Honeymoon, phase III

We're back. The short version is here. This then is the long version.

We rolled in saturday night to discover that the storm that paddled Culpeper had royally kicked DC's ass. We get into our powerless apartment at dusk. We had little to eat, no candles, and the 7-11 and all area restaurants were also out of power. Hot water was a go, fortunately. We grew bored and drowsy in the dark and were going to call it an early night when we got a call from Aaron Lemire, who happened to be in NOVA and volunteered to bring us some supplies. I would have turned him down if I had understood that it takes an hour and a half for him to get to Brookland from where he was. He showed up with Mexican food, chips, matches, good candles, and salsa whose profits aid kids with cancer. We talked for a few hours and sent him on his way with a thank you and a good bottle of wine.

A note on the wine: we have way too much. All of it is good stuff, so it hits a body quickly. M has little tolerance so I'm drinking like a Frenchman. Or a Californian with a disposable income. We WILL enjoy every last drop of the wine we were given. This wine WILL be appreciated to the fullest!

Sunday was our four week anniversary and we used the day to do what we came to do in the first place: mule drawn barge ride on the C & O Canal. The C & O is our nation's longest national park, as well as the thinnest, and was given its park status for historical reasons. I was personally very interested in the barge ride, hailing from Lynchburg (home of the James River Bateau Festival) and growing up on "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates". Mike Fink kicks ass. Educational and romantic! I highly recommend this. Just go to Georgetown and head toward the river.

Monday was the Museum of American History. In addition to Kermit and polio, there were exhibits on Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington, and this kick ass doll house made by an old lady a hundred years ago. It was five (doll) stories tall and about ten feet wide and was chock full of high quality miniatures. You dollie people would have crapped yourselves. When that closed, we had an hour yet for the Natural History Museum. We covered most of the dinosaur area, including joint arrangements of Corythosaurs, Edmontosaurs, and Albertosaurs. Some things are irony and some things are signs. It all depends on the how you choose to view it at the time.

The lights came back on at two in the morning.

On tuesday we slept in, cuddled, took baths, cuddled, watched movies, cuddled, read, and cuddled some more. It was our one month anniversary and I can't think of a better way to have spent it.

Wednesday was back to the Natural History Museum. We saw the insect zoo, the skeletons, the mammals (MOOSE!), the... basically taxidermied everything, the Hope Diamond (disappointing), and cultural exhibits on Africa and the Sikhs. We also discovered the back end of the dinosaurs which continues passed the Demitrodon (a personal favorite) to a never ending hall of (YAY!) prehistoric mammals. This included a cool comparative exhibit on the evolution of the horse and specimens of my very favorite dead critters, the Brontotherium and the Megatherium! Woohoo! In the whole museum I think M was most impressed by the Galapagos finches. What I found most remarkable was the gray whale skeleton. When I was young it was titanic; now it is merely big. I remember the awe I had for it, stretching across the whole world. Now... it was not disappointing, but it gave me a quiet moment.

A thunderstorm passed through moments before the museum closed. The aftermath made a wondrous backdrop to our final walk across the mall. We went home in bliss... and discovered that the power was out on our street only. We drove out to 7-11 and then cruised the neighborhood for food. Within thirty seconds of lighting the candles the power came on. We had a good laugh and a good night. We came home the next day and got our modem up this afternoon.