Travelin', travelin', travelin'....

We left Atlanta last week for a quick tour of North Carolina. Our first stop was Franklin, NC - where we visited Grandad and Judy. Anna Kate was thrilled by a visit to Aunt Marilyn and uncle Bob's house - because she got to play with Koko, the crazy cocker spaniel. It was a quick trip, but always fun to spend time with family.

Then we headed over to Greensboro, NC. We spent some time with folks over at Westover church. We also got to visit with Lee's Aunt Tam and cousin Lisa. It was a short but sweet side trip as we headed north to Washington, DC.

On Saturday, we drove to DC to visit the Brown family in their new home. If I were a better writer, I could describe the ocean of thoughts, feelings and emotions that washed over me as I stepped into their home. I think I finally took a deep breath and felt truly at home here. More on that another day....

Sights and Excursions in DC.....

Iwo Jima, Arlington Cemetery and Arlington House (former home of Robert E. Lee) - this year we studied a lot of wars in modern history. I love being able to study history and then visit the places where history happens.

Iwo Jima Memorial from WW2

Ford's Theatre - we saw the theatre booth where Lincoln was shot, as well as a great museum about the Civil War and the assassination of Lincoln.

The theatre box where Lincoln was assassinated.

Newseum - this museum tells about the history of news and media. We were especially impacted by the exhibit on 9/11. So moving so revisit the sights and sounds of a watershed moment in our modern history.

Rebecca, Anna Kate, Andrew & Parker at the Newseum.

Hershey Park - we added two more states to our itinerary. We drove through Maryland to get to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. A day of roller coasters, water slides and rides....so fun!!

(pictures pirated from the Brown Family Blog because the lame Radfords forgot our camera)

Riding coasters!!

Insane roller coaster - straight up and straight down.

We loved it! 

Earthquakes & Hurricanes..... brought Guatemala with us? On Tuesday, Gay and I were having a little girls day out. We were sitting in the massage chair at the nail salon having a pedicure when the earthquake hit. It took us a minute to realize what was happening. People from the salon next door came running out, but we didn't move. It's certainly unusual to have an earthquake in that region, but not so concerning that we felt compelled to interrupt our beauty treatments. teeheeeheee We also visited Tom, the world's best hair dresser, where I got a new cute haircut. Very fun and adventurous day.

We loved every minute of our time with the Brown's and can't wait for the next visit. It was a sad parting, as we headed south on Friday - running from the hurricane. We will spend the day in SC and then head on to Atlanta.