Sterling, VA-Washington D.C.

I got to my families house on Wednesday night and have been enjoying it pretty good up here in Sterling, VA. I plan on staying here until July 6th so it is going to be a nice, long, relaxing leg of my voyage. The family that I am staying with is my Aunt, Uncle, and two cousins that I have known really well throughout my life. We would all go down to my grandparent's house in Chesapeake, that I went to a few days ago and spend a few weeks over summer down there.

The first day that I was there I told my Aunt that I didnt wanted to do much but relax and she was okay with that. It gets a little hard after days of being on the road without knowing where you will be spending the night or who youre going to see that day, so I needed a relax day.

When I woke up on Friday, I went on a nice run around my families area. It was lots of fun because there are many trails in the woods, so you can be all by yourself when you are running.

Later in the day, my Aunt and Cousin took me to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. It was great because all of these museums down here are free. I guess our tax dollars do come in handy sometimes. And it was fun at the zoo because some of the animals where actually doing things when we walked by besides sleeping. This is my cousin, Sarah, at the zoo with me who I have grown up with and have so many memories with.

Yesterday, on Saturday, my Uncle took me to Washington D.C to go see my grandma and granddad's grave site at Arlington Cemetery. I haven't been there since I went to my grandma's funeral in 2001 so it was really special to go see them again.

We also got to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was amazing to see how much focus those soldiers had as they were guarding the Tomb.

We then drove downtown to the American History Museum of the Smithsonian. Everytime I come to D.C, I forget how cool of a city it is. There's so many things to see and so many festivals and people walking around, its an awesome place.

We walked past Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was shot in 1835.

For dinner last night, I was able to meet a friend that I met in Wyoming last summer. It was so much fun and we had a fun dinner laughing and talking and seeing how life is going for both of us. Again, I think its an important part of life to keep in touch with old friends who you haven't spoken with in a long time.

Another nice little thing when I got home from dinner was that my sister just happened to come into town for the weekend. She recently started a job as an American Airlines flight attendant and when she is not working, gets free flight wherever she wants to go. She was able to find one into Sterling for the weekend so I'm so happy I am able to see so much family so far on this trip.

Blessings
Ryan