Monday, July 8, 2013

Scavenger Hunt - 3

It has been a wild and crazy last couple of weeks, but with lots of photo ops!

We went to D.C. for the weekend of June 29/30 to visit Sarah and celebrate her 23rd birthday.  D.C. is always good for scavenger hunt photos and this weekend did not disappoint:

#3 - The Capitol - how about the Capitol of the United States?  Up close and personal:

We had scheduled a tour of the Capitol. This is the wall inside, just above where you pick up your tour tickets:

Once inside, we got to see the Rotunda and the Hall of Statues and hear some fun facts.  But what was even more exciting for me, was later that evening we went to the movies to see "White House Down" (I can't understand why this movie is only getting 3 out of 5 stars in the ratings - I thought it was fantastic - drama, comedy, action - it had it all! And was way more engaging than World War Z.  IMHO).

Having just been inside the Rotunda, watching the scene where the bad guys blow it up was so much more real to us. and Crazy.

After the Capitol, we used the passageway over to the Library of Congress where I captured #14 a stained glass object:
One of six identical stained glass windows in the ceiling of this lobby area  AND

#14 a mosaic:
This was one of a series of three mosaics reading "Theology", "Law", and "Medicine".  Again, on the ceiling. From the distance it is hard to even see it as a mosaic, so here's a closer look:
I also caught #15 a police car:
It was mid-day and the sun was particularly harsh, so I'm definitely going to be on the look-out for a better shot for this one...

and #8, a tower:
Here is the Washington Monument, completely ensconced in 500 tons of aluminum scaffolding to enable repairs to damage caused in the August 2011 earthquake.  Apparently it is going to look like this for about a year while the repairs are being done.

July 4th was a quiet day around here.  Our girls took off to the shore, but we couldn't join them because Jay was on call.  So instead, we drove to Country Junction, billed as the "World's Largest General Store".  The interior has a "yellow brick road" pathway to guide you through the various sections of the store. They sell everything from groceries to furniture to puppies and chickens to home repair supplies.  If the Scavenger Hunt had included a pirate, I'd have been in luck, several life-size options there, including Johnny Depp himself.

I found # 20, a dinosaur:
I know you can't get any scale from this photo, but this guy was the size of a very large dog or small pony.

And # 7 a funny sign:
This one was a good play on the word "pour/poor" but what I thought was funny was that the word "judgment" was misspelled.

But I liked this one even better:
My apologies to anyone whose sensibilities are offended by the language, but this one really made me laugh out loud, right there in the store.  It is one of those retro-style signs on tin. I was tempted, but, no, I didn't actually purchase it.  In fact, all we purchased was some blueberries.

On the drive home I saw a large red metal dinosaur on a property on the side of the road - a sculpture that looked ridiculously out of place.  Unfortunately, no place to pull over and snap a shot.  And then, a billboard about Girl Scout cookies... in SPANISH???  We have no significant spanish-speaking population in this area, so that also struck me as odd and out-of-place. At some point I'll be in a place where I can actually take a photo when I see these things!

We capped off the evening with some television - knowing Sarah was attending, we were watching bits of the televised July 4th celebration from National Mall on PBS.  And we caught Sarah ON NATIONAL TELEVISION!!!  Jay and I were both pointing at the television and saying "oh my god!"  Rachel and Becca thought we were both insane (why don't they think this is a BIG deal???)

Sarah and her co-worker Chad are at 1:14, immediately after the shot of the Washington Monument. 


We didn't make it out to the Perkasie fireworks last night. Both of us were just way too tired after a day of house work.  Maybe next year...

16 comments:

Sian said...

What a beautifully eclectic collection of pictures this is. One day I'd love to see the Library of Congress..

..and what a cool way to finish up. Stardom!

Unknown said...

Great finds! I am so excited to travel to DC someday...on the top of my travel bucket list for sure!

Jen said...

Wonderful photos and an even better ending with the video. A great post Cheri. J x

Maria Ontiveros said...

Great Scavenger Hunt finds - those mosaics are lovely. The range of dinosaurs showing up is really interesting. I'm glad you liked White House Down, as it's a movie I am interested in seeing.
Rinda

Jo.C said...

Fabulous photos and trip. I hadn't realised the obelisk had been damaged. I say it many years ago and it is very impressive. Think that is an English sign :0)

Anonymous said...

Fabulous photos Cheri. I think I would be really excited to see Gracia on t.v. too.

quiltingfool said...

Thanks for posting that video. It was SOOO awesome to see Sarah there! The twins were just jealous!

AND you8r photos are awesome, but no surprise there.

debs14 said...

Great photos! How exciting to see your girl on tv!

scrappyjacky said...

Some wonderful photos here,Cheri...definately somewhere I'd love to visit.
In the UK 'judgement' can be spelled either way...and more often with the 'e'.....so maybe Jo is right.

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Wow - that photo of the capitol building is awesome, Cheri! What great finds for the scavenger hunt. And I LOL'd at the sign too. Haha!

Cheryl said...

Sarah got some great air time there! That's so exciting! (And I love that sign!)

Karen said...

Wow, you got some great shots for the scavenger hunt. Love that first one. I found four yesterday in Canada, and was excited---not nearly as productive as you were.

Alison said...

What a great selection of pics.....I' d love to go back to Washington...I didn't take enough photos when I was there!
Alison xx

Miriam said...

What a wonderful collection for the Scavenger Hunt! the mosaics are beautiful. What fun to see your daughter on the TV. Great Video!

BJ said...

WOW brilliant scavenger photos. Love them ALL. BJ

Missus Wookie said...

Fun dinosaur and photos, yeah for Capital photos. The tour is the one thing I really wanted to do that we didn't get done when we were over in '07.