Holiday Inn Columbia, Md

... to the metro station our dogs were pretty tired. After a meal and stroll through Georgetown, we set our sights on the Lincoln memorial. All these wonderfully historic sites are beautifully laid out around the city but if you are walking to each one, you start fantasizing of having a segue to glide around. The Lincoln Memorial was beautiful and as we stood gazing out at the reflecting pool I looked down to find that the words "I have a dream" were inscribed right where we were ...

Magnificent weather greeted us this morning, cold and crisp but very sunny, which was great as we had some driving to do. First stop was Liberty Park to see the Liberty Bell and Constitution Hall which was interesting. Philadelphia is quite a pretty city. Then on to Gettysburg to check out some of the Civil War battlegrounds ...

... exhibition in the Ripley museum - The Capitol: http://www.thedctraveler.com/wp-content /uploads/2007/02/us-capitol-1.jpg We finished the very long walk at Chinatown and of course indulged in some goooood Chinese food. Off we drove out of Washington, and kept going North until we hit the Sunday evening traffic when we decided to hit the closest motel.

... Pennsylvania everything seemed to get greener and warmer. By the time we reached Maryland we were greeted with broad golden swathes of forsythia and carpets of gilded daffodils. Washington welcomed us with dogwood and cherry blossom in glorious profusion. No, we weren't in DC to consult with Barack or Hillary, and this time we even gave most of the museums a miss. We spent the week revelling in just being able to wander the parks and gardens in our ...

... and friends to visit, and me to visit home], and very expensive place to live. Definitely still a possibility for later) *Puerto Rico (went this past April, tropical and offers the opportunity for tourist/adventure type of work and activities, like Hawaii; also technically US so a simpler move, close and cheap to get to; booted because it would be a huge cultural and possible economic change - and also a possibility for something short-term later ...

so far the greatest stressors are simply: why is the Brazilian consulate so clumsy and should we take a hair straightener? Having victoriously conquered the Brazilian consulate, and only mildly miffed about the $100 blurry stamp they call a visa, we must decide upon the hair straightener.... and by decide, I simply mean have the courage to do what we know we must ...

... The total price came to $518.70. The only bad thing is that all the Miami - Quito flights leave in the morning and arrive in Quito in the early evening, so that means I'll spend most of Day 1 flying. The same is true for the return flight, so that means I'll have 10 full days on the ground in Ecuador.

... of the water, but it took a pretty good hit. Let me turn it on . . . . yeah, it's fine. . . . ouch . . . . . huh-oh." There is blood pouring down from a cut on my right knee. I started splashing it with the tide to wash away the blood. I thought, "Oh, hell, I'm drawing sharks." I was bleeding pretty profusely. Larry came down to help me up, but I had the camera in one hand and I was trying to keep the cut on my knee pinched shut to stop the bleeding ...

... good thing I picked up the snow blower from its annual checkup YESTERDAY). Maybe I will spend the day daydreaming about tropical isles... That's about it for me. I hope you got the course equivalencies file I emailed you, and saw my email to Jon...haven't heard from him yet. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Mombasa, that the move back to Nairobi goes well, and that your schoolwork comes together easily. I love you...Mom

... gone through so much already with the British, Ida Amin, and the LRA, people are still hopeful and full of spirit. Again, thank you for all of your support. We would not have had the accomplishments and experiences without it. As for our future, we plan on somehow continuing our involvement with the people of the IDP -- either through future rotations abroad, or working on a school sponsorship program of our own. We'll keep you posted!