mean it - it takes a lot of energy to grow over 7 feet tall.  It is the largest unsupported flower in the world.  Because of that, titan can take anywhere between a few years and a few decades to bloom.  I have seen the average listed between 7 - 10 years, BUT that is only an average.  The one in New York took 70 years to open before it bloomed in July 2016.   The titan arum emerges from, and stores energy in its corm, a huge underground stem. It's pickiness makes botanical gardens a good place to support it; it requires very special conditions, including warm day and night temperatures and high humidity.  And due to its unique nature, this is a threatened flower. 

The botanic garden lines were sizable.  People we posing for selfies in front of it.  There was a web cam (which I used to constantly check the status).  Did you know you only have 1-2 days to see this thing once it opens?  And some were wondering why it wasn't more stinky ... yep, people wanted more stench.  What they did not know was that the back of the flower was cut open so botanists could get to the male and female plant parts, collect pollen and blow some pollen from another corpse flower onto the female parts.  This giant flower is NOT self pollinating.  It relies on flies and beetles... or humans with straws.  It takes a lot of work to see this natural wonder.  So check you local city gardens... go see the stinky flower when you have the chance!

Shows, Shows - So Many Shows

Fourth of July Weekend - I had a date with New York City and the theatre.  It was such a strong season and I have fallen behind.  There have been so many shows I was interested in that I just missed; and, a new crop of shows announced their closing dates.  So, I headed into the City to play catch-up with theatre and 4 shows (3 of which had announced closing dates this summer).

First up, Finding Neverland.  Originally, I was supposed to see this with a friend in January - we had tickets for the weekend that HUGE snow storm hit the east coast.  I was supposed to see Original Cast members, but the mayor closed the theatres that Saturday; our tickets were cancelled (a first for me), and I have not been able to make another attempt until now.  Almost 6 months later, we rescheduled our theatre meet-up to see this show (based of the movie based on the book), a story of the creation of Peter Pan.  And it was just stunningly beautiful.  We laughed, we cried, we ahhed and wowed.  The music ripped your heart out and the visuals created the dream like sequences as imagination took over. The sequence during  "Circus of Your Mind" left my jaw on the floor, from the power of the sound wall, to the creation of the carousal with the dances and props.  Just a visually stunning, emotionally draining, heartfelt show about the power of love and life.   So glad we finally got to see this it. 

Luckily, we had something much more lighthearted lined up for the evening... She Loves Me.  This show has been on my radar since it was in casting... hello, with the likes of Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi, Jane Krakowski and Gavin Creel, I was sold hook, line and sinker.  This classic show revival is a well known story of man and women make a bad first impression and despise each other in person while they correspond anonymously and are deeply in love - think She's Got Mail.  The sets were sugary sweet - colored like mounds of cotton candy, and situated like the largest doll house ever made.  I was in love.  And the songs... 2 weeks later I am still singing some of these ditties. I could listen all day to Gavin Creel sing, and Zachary Levi - he puts forth so much charisma, you completely "get" what his guy is feeling.  And when I went shopping, I had to buy some "Vanilla Ice Cream" in honor of Laura Benanti's souring soprano ode to love.  And ladies, if you need a song to remind you stop putting up with the "game", look no further than "I Resolve"!  I do wish we had better seats for this show, Studio 54 was not kind to the acoustics, but the cast album has filled in the holes we missed when sounds died on stage.  If we still hade records, I would have worn out my copy by now.

I switched things up a bit when I decided to commit to "Fully Committed."  I don't go to many plays.  It's not that I don't enjoy them; its just with my limited time, I prefer soaring music and amazing dancing.  But, I missed Jesse Tyler Ferguson when he was in Putnam County Spelling Bee... this was a new chance AND I had read amazing things about this show and his ability to manage so many characters at once.  What happens when you are manning a reservation desk in an NYC Hot restaurant and everything that can go wrong does... funny stuff!!!  I will admit, it took me a bit to get used to the presentation, where he answers the phone and becomes both sides of the conversation, but sometime during the play, that transition fell away and all I was left with was pure awe for this man's talent and comedic timing.  I swear, he was balancing 4 characters during one call, and in total I think he played over 40 different personalities.  It was pure awesomeness. 

The one show that I saw that weekend that was not closing was the Carole King story - Beautiful.  But, Sunday night?  I was so happy to have a few choices on Sunday evening (most shows have a matinee only on Sunday).  So, finally, I would get to see the story of this protolithic song writer.  I missed the show  when it first debuted on Broadway, and I missed it as the tour wound its way through DC last year... and honestly, I am still not sure that was the best decision.  There was a lot off in the first act; I swear we had stand-ins for understudies (or some variation of that) for much of the studio singers.  When Carole goes to the song writing factory, we are treated to a medley of classic 50's grooves, but so much was off key.  Without the leads (that were the current crop of leads in the show), I don't think I could have stuck it out.  It was unfortunate; I was relieved when the show clicked once Carole and Cynthia Weil's friendship was forged.  The show took off to tell the story and not just sing hits. 

Coming home from a Broadway binge is always tough.  But I eased the transition by planning to see a few stage shows.  First up, the dance tour Our Way!  I love the fact that the silly (but oh so enjoyable) Dancing With The Stars has made household names out of so many of its incredible dancers.  And I love that some of them have amassed such a following that they can tour on their names and abilities.  Its a freaking national dance tour.  The former dancer in me is eating this up.  I had to go... and I am so happy I did!  Its a mixture of ballroom and funk.  Like when we go to a restaurant and call 2 styles mixed up - fusion, this was a fusion dance tour.  A little traditional (we got a whole waltz sequences), a little Latin (there was an amazing samba number, a little throwback (Tootsie Roll!), and a whole lotta funk.  I love seeing jazz get its moment!  Those men can move, and they ham it up showing just how much they love to dance.  The troupe was amazing.  And it was a gorgeous night of dance.  Watching dancing like this always make me reminisce about that feeling on stage... seeing a show like this (which is like a professional recital) take off, makes my heart soar! 

And as I get ready for my trip to Canada, I am taking an evening to go the Kennedy Center and see the tour of Bridges of Madison County.  Kennedy Center put the tickets on discount... and I did not get to see this shows 4 week run in NYC.  I heard it was better than expected, it won a Tony for Best Score (as well as one for Kelly OHara).  I purchased the cast recording to see for myself... I am not expecting confetti and steamers to blast from that stage like Our Way, or for candy colored staging like She Loves Me, but I am hoping to be moved... fingers crossed.

On Off-Topic Aside

My intention was to use this blog as a type of travel diary.  As I continue to profess - I love to travel and seek out adventure.  It is a great passion  and I have a few places still to go on The 50 State bucket list and plenty of new places to see on the new lists I am making.  I have parks to visit, cities to tour and photos to take.  Well, this week, my ability to do that has taken a deep hit.  As a non-essential employee (nothing I do will cause irreparable injury/harm if it is temporarily halted), I have been furloughed for the unforeseen future.  After listening to a few people say "Its not a big deal," I am ready to pop.  It is a big deal.

I have worked for the federal government is some way, shape or form for about 15 years.  It was a career path I sought out and one I competed though a selective program to enter; I was   hired at the Department of the Interior, through the Presidential Management Intern Program (now known as the Presidential Management Fellowship Program).  This program  recruited graduates of masters and doctorate programs, and selected a pool of applicants each
year following a series of assessments.  It was highly competitive and my University viewed these as coveted job opportunities.  Being selected was a honor.  Bragging rights for my school, a career path for me.


Somewhere, in the time between my law
school/grad school graduation and today, the views of public service have shifted.  Government service was honorable, when I told people what I did or where I worked, I was thanked... today, the general public views government service with disdain.  People will trash talk government workers without a second thought.  It has been less than 15 years since I moved to DC... what happened?   The short and easy answer is - Politics has changed.

The federal government has shutdown.  This is not a minor inconvenience.  This is a significant failure by our elected officials.  And the collateral damage for their refusal to even debate is the public.  Employees are out of jobs and we have no idea how long this will last. The most visual part of this process has been the shuttering of the national parks, monuments and the Smithsonians.  Here in DC, tourists wander around lost and at a loss for where to go in the face of this insanity.

Does this impact the general public - with 800,000 people out of work - damn right it does.   Looking at the micro level it is easy to see how - I am single, with a mortgage, condo fees, law school loans, and general bills.  Sure, I save, but I also travel and shop.  I love to go out to eat with friends, take in movies, go to the theatre, shop for clothes, jewelry, love to cook so I frequent groceries, farmers markets and other shoppes.... I spend.  OR should I say I spent?

Not knowing when my next paycheck is means no trips on Amtrak or flights on United (although I have a ticket to Seattle soon), no renting cars, no hotels, no shopping, eating out, no tours... no fun.  I have to lock myself in my condo and hope I can pay the bills.  Hundreds of thousands are in the same position as me.  So yes, we have no pay, but us not shopping, eating out or traveling around means that our hardship becomes the pain of all those shops we frequent as well. That loss of business hurts them and their employees.  It snowballs.  In fact, here in DC, economists project that ever day the region losses $200 million a day.

I was furloughed on Tuesday.  Instead of going home to watch TV or get lost in twitter, I decided to wander DC for a bit.  Wanted to take in those iconic sites that I miss all too often when I am in the office... Wanted to capture images of the shutdown.  It was sad.  Federal employees wandered around like on their own death march.  Tourists consulted maps and looked
lost.  I stopped to help a few, but what do you tell visitors from Brazil, Austria, Germany, England who have traveled to the US to see these iconic sites, and they are SHUTDOWN.  I pointed to the Capitol and told them it was their fault.  I directed them to the memorials that were open or at least could be seen, to the fee museums, and to our shopping districts but really, this is not what they wanted.  Tourists love DC for the Smithsonians, the Greek inspired monuments of Lincoln and Jefferson, to wander the tidal basin and discover FDR, Mason... I felt horrible for them.  I feel horrible for my colleagues.  I have bills to pay - ACK!!!

I happened upon a scene that the WWII memorial that afternoon - a southern Congressman (Mississippi, I believe) in the closed monument screaming into his phone, wanting to talk to the Secretary of my Department - why were the monuments closed.  It was at that moment that I realized that these guys didn't even read up on what was going to be shuttered because they could not do their jobs.  He should have been 2 miles
down the road on Capitol Hill.  He should have known that by not passing a budget the assets managed and cared for by employees would be shuttered.  He should have read up on the consequences of his actions.  Instead, he posed for the camera.

A few years ago, the government decided that the banks were too big to fail, the auto industry was too big to fail, so why isn't the federal government too important and too big to fail?

Struggling With What To Do

September 11th... it is just a date.  Really, a day.  But the day has meaning... it is seared into so many of our memories.  I can recall just about every moment of that morning 10 years ago.  I remember riding the DC metro, and as the masses ascended the escalators, the cell phone and pagers that went off - it was just a symphony of sounds.  And as everyone answered, there were some gasps and some faces were stunned silent.  I made my way down the street to work and arrived to find offices empty.  People gathered around the public affairs TVs to watch the horror.  I immediately got on the phone to call family; yes, I was in DC, but at that point, nothing had happened here.  I was more concerned about my sister, who often worked in the city, my godfather who was a detective with the NY/NJ Port Authority, my step-mom's brother who worked in the area of the twin towers.  Doing the roll call of family that could be there hit hard - my family eat/slept and breathed NY/NJ.  Countless generations have called it home.  (I have been in DC for 11 years and NJ/NY is still home to me).  Family calls - couldn't get in touch with Louis, Uncle Tom was home, my sister had not gone in yet... then the Pentagon was hit.  Reports came in that the State Department was bombed, there was a fire on the Mall... and the phone lines went down.  We were told to evacuate... "Get the hell out."  I did not want to get on the metro and traffic was in a DC patented stand-still.  It was chaos.  Yet, nothing like the chaos that I saw on the TV moments earlier of home.  And as I traveled, many hours, to my apartment, I learned of the falling of the towers, the crash in Shanksville.  Shock - that is the only way to describe that day.

September 11th... it is just a date.  It is a hard date.  And every year I struggle with how to honor it.  Truthfully, the day makes me sad.  I vividly recall the confusion.  I remember the struggle to contact everyone.  I remember the relief of hearing news that family got out of the financial district.  And  I remember days later getting word that all of my friends did not make it out of the Pentagon.

September 11th... it is just a date.  Yet, it is a day to reflect.  I went to Ground Zero once, and never went back.  It was a hole.  It was horrible.  I visited the Pentagon Memorial twice.  It was less broken... but that was because it was finished.  That hole was just a horrible scar from the day.  Last year, I went to Mt Rushmore, the evening ceremony, thinking that it was a honorable tribute while I was site-seeing in the Black Hills. There, I was hurt by the cavalier attitude so many in attendance had... it was so bad that I ended up approaching someone talking on their phone and told them to exit the ceremony or get off the cell.  I was so angry.  It is just a date... but it is not just a day.  Life changed that day.  And we should remember that.  We should be respectful of that.

September 11th ... it was today.  DC and NYC were in high alert due to a new threat.  Earlier that week I had called out a few young "kids" on the train lamenting about the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry and proclaiming all would be better if NYC was bombed.  Yep - right there in the Metro.  Idiots.  And I called them out.  Why was I the only one?  And later that week, we were notified about the possible bomb plot in the city... so, really, can we please be more careful with our words?

September 11th.... this year, a weekend day, and not a day to sit at home.  You could sit home watching all the documentaries, but you would go numb.  I watched the memorial, and then donated money to the Shanksville Memorial (which is not fully funded yet - so, if you are not sure what to do, consider that an option.)  I had to force myself to turn off the TV.  It was hypnotic.  But due to that possible threat, many decided not to travel into DC or anywhere near people.  I really tried.  I couldn't.  This is a hard day.  I really hated to be alone... so, I made my way toward Alexandria to attend the art festival.  Old Towne Alexandria's historic King Street hosted the festival and it was a decent get-away from the relived horror on the television.  Wandering the streets, I found a few artists that I recognized from the West Palm Beach Arts Festival in January.  Wandering the booths, I found some of these old favorites  from January (lewk, stern, marin), some that I recognized from other festivals (holwerda) and found new ones to watch (hairy potter, markowitz).   Art can be theauputic for so many.  The outdoors is good for others.  Getting outside and wandering the festival was a good way to spend the day after the memorials that morning.

September 11th... it is just a day.  It is a day that we need to remember, but we also need to function during the course of the day.  There must be a way to balance that.  Ten years ago, that morning was beautiful; it was warm, the skies were blue.  Today was no different.  So, I needed to honor that day, but then force myself to do something that I love.  Just like in years past,  I have needed to make sure that I get out.  That I enjoy life.  Because, September 11th is a day... a day that reminds us that with people, we are stronger!

Air travel venting

I have lots to write about (and I will)... for the last two weeks I have been traveling the skies to New Orleans and Denver... attended French Quarter Fest, went to a Trombone Shorty concert in the Park, saw the Pirate exhibit at the Denver Science Museum, and heard a lecture by Temple Grandin ... but what I want to write about now are a few airline annoyances:

• So, if you have a flight at 6am, is it safe to assume that the plane would be ready to go?  It is the first flight of the day; it was on the tarmac.   It thought it would be... Well, according to US Airways, the answer is no.  Just because you take off first thing in the morning, and you get there at 4:30 for the 6am flight - they do not have to start working on the plane until you are supposed to start boarding.   This plane was just going to Philadelphia; it was filled with people catching connections.  And after we waited 1/2 hour extra to be ferreted on a bus to sit on the tarmac for another 1/2 hour+ , we all were well on our way to missing our connection.  Is it too hard to ask that the first plane of the day work?

• This wasn't enough, US Airways had such a significant delay coming home, they had to find me another flight.  They couldn't get me to National Airport, so they sent me to Dulles; double the taxi fare and no compensation ... gotta love that airline.  

• What is up with people's need to recline their seat all way back... especially in first class.  You have so much space.  Tonight, I was stuck behind someone that managed to put their seat so far in my lap that I could not open up the tray table... they even kept their seat down when we hit massive turbulence and the captain instructed everyone to put their seats up.  At one point the steward asked them to put up their seat a little, and my neighbor to the north put it right back down.  The person sitting next to me could barely fit to get out of the row.   Looking around the cabin, almost no one put their seat down, and those that did only reclined it a bit.  This is simple airline etiquette.    You get such a small amount of space.  Planes are so packed, you would think that people would be respectful.  You are not entitled to all the space you want.  We share it in the cabin.  Seriously people, your comfort is not more important than anyone else's.  And no, the answer is not to put  my seat back to make up for it... that just bothers the one behind me.   If you have to put your seat back - only put it back a little... no one should be in someone's lap unless you know them (or you pay for it).

Adventures at Home

Sometimes I can forget just how much fun living in and around Washington DC can be... there is a lot to do.  It is nice to remind yourself of those benefits once and awhile - especially since most of them are closed once you get off work... YES, to take advantage of many of the glorious things to do around this city, you have to have a day off; museums, galleries and buildings do close.  Then when you do have off, you have to run errands and take care of all those house-keeping things that you miss during the week, and next thing you know, the weekend is over, and you miss an opportunity again.  So, you have to plan if you want to get out and visit some of these great features.

This past weekend, was one of those weekends.  The National Zoo celebrated the birth of 7 lion cubs this fall... and finally, the adorable cubs were strong and independent enough to be shown to the public.

My extended DC family and I watched their antics for a long while... the cubs did not disappoint.  I have mot seen crowds surrounding one area in the Zoo since the debut of the panda baby...  people, ohhed and ahhed, laughed and shreaked... the lions were vocal and mobile.  Cubs ran and tackled, jumped and climbed; the dad growled and the cubs mimicked... the sister moms watched and tried to keep them out of trouble.  It was adorable entertainment.  Not a bad way to spend a nice day.