It was the best of times...it was the worst of times

Let's start with the best of times, shall we?

My trip to DC with my beautiful niece could not have been any better!  We had a most wonderful time, saw many amazing things and walked between 8 & 10 miles in 2.5 days!  We rolled into town Sunday at noon, drove around the city for a bit & then checked into our hotel early - big plus!  We stayed at the State Plaza Hotel just inside the campus of George Washington University and man-oh-man was it lovely!  The entire hotel is made up of suites, each having its own kitchen...this was most definitely one of our favorite features.  We also discovered that there was a CVS right next door so we came to love this store & all of its edible bounty :)  This allowed us to enjoy the city by day & then relax with an easy dinner & a movie in bed by night.

Some of the amazing places we went:
Mount Vernon
Museum of Natural History
Museum of American History
Holocaust Museum
Lincoln Memorial
Washington Monument
Vietnam Memorial
National Archives
Library of Congress
Capitol Building
Arlington National Cemetary

A few of our favorite highlights:
1 - the Hall of Remembrance at the Holocaust Museum

2 - seeing the original documents of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights & the Constitution at the National Archives

3 - watching the fireworks from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looking toward the Washington Monument

This was most definitely the trip of a lifetime, although I do hope to return for another visit someday.  I learned many wonderful things & was blessed enough to be able to share them with my niece :)  To see all my pics, click here.


Now for the wost of times...

On the way back home, I received a call from my mother informing me that my god-father, who has always been like a grand-father to me, had suffered a severe heart attack on the 4th & died.  This bit of news is altogether confusing considering he's never really had any medical issues, much less heart problems.  I have since found out that my god-mother, his wife of over 50 years, was with him when the attack happened.  I could not even begin to imagine what this must have been like for her...watching the man you've shared your entire adult life with die right in front of you...heart breaking to say the least.

So, instead of heading back to Atlanta yesterday, I'm still in NC...since the funeral is not until Saturday morning, I'll be here awaiting that unhappy day.  While I'm certainly glad that I was in NC & not GA when I got the news, I really missing being home...especially my bed & my cats.  I decided to leave some extra food for the kitties before I left my house...I'm now thanking God that I did.  Getting back to my home & routine if often one of my favorite parts of going on vacation...this terrible news has thrown a money wrench in my plans so my body is having to readjust.  Let's just hope I can hang on till I get home...

We'll miss you Papa Larry :(