First we went to Orange Beach, Alabama with my in-laws.  Orange Beach is a lovely area on the gulf right on the Florida border and enjoyed the view of the surf from the condo’s balcony.  Unfortunately the weather was a little chilly for us, mid-70’s, which on the water can feel pretty cold.  We did quite a bit of shopping to make up for it though.  I’ll admit it, I bought nine pairs of shoes.  After being gone for almost a week I came back worked 2-days and then we were off to Washington DC, my old stomping grounds.  It’s a great time to go with all the cherry trees starting to bloom.  I took lots of pictures with my Hasselblad camera, I get the pictures back this week, and I’ll post some later.  My favorite is to use high speed film and take night pictures.  The monuments look amazing during the day but at night, they seem even more majestic.

While in DC also saw some things that were new since the last time I was there.  My husband and I went to the Native American Smithsonian Museum.  It was great, but as much as I love museums if it’s not an art museum I tend to like to stay only two hours tops.  My husband not exactly happy, he would have stayed all day.  I thought 3-hours was a good compromise.  The food court is the best, and word must have gotten out because the line was out the door.

Now it’s back to normal life.  I spent all day Friday cleaning, doing laundry, sorting through mail.  It’s amazing how it all piles up when you’re gone.

 Now I’m reading up and looking forward to our next trip which will be to China and cruise down the Yangtze River.