Day 1: Mad Dash to the Capitol!

After the early morning arrival to the airport, and a delay, I RAN to make my connecting flight.
Apparently, my luggage wasn't up to the task and decided to take the scenic route.
I am an hour ahead and it is eight hours late. No worries though, I am in good hands here with my 'new' Aunt Jean! Since my luggage is having its own vacation, I figured I might as well not waste any time either. When Aunt Jean suggested spending some time at Mount Vernon this afternoon I jumped at the chance.
She dropped me off just before 3 at the gate with ticket money (after treating me to lunch!) and I the afternoon lay before me. What a great way to start out!

Following her recommendation I made a bee-line for the main house. I did get slightly side-tracked by some sheep and some flowers, but have you ever actually watched bees? They are known to amble and zig-zag from time-to-time too!
The timing was perfect, the weather was great, waiting in line outside I caught a scent of the sea off the Potomac, and it was so fun to visit Washington's house!

After a lovely afternoon, Jean swung by having picked the girls up from school. We all went out to dinner in the old part of Alexandria at a place called The Fish Market. Alex kept us all entertained with her lively chatter and it was a wonderful meal. After dinner we wound our way back to the car, allowing ourselves the distraction of sight-seeing through the neighborhood. It turns out that Maria and I both have a fondness for photography and we found many photo ops along the way. I was also intrigued as my 'fire department lens' kicked in and I was seeing in person many of the historical elements of history in the old town. I found myself sharing tidbits about the fire insurance placards, 'stars and bars' on the buildings, and even noting a door to a building that in all likelihood once housed a fire company, now made over into a town home.

Returning to their house and settling in, I still await the delivery of my bag. Latest update on it is that it is expected to arrive by midnight. In the meantime, I'm going to see about continuing the trend of adjusting my sleep schedule for European time and getting to bed on time!