Thursday, Sept 12 - My daughter, Catherine, dropped me off at PDX about
6:30am. After checking in for the flight
and going through TSA check, I went to the Alaska Lounge for a couple
hours. I caught the 9:40am flight,
arriving at Washington, DC National Airport about 5:50pm. I saw "Mary Poppins Returns" during
the flight. I didn't realize that my eldest
son, Jeff, was waiting at National Airport to pick me up so I took Metro to Van
Dorn Station where the hotel shuttle picked me up. I had the same room as last year at the
Comfort Inn & Suites - top floor with a great view. I had the fruit and cheese platter for dinner
that I purchased during the flight.
Friday, Sept 13 - Following breakfast I took the
hotel shuttle to the Van Dorn Station where I caught the Metro to King Street
Station. I avoided riding during the DC Metro
peak hours. I rode the free King Street
trolley. I had lunch at Starbucks. I found three
nano geocaches. I stopped briefly
at Le Pain Quotidien to charge my cell
phone. I
had dinner with my son, Jeff, at an Irish Pub - the sandwich was good but the
fries were terrible. He took me back to
my hotel where I gave him a package that I brought from home.
Saturday, Sept 14 - Jeff, Donna
(Jeff's friend), Joey (Jeff's son) and I went Geocaching in and around Fredericksburg,
Virginia. We found four Virtuals and seven Traditional
caches. One of the Virtuals was the burial site of Stonewall
Jackson’s left arm at Ellwood Manor in Locust Grove. We had lunch at
Cancun Margarita Bar & Grill in Fredericksburg. I purchased food at Starbucks to have later
for dinner.
Sunday, Sept 15 - Jeff, Donna, Joey
and I went Geocaching in and around Frederick, Maryland. We had lunch at Bushwaller's - a traditional
Irish Pub in downtown Frederick. We
found four Virtuals, six Traditional Caches, two Multi Caches, two Mystery
Caches and one cache we DNF. One of the most fascinating caches was the Virtual Jug Bridge (GCGCRN). I bought a Chicken Wrap Bistro Box and
Shortbread Cookies to have for dinner back at the hotel.
Monday, Sept 16 - After I had
breakfast I took the hotel shuttle to the Van Dorn Station
where I caught the Metro to King Street Station. I rode the free King Street trolley. I went to the Lee-Fendall House to find the
cache in the garden but it was closed. I
looked for the cache at the Hollensbury Spite House and took several
photos. I had lunch at Starbucks. I went to the Alexandria Library in the
afternoon where I found an easy chair and took a nap. I got some food at Starbucks to take back to
the hotel. I rode the trolley, Metro and
hotel shuttle back to the hotel.
Tuesday, Sept 17 - I went to DC on Metro. I visited the National Museum of the American
Indian for over four hours mid day.
Always fascinating. I learned about the Aqua Caliente Indian
Reservation (Section 14) in the other Palm Springs, CA established in
1876/1877. I went to the Smithsonian
National Air and Space Museum where I saw the large Star Trek Starship Enterprise
Model. The
Enterprise lights up at
11:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:00 pm. I was
lucky that I was there a little after 3:00 pm.
I had Fruit & Cheese, Mixed Fruit Cup and Pound Cake for a
late lunch in the cafe. I traveled back
to the hotel.
Wednesday, Sept 18 - After
breakfast I went back to Alexandria. I
found the cache that I did not get on Monday at the Lee-Fendall House. I took a nap in a comfy patio chair on the deck of
the Alexandria Visitor Center. I found a cache in the Wilkes Street
Tunnel that was originally a railroad tunnel. I went to Safeway and borrowed a
long handled broom. Back at the tunnel I knocked the covering rock aside with
the broom handle. I stopped a runner who
was not happy with me but reached up and got the cache. I signed the log.
I used the brush part of the broom to
lift the cache back to its slot. I used
the handle to push the rock back in place. When I returned the broom I bought a
small container of Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. I tried to find another cache but DNF. I got a Pb&J Protein Box and Dark
Chocolate Grahams at Starbucks to take back to the hotel for dinner.
Thursday, Sept 19 - I visited the
National Gallery of Art for several hours.
I had a deli sandwich and potato chips for lunch in the cafe. I enjoyed watching the waterfall. I left the museum around 3:00pm. I purchased Dark Chocolate Grahams and Berry
Trio Yogurt which I ate at Starbucks. I
also purchased a Chicken Wrap Bistro Box at Starbucks for dinner. I traveled back to the hotel.
Friday, Sept 20 - I traveled via
Metro to L'Enfant Plaza and the International Spy Museum. I visited the Spy Museum until closing. My secret codeword was Mercury. Several movies were mentioned: Argo, Reilly
Ace of Spies, Salt, The Americans, The Imitation Game, Black Hawk Down, and Spy
Game. The legendary Bond car - the silver
birch Aston Martin DB5 - was on display.
I purchased a Fruit and Cheese Protein Box and Dark Chocolate Grahams at
Starbucks for a dinner at hotel.
Saturday, Sept 21 - Jeff, Donna,
Joey and I went Geocaching in and around Montpelier, Virginia. I had a Yogurt Parfait at the cafe at
Montpelier while they explored the grounds.
Emily (Jeff's daughter) joined us briefly at Montpelier and for
lunch. We had lunch at La Naranja Cocina
Mexican in Orange, Virginia. I didn't
think the food was very good. We found seven
Virtuals and five traditional caches. I
purchased an Asian salad, carrot cake slice and diet coke at Safeway in Fairfax
for dinner.
Sunday, Sept 22 - Donna and Joey were
not able to join us so Jeff and I headed for West Virginia. I wanted to see the Fairfax Stone. Unfortunately there was no water in the
spring. We found one Virtual and six
traditional caches. We had a delicious
lunch on the patio at the Purple Fiddle Cafe in Thomas, West Virginia. I saw a Wind Gap as we headed east. Jeff dropped me off at National Airport. I bought a yogurt parfait and vanilla
shortbread cookies at Starbucks B South.
I watched two movies during the flight: "Isn't It Romantic"
and "Hustle". My daughter,
Catherine, picked me up at PDX. It was
good to get back to cool weather.
