Saturday, January 4, 2020

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2006. Our family tradition was to visit the US Botanical Gardens during December. We loved seeing the decorations and it was glorious to enter this hot house on a cold and grey Washington, DC day. 





Quote of the day: Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, 'It will be happier.' ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

We woke up at 5:30am. Not my hour, but it had to be done to pack up, eat something and then head to the airport. Outside our hotel, we could see cruise ships returning to the Ft. Lauderdale harbor. As Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are big turn around days for cruises. In which around 18,000 people disembark and another 18,000 embark on a journey.

The Marriott Harbor Beach hotel before sunrise. 

Even at that hour, the property looks lovely. 

Our view once the sun came up. It was hard leaving this weather knowing we were returning to grayness and rain. 

The view of Fort Lauderdale from the sky. The pilot prepared us for a bumpy ride. We had a stop over in Charlotte, NC. However, despite the preparation, the turbulence wasn't bad! Thankfully. 

Can you see Cape Canaveral?

Charlotte, NC from the sky. Last December when we flew through Charlotte, Peter had food poisoning. He was vomiting non-stop and thankfully after several hours during our layover he stabilized at the airport and was able to fly back to DC. In comparison to last year, this year was peaceful. 

A granite quarry that we could see from the sky. 

Blue skies in Charlotte! The last time we saw blue skies today. 

Coming in the Washington, DC area. Notice the grayness? We were flying over Great Falls, VA. A place we walked often with Mattie.  

National Cathedral in DC.  

A sight I will never forget. I would recognize that AstroTurf in my sleep! Where is it? Try the campus of Georgetown University. Many of Mattie's hospital rooms overlooked this field. To me this field always made me depressed because it reminded me that we were imprisoned in the hospital while others were on the outside living a more normal and less life threatening life. 

The campus of Georgetown University. 

The beauty of Foggy Bottom, DC. Our neck of the woods. 

The Kennedy Center and Foggy Bottom.

A wonderful view of the National Mall. A place we walk often with Sunny. You can see the Lincoln Memorial, the reflection pool, and the Washington Monument. 

We are back home and spent several hours unpacking, going through two weeks of mail, and grocery shopping. Tomorrow we pick up Indie and Sunny. Sunny has been on a hunger strike for two weeks (as I get DAILY text message updates), so I know he will be thrilled to see us.