Wandering

Got up around 4:30 AM to take Kim to the airport. Brent started his meetings that day, David was catching the train back to NYC, I was headed to a friend's to spend the rest of the week and Kim was flying out of BWI so I volunteered to take him as it is quite a trek from downtown DC. Dropped him off around 6 AM then tried to decide what to do until later in the afternoon when I was scheduled to arrive at my friend's house in VA. As I was driving, it suddenly occurred to me that I was still plenty tired so I pulled over into the lovely Maryland Welcoming Center parking area, laid my seat down, wrapped a sweater around me and slept quite nicely amongst the truckers, RV's and other single cars who were parked in the patrolled area. Woke up a couple of hours later, grabbed some breakfast on the run and began to plan my day.

I decided to just drive around until something struck my fancy. I don't usually have a car in DC and since the National Cathedral is not near a metro I rarely get there. Decided that was the perfect place to spend a few hours but on my way there, suddenly this gorgeous building appeared out of the gloomy skies and I knew it had to be the LDS Temple. I followed the signs and made my way there. It was still early and they had just barely opened the visitors center so it was very quiet and I pretty much had the place to myself. It was nice to browse through the displays as I had never been in there before. The temple itself is gorgeous!


I was so looking forward to going to the National Cathedral as I may have mentioned I do so love old churches and could spend hours just poking around, looking at stained glass, reading every plaque & engraving and just sitting in the quiet. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the cathedral had been damaged in the earthquake so is now being repaired and is closed. I was resigned to walking around the outside in the rain but still enjoying the glory of it all.


I also heard from a friend that Cracker Barrel Restaurants have audio books you can check out. Basically you pay for the CD, but when you return it they put the amount back onto your card minus $3.50 a week. I went looking for the one Cracker Barrel that had a decent inventory but had no luck. I met Dallis at her home in Oakton, VA around 2pm and we yacked and yacked. Had a quick dinner then ran her husband Tom and her nephew over to their church for a weekend retreat. She showed me around the church (Vienna Presbyterian Church) which also happens to be her place of employment. Just love lookin' around those churches! We stayed for a little bit of the beginning of the retreat then back to the house for more yacking, a hot bath and bed.