This shy solitary tulip hidden in the bushes comes up each spring but I have to admit, it is one of my favorites.
I like the little faces on the Johnny Jump Ups. The blossoms on this tree in our back yard not only look good, they smell good.
So much responsibility – trying to provide a nice home for all of these little guys.
We’re at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, VA. Earlier we did get to see lots of cherry blossums whose petals filled some of the paths we walked on.
We are here next to the Potomac River. From the window at our gate, we can see the Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Monument and the dome of the Capital Building.
We should be in Portland, OR tonight and go on to Boise in the morning.
Today we decided to take the Metro into Washington, DC to see the Smithsonian National Zoo. We have little experience with ‘subways’ so the Metro, itself was a bit of an adventure for us.
Knowing it’s off season, we expected we would to have the zoo almost to ourselves. We never guessed that we were going during Spring Break for Washington D. C. schools. I think everyone decided to go to the zoo.
Despite the crowd, we had good time.
Madi liked watching this bird, an Abyssinian Ground Hornbill. I overheard one person tell their children it was a turkey, another said it was a heron and a third explained to their kids it was a crow. I considered speaking up but suspected some wouldn’t appreciate the help. Pluse this sign was only a few feet away. 
They had informative signs to describe each animal, its diet and habitat. I wondered why people didn’t read them, or better yet, send their children to read them. 
Madi also enjoyed the otters (viewed from under water), the bears, the Alpacas, and the cows.
Getting around with a 6 month old and a 22 month old is quite a challenge. I know we did it and I know many of my friends have done it. However, even with that, I remain in awe as I watch my son and his wife today.
We went to a nearby Wheaton Regional Park in Wheaton Maryland today. Oma took Madi on her very first train ride.
The train in the park is actually a replica of a train built in 1863. It became the first train owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad. They called it the C.P. Huntington and it pulled passenger trains from San Francisco to San Jose and Hollister. This model is very popular. There are almost 400 C.P. Huntington replicas worldwide, which is rather amazing as I think that only three of the original locomotives were built. The origina train in the book, “The Little Engine That Could” – (I think I can, I think I can) – was also modeled after the C.P. Huntington. 
At the end of March our son and his family stayed with us while movers hauled their furniture east. Then they flew to their new home but left their car with us. We delivered it to them – last night – after driving 2,914 miles. The car used just over 100 
gallons of gas. Our journey took 8 days, including about a day spent visiting friends along the way. We will fly back home again after a few days of visiting and playing with the grandchildren.
We tried something new this trip. We brought an audio book to listen to as we drove the plains on this route. We choose David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, “1776.” It was recorded on 10 CDs, each over an hour long. This turned out to be an excellent choice and a fascinating story.
We awoke in Zanesville, Ohio to a light snowfall which continued as we drove through Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and even into Maryland. 
The snow ranged from light dry swirling “dandruff-like” flakes to big, heavy, wet flakes as we drove though the Alleghenies.. We also encountered various mixes of snow and rain When passing or being passed by large trucks on curvy mountain roads, we would be enveloped in swirling clouds of snow and rain. This leg was probably a bit more tense than the rest of the trip. Tonight we are in Rockville (North Bethesda) Maryland.
We started east on the interstate out of East Peoria, Illinois this morning but decided it was much more fun to travel the small country roads. On little roads in Indiana, we were surprised to pass mile after mile of wind turbines rising from the fields of the little farms along our route. We learned later that this is home of some of the largest wind farms in the world. 
We headed for West Lafayette, Indiana, home of Purdue University, our son-in-law’s alma mater.
His parents live just a few miles away and we were able to drop by for a visit. We had a very nice visit and in just moments, an hour and a half had passed. We needed to get back on the road and drove on to Zanesville, Ohio where we will spend this night.
Such an great journey. I last saw a friend from Alaska over 30 years ago when he left Alaska to work on the island of Guam. We would touch bases every few years or so by phone or note. How surprising that our paths should cross again yesterday in Rochester, MN when Ralph and his wife came to visit friends there. They invited us to join them. Isn’t it great to get together with a friend of many years ago and feel like you were just sitting down to continue a recent conversation. And how nice when you meet someone new who you realize would have been old friends – if only you had met earlier. We had a great time.
We drove today under gray skies and lots of rain. Even in the rain, one of the first things we noticed is that each little town in this part of the country seems to have a lovely Lutheran Church with a steep roof, bell tower and tall metal steeple with a cross at the very top.
We headed south into Iowa, got on I-80 and crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. I always feel it is a special milestone in our journey when we cross the Mississippi. We are spending the night in East Peoria, IL.
Yesterday evening we stopped for the night in South Souix City, IO. We realized that Forest Lake, MN, where my Uncle Stan and Aunt Shirley lived, was about three hundred miles north east
Sp we gave them a call to see if they would be available for lunch. We got up early this morning, headed and drove to their place north of Minneapolis, had a nice lunch and a great visit. Uncle Stan turns 80 this summer. They look great.
Stan took me down in their basement where he shared that he and his son’s have done a bit of deer hunting over the years. I don’t want to brag, but I had already guessed that possibility.
We headed out to spend the night in Rochester, MN, home of the famous Mayo Clinic.
We were referred to Crystal Café. I was very surprised to arrive and find it was inside a large Shell truck stop with lots of rumbling trucks parked on all sides. You’ve heard you can’t tell a book by it’s cover. Here were learned the same is true for cafés.
If a local person hadn’t referred us here we probably would have passed right by this place.
We would never have learned this was the only restaurant in Nebraska chosen to be listed in Gourmet Magazine’s list for Best Roadside Food In America.
BTW – their Forest Fruits pie with rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, and black cherries is great.
Invisible Tracks 