 Hannah
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North_Dakota_Wheat
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Jacob
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Tuesday, August 12, 2003
As We All Know AOL Sucks
Yes, I am sorry to say that I kept my AOL account thinking that I would get good service throughout America. Well, I was wrong... and now I have a huge backlog of posts that are on my Mac! They will be coming up as I find a reliable connection, (No Joy, I am 2 connections in over 50 tries in Jamestown, North Dakota and that is not the worst case senario!)
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Yes, I am sorry to say that I kept my AOL account thinking that I would get good service throughout America. Well, I was wrong... and now I have a huge backlog of posts that are on my Mac! They will be coming up as I find a reliable connection, (No Joy, I am 2 connections in over 50 tries in Jamestown, North Dakota and that is not the worst case senario!)
Ecoli Burgers
Chris charbroiled was he like to call Ecoli Burgers, making enough smoke to keep the mosquitoes out of camp for the night. The burgers were a hit and devoured quickly. Small problems always arise and this time I could not find the small fitting to air pump. That adapter was left and home and I was not sure I would get the boat inflated. I was able to use a ball point pen casing in lieu of the baffle adapter for the smallest inflatable holes. Nothing a little ingenuity can not solve.
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Chris charbroiled was he like to call Ecoli Burgers, making enough smoke to keep the mosquitoes out of camp for the night. The burgers were a hit and devoured quickly. Small problems always arise and this time I could not find the small fitting to air pump. That adapter was left and home and I was not sure I would get the boat inflated. I was able to use a ball point pen casing in lieu of the baffle adapter for the smallest inflatable holes. Nothing a little ingenuity can not solve.
Turquoise Lake
Turquoise Lake is near Leadville, Colorado. We spent five days there enjoying a pretty relaxing time. Some fishing, boating, biking, and hiking were all achieved. Chris, my best friend, and his brother Jeff had planned out the trip and we were fortunate to make it a highlight of our trip to California. Jeff's two sons, Matthew and Justin, were nine and seven respectively. They were a perfect match for John and Elizabeth. I brought all of my bikes and that worked out well because John was able to ride on one of the adult bikes so that all the kids could ride. Thanks for having bought the Expedition. It actually has gotten from 21 to 17 mile to the gallon. Not bad for a Ford truck! That includes hauling those four bikes on the back. The lake is beautiful, laid in at 10,000 feeet.
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Turquoise Lake is near Leadville, Colorado. We spent five days there enjoying a pretty relaxing time. Some fishing, boating, biking, and hiking were all achieved. Chris, my best friend, and his brother Jeff had planned out the trip and we were fortunate to make it a highlight of our trip to California. Jeff's two sons, Matthew and Justin, were nine and seven respectively. They were a perfect match for John and Elizabeth. I brought all of my bikes and that worked out well because John was able to ride on one of the adult bikes so that all the kids could ride. Thanks for having bought the Expedition. It actually has gotten from 21 to 17 mile to the gallon. Not bad for a Ford truck! That includes hauling those four bikes on the back. The lake is beautiful, laid in at 10,000 feeet.
Capulin Volcano
On most trips to Denver from Houston I try to stop at Capulin Volcano. Once when John and I went there, there was millions of lady bugs covering everything. They especially like the sitting on the bark of the small trees. This time the three kids and I climbed both the rim and down to the center of the crater. It was a good warm up for the kids at 8,000 feet. Soon we would be at 12,000!
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On most trips to Denver from Houston I try to stop at Capulin Volcano. Once when John and I went there, there was millions of lady bugs covering everything. They especially like the sitting on the bark of the small trees. This time the three kids and I climbed both the rim and down to the center of the crater. It was a good warm up for the kids at 8,000 feet. Soon we would be at 12,000!
The South
The south was a whirl wind of stops. Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana were all capitals that we stopped at. One of the most interesting stops was in Columbia South Carolina. South Carolina was the first state to break away from the union and they are still proud of that move. In numerous ways throughout the state house icons commemorating the session of the state are present. A large marble cut stone has the words of the Ordinance that declared South Carolina's independence and list each person that signed the document in 1860. Even after the resent political battle about the Confederate flag flying on the dome, the flag remains prominently flown at the front of the building. I found it an interesting piece of trivia that the declaration of session was actually signed in Charleston and not Columbia. An outbreak of small pox forced a temporary movement of the state capitol back to the earlier site.
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The south was a whirl wind of stops. Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana were all capitals that we stopped at. One of the most interesting stops was in Columbia South Carolina. South Carolina was the first state to break away from the union and they are still proud of that move. In numerous ways throughout the state house icons commemorating the session of the state are present. A large marble cut stone has the words of the Ordinance that declared South Carolina's independence and list each person that signed the document in 1860. Even after the resent political battle about the Confederate flag flying on the dome, the flag remains prominently flown at the front of the building. I found it an interesting piece of trivia that the declaration of session was actually signed in Charleston and not Columbia. An outbreak of small pox forced a temporary movement of the state capitol back to the earlier site.
The Smithsonian
The Smithsonian Museums are obviously places that require more than one day to see. We however did not have the luxury of extra time so we made a part of each museum a highlight. In the air and space museum I wanted to see the X24 because I worked on the X38 which began as a mold line replica of it. Also the interactive area for the kids was important. Ironically, at the end of the kids section they had posted the below article about the X38. Apparently the Smithsonian did not realize that the program had been canceled months before. (The article is dated 1997 so is quite old, and out of date!) I have always believed that Washington politics did not understand the way to run R&D programs and killed the X38 without securing the value gained in the program. You can read more at Access to Space on Blogger
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The Smithsonian Museums are obviously places that require more than one day to see. We however did not have the luxury of extra time so we made a part of each museum a highlight. In the air and space museum I wanted to see the X24 because I worked on the X38 which began as a mold line replica of it. Also the interactive area for the kids was important. Ironically, at the end of the kids section they had posted the below article about the X38. Apparently the Smithsonian did not realize that the program had been canceled months before. (The article is dated 1997 so is quite old, and out of date!) I have always believed that Washington politics did not understand the way to run R&D programs and killed the X38 without securing the value gained in the program. You can read more at Access to Space on Blogger
Washington DC
When we arrived at Washington DC we rode the Metro in from Maryland. We had a wonderful breakfast at the Capital Lounge. I had the French toast and the kids had hot cakes. The US Capitol was the first stop. This was the crown of the Capitol Tour! Unfortunately I did not plan very well and we got there on a Sunday, and the facility was closed. We still when around all the outside and by the time we also saw the Washington Monument, White House and three Smithsonian museums we had sore feet.
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When we arrived at Washington DC we rode the Metro in from Maryland. We had a wonderful breakfast at the Capital Lounge. I had the French toast and the kids had hot cakes. The US Capitol was the first stop. This was the crown of the Capitol Tour! Unfortunately I did not plan very well and we got there on a Sunday, and the facility was closed. We still when around all the outside and by the time we also saw the Washington Monument, White House and three Smithsonian museums we had sore feet.
Capitols on the Way to Washington DC
We went to Trenton, NJ, Dover, Delaware, and Annapolis, Maryland on the way to Washington D.C. Annapolis was my favorite. The Maryland State House was used as the capitol of the United States from November 1783 to August 1784. I found it very interesting how the borders of Maryland were defined in the grant from the King of England to Lord Baltimore. It helps explain the winding western edge. Also the tip of the peninsula was originally claimed as part of Maryland until Virginia residences partitioned the King's council with a claim that they had in fact already settled in the lower Chesapeake Bay area. Virginia won the dispute and the current border now clips off the end of the peninsula.
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We went to Trenton, NJ, Dover, Delaware, and Annapolis, Maryland on the way to Washington D.C. Annapolis was my favorite. The Maryland State House was used as the capitol of the United States from November 1783 to August 1784. I found it very interesting how the borders of Maryland were defined in the grant from the King of England to Lord Baltimore. It helps explain the winding western edge. Also the tip of the peninsula was originally claimed as part of Maryland until Virginia residences partitioned the King's council with a claim that they had in fact already settled in the lower Chesapeake Bay area. Virginia won the dispute and the current border now clips off the end of the peninsula.
