Night

I went to bed tonight, much like normal. But the moon was staring in at me through the window, bright and full, calling me outside. My beautiful porch, my cozy deck chair, feet up, a slight chill in the air, looking up at the clear, navy blue sky. The stars were bright and extremely visible, inspite of the street lights. And even with the cars zooming past on the highway, there was a remarkable stillness about everything. Off in the distance an owl hooted. Whisps of a solitary cloud. Three trees across the street that form one perfect canopy, even bare as they are.

I sat and thanked God for the beauty he had made around me, even though I sometimes forget to look.

Details

So it's time to share some details. We are leaving on May 17th, at 7:20 from Spokane. We will arrive in Minneapolis right about 12:10 and leave there at 3:00. We arrive at Ronald Regan National Airport at 6:26!! Of course that's DC time so it's really only 3:26 our time.

We'll stay at Capitol Skyline Hotel (www.capitolskyline.com) for 7 nights.

Then on May 24th, we head out of Ronald Regan National Airport at 9:45 and layover in Chicago at 10:55. We leave about an hour later and land in Spokane at 1:51.

Those are the details so far. I'll worry about what we'll do when we get there in a few days...or weeks...however long it takes for me to get out of this panic mode.

Tickets

I ordered the airplane tickets and reserved the hotel room on Saturday. And then I had a slight panic attack. There's no turning back now!

His Answer

So I promised my next post would show Julian's response, though I didn't promise when.

When his Mom told him that he would be going with me, he said "Who all is going?" She told him it was just he and I. "Just me and Ange? Why am I the only one who gets to go?" Then came a pause as he considered his own question..."Cause I'm special huh." Yes Julian, cause you're special. Then he asked his Mom every question about DC he could come up with. She finally had to tell him "Julian, it's a long way away. Could you please stop talking about it for now?"

Washington DC

So for the first time in my adult life, I've decided to take a vacation. I am set on Washington DC. So, true to form, I started cautiously planning my trip, always allowing myself an out. Don't tell too many people and don't put any money into the trip.

I did tell a few people and every one of them asked the same question "Who are you going with?" Why do people assume you have to have a vaction with another person. I live alone, I do plenty on my own, why should this be any different. So I planned on going alone. But then (organ music in the background) I talked to my Mom. She suggested I ask my 10-year old nephew Julian. I brushed her off (Sure Mom, I'll think about it). But then I did think about it...and I got excited!

How cool would it be to take him with me? How much fun would he have! And then I could take pictures of a person, not just the buildings. Tentatively, I asked my sister if she'd let her oldest son go with me. I expected her to say no, but she surprised me and said yes! I'll tell you all about his response in my next post!