Thursday 22 December 2011

November 11th-12th, 2009

Last night on our ride over to Maryland, we stopped to take a breather at a plaza in front of a salon.  The two ladies working there were intrigued and we started chattin.  Amanda had a chance to finish off her leftovers from lunch earlier in the day while I used the facilities inside the salon.  It was dark already and the ladies advised us to be careful of deer in the area.  It wasn’t long after we got back onto the road when we started to spot them close by; probably a little too close for comfort.


Who needs a microwave when you got a sturdy ol' KLR muffler
We arrived at Clarksburg later on that evening to stay over at TheDudeHimself.  We found out that he participated in The Meteor run also…on a GS Adventure; and I thought we had it tough in the Pine Barrens.  We got to know the family and talked about our travels over pizza they had graciously offered.  We told them we wanted to see the monuments in D.C. and catch the Veteran’s Day ceremonies the next day.  TheDudeHimself offered to give us a lift to the subway station in which we humbly accepted because there was no way we were going to attempt to navigate in that jungle; we already learned our lesson back in Boston.  Besides, it was calling for rain all day long on the 11th. 
Making sure we get to our destination
All aboard!
I wonder how many secret service agents are wandering around here?
Vietnam Women's Memorial
The Washington Monument
The Lincoln Memorial
Abe.  It was fascinating to hear the different interpretations on how his sculpture was constructed.  The park ranger was very informative.


Time to get ready for my big speech...
Uh oh.  Too many butterflies in my stomach.
Let's see Amanda give it a try...
...Government of the people...
By the people...
For the people, shall not perish from the earth!
Great job Amanda!
Ceremony taking place at the Vietnam Memorial


Headstones at Arlington Cemetery
Marine Corps War Memorial...a long walk to get to in the rain, but well worth it.

We were getting hungry and needed to find something close by to eat.  We noticed a few hotdog vendors on our way to the monuments.  It turns out they were $6 a piece; a little too pricey for us to stomach.  We kept walking along looking for a reasonable place to eat when we came across a few guys huddled up on the road to stay out of the rain.  Clearly they were veterans by the way they were dressed and it looked as if they were having a tailgate party.  They had all the goodies laid out:  hot soup, hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, brownies for desert.  We found out they were raising funds for veterans and sold all this food every year on this day.  Normally there would be a huge line up, but the weather being as it is, left only a few die-hards.  We asked for prices and they said it was all free!  All we had to do was make a donation.  We each pulled out a fiver, but they insisted that we only put in a dollar.  I guess they must’ve felt sorry for us for looking the way we did; soaking wet from head to toe.  We shared stories about our travels over lunch and it was very entertaining to see them poking fun at each other whether they served in the Marines, Army, Navy, and so on.  By the time we finished lunch, they wished us well on our journey and sent us off with a dozen bags of chips and other goodies.  It was a real hoot to hang out with veterans. 


I wonder how close we can get before getting tackled by secret service...


????
I know he had a stint on SNL and a few movies, but a bank?  How can you take it seriously?
The following day called for a rest day.  We spent the time hanging out with TheDudeHimself.  We played a cutthroat game of Monopoly in which he creamed the both of us; even when Amanda and I created an alliance halfway through. 
Wheelin and dealin
Helping out with dinner...
Success!
Nation’s Capitol.
Soldiers helping once again.
We will remember.
 

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