Trip into American history

Thousand upon thousands visit Washington DC each year. Not only US citizens but people from all over the world. They not only want to see the history within the numerous museums, but the place that makes decisions which mold the world politics.
Washington DC is just another big city, but yet it's not. There is NO unemployment because of the abundance of new government jobs that magically pop up all the time. And this ain't new with this adminstration.
Besides the hundreds of students on class trips, tourists in tour buses, there were thousands of dark colored three-piece suits carrying briefcases everywhere. I wondered what they were doing... lobbyists, businessmen or maybe SPIES!
It was not my first time to DC. It was my first trip to Mount Vernon and Williamsburg. Away from the majority of tourists, we enjoyed relaxing strolls along the same paths George Washington walked, pondering an infant country's newly acquired freedom. But nothing hit me as hard as the words of Thomas Jefferson inside his memorial. These were men FAR ahead of their time. If they could only see the USA today. What would they think?

This week

Our oldest Grandchild, Nicole, turned 6 years old recently. (They grow up SO fast) Each time I see her, I can see her maturing a little by little. Nicole is an extremely active child, both physically and mentally, and she's hard to keep up with, but SO much fun.
Nicole is really into Hannah Montana and everything Hannah Montana, so naturally the birthday party was in that theme. After a grilled menu was consumed, the gift paper was ripped off to expose a pile of Hannah theme accessories.
Phoenix has a world renowned Desert Botanical Gardens, which (DAH!) features desert plants. This Spring, the gardens teamed up with the great glass artist, Dale Chihuly, in an exhibit mingling his blown glass pieces with cactus. Now, to you folks not living in the Southwest may not really appreciate the beauty of those thorny plants. But like most plants, the thorns are to protect themselves from creatures, whether it may be two or four legged. The blown glass put a different slant on the general desert appearence and added more color.
Nancy and I are off to Washington D.C. for a week. More when we get back. ;-))))