October 13, 2008

The five days we spent in Washington DC with the Great Harbour group (all wearing our grey Capital Cruise fleece jackets!) flew by! When touring the Capitol (Hillary’s office provided the guide), and the memorials that we’d not seen before (Jefferson and FDR) Fred and I decided it would be good for all elected officials to visit these inspiring places frequently, while carrying a pocket mirror. They could hold the mirror up after re-reading the dreams for our country, look themselves in the eye and ask “How am I doing?” Think it would help??? Arlington Cemetery and the changing of the guards was impressive. The eternal flame burns on at JFK’s grave. Washington’s Metro system and particularly the new Circulator Bus, made getting around really simple and convenient, and the Capital Yacht Club was a perfect place to stay. Easy walk to the bus, the fish markets, and the clubhouse!. On Thursday evening, friends from New York, Joe and Leslie McCarthy ‘stopped by’ (they were in the area to attend the Annapolis Boat Show) and we drove to Arlington to visit the Marine Memorial (we called it Iwo Jima) and the Pentagon, where the 184 benches were recently dedicated to honor the lives of those who were killed on 9/11/01. The memorial planners did a magnificent job. Each bench is inscribed with a name, and if appropriate, the names of other family members who died there that day. (Each person has a bench, arranged by year of birth.) The benches face either the path of the plane or the building. A night security guard shared many stories with us, and it was a very moving experience. One of the best parts of the week was spending time with the other boaters from the Mirage group. We had frequent happy hours and dinners together and it was great to get to know each other! On Friday, Fred and I stopped in at Mount Vernon to visit Geroge W’s home. Young America was literally tucked under the bow of the tour boat while we learned about making linen from flax and other Revolutionary things. Five of the seven Great Harbours meandered up Aquia Creek to celebrate the end of summer with the Aquia Harbor Yacht Club. This was another great group of people, and we especially enjoyed a skiff tour of the creek and canals that provide waterfront for the 2500 homes in the Association. Beautiful, secluded, private, and a great place to hide your boat in a hurricane. Very nice. Sunday we wound our way back out of the creek and headed down the Potomac to the Port Tobacco River (yes, tobacco was exported from there) and joined CAROLYNN ANN to ‘raft up’ for dinner. Joe, aboard CA, set the anchor, and Fred, aboard YA, drove up alongside so we could tie up and step across from boat to boat. It was a beautiful, still evening, followed by a gorgeous sunny day, and as I write this, YA is about to turn out of the Chesapeake Bay into the Patuxent River, where we will explore the Solomon Islands. See you next week, as we wend our way North to Baltimore, before leaving the boat for a week to visit our ‘vacation home’ in Newburgh. Fred and Linda