Thanksgiving Travels or "The Ridiculously Long Post that Probably Only Family Will Enjoy (And May Even Be Too Long for Them!)"

This year we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving by visiting Washington D.C. Here are some of the highlights:

As soon as we arrived, we put on our walking shoes. Our hotel (thank you Susan for hooking us up with such luxurious accommodations!) was only a ten minute walk from the National Mall so we set out on foot and avoided the traffic. We were told that the monuments were prettiest at dusk, and they didn't disappoint. I'm only sad that we couldn't get pictures of everything - the Vietnam memorial was particularly beautiful.

In front of the WWII memorial with the Washington Monument in the background.

Walking along the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Memorial.

(I know this picture is fuzzy, but I love the way it looks!)

Admiring the Lincoln Memorial

After walking up and down the Mall, we were pretty beat. We headed back to the hotel to rest up for the next day. Thanksgiving Day was spent at the National Museums. We feasted on the exhibits at the National American History Museum and the National Air and Space Museum.

C3PO Costume

Julia Child's Kitchen

Michelle Obama's inaugural gown - it was so beautiful in person!

Vietnam War Helicopter

My favorite exhibit at the American History Museum was "The Star Spangled Banner". (Click on this link for pictures!) They had the actual flag that inspired our National anthem on display. It was huge and I was surprised at the sense of awe and reverence I had while looking at it.

Both boys LOVED the air and space museum! How could they not with all the cool planes hanging from the ceilings?!?

By the end of the day we were spent and ready for a Thanksgiving feast.

We headed to the wharf...

So fresh they are still moving! Kyle was mesmerized by the wriggling pile.

That evening we enjoyed a delicious, unconventional Thanksgiving feast of Atlantic blue crabs, steamed corn and freshly baked rolls.

Who says the Indian's didn't serve steamed crab?!?

On our last day we visited the National Building Museum. The kids were delighted to have some hands-on, down-time.

And it just so happened that they had a LEGO exhibit. Check out this recreation of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai made entirely of LEGOs!!!

AND they had a killer LEGO playroom...

After this it just couldn't get any better so it was time to head home. We didn't make it to the White House this time (the closest we got was driving past the front gate!), but did I mention that Kyle ran into President Obama at the food court in the Old Post Office?

Tee! Hee! (*wink* *wink*)

We had a wonderful time exploring our nation's capital city but we missed being close to friends and family this year. We hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving!

Halloween Treats

Another Halloween has come and gone! While we enjoy the last of our candy (all the chocolate is gone and we are sifting through Tootsie Rolls and sugary stuff), please enjoy the following visual treats.

Here are the boys getting ready to head out for Trick or Treat fun. We went trick or treating in one of Marc's colleague's neighborhoods with her children. The air was crisp and chilly and the kids crunched fallen leaves as we walked along winding roads. The trees made spooky outlines against the fading light in the evening sky as we climbed long, dark, driveways up to jack-o-lantern lit front doors. It was perfect!

Kyle decided to reprise his 2008 costume and dressed up as Indiana Jones. You would think that I'd been happy about a repeat costume choice, but we had gotten rid of the jacket and had to scramble to find a new one. But the Goodwill gods provided and I had one happy little boy.

We thought of dressing Sean up as one of the Kobra Kai Skeletons (remember "The Karate Kid"?) but even with the face paint, Sean was more of a cute skeleton than a scary one. Here he is trying to get some last minute inspiration for his costume.

The boys had a lot of fun on Halloween night. At first Sean just wanted to eat each piece as he received it, but after three or four houses he caught on and would shove his way up to the front of the pack of kids to get first pick at the candy bowl. Here he is with his haul and his mouth full of candy!

Not to be left out of the fun, I also dressed up this year.

Here I am as Lady Gaga from the beginning of her "Telephone" video. With so many different looks to choose from and so many great costumes, I was ultimately swayed by the coke can rollers and Gaga's look that reminded me of Madonna's Desperately Seeking Susan days.

Scary!

I went to a few places to find an actual pay phone for this picture, but it appears that they are extinct. So this cigarette poster and the seedy, gas-station fluorescent lighting will have to do.

I hope you all had just as much fun as we did this year!

Great to be Eight!

Last month Kyle turned eight.

He joined Cub Scouts

And yesterday, he was baptized.

I'm so proud of this little boy and the person he has become. He is energetic and curious, and does most things at 110%. He has a silly sense of humor (he loves America's Funniest Home Videos and Tom & Jerry) and yet he is sincere and kind. He is an excellent swimmer, master Lego builder and a great older brother.

We love you, Kyle!

Are We There Yet?

The last time we left the Yamadas, they were in Indiana. Lest you think we've been stuck there for a month and a half, let us finish this roadtrip!

Cincinnati. Yet another place I never thought that I'd visit. We visited the statue from the opening credits of "WKRP in Cincinnati",

drove by Paul Brown Stadium, home of the Bengals,

and then, not knowing what else to visit, we picked up a visitor's guide and ventured out to Findlay Market, Ohio's oldest public market.

What a treat! Farmers were selling fresh produce outside the main building.

And inside the historic market were butchers and fishmongers, flower stands, cheese-mongers, and bakeries.

There were delicatessens serving a wide variety of ethnic foods. It was so hard to choose!

My favorite, though, were the Belgian Waffles, prepared fresh to order. We ate them with fresh strawberries from the fruit stand. The batter was perfect - not too sweet - and the waffles were crisp on the outside, while the insides melted in your mouth.

It was just the pick me up I needed. (Fellow foodies, if you ever find yourself in Cincinnati, you now know where to go.)

We left Ohio on a high, and headed for a short overnight stay in Charleston. We didn't have time for sightseeing in West Virginia, but Kyle was excited to see this along the way:

Next stop: North Carolina!

Indianapolis Part Two

While in Indiana, I expected to see this:

Lucas Oil Stadium, Home of Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning

I was excited to discover this:

Canal & White River State Park - Indianapolis' cultural district with scenic canal walkways, filled with sculptures, fountains, and gardens. Businesses and homes are built along the canal and the walkway is filled with pedestrians, bicyclists, and runners. It was so beautiful and so unexpected.

But, the REAL SURPRISE, and something I didn't expect was this:

Lady Gaga was in Indianapolis the very same night as I was!!!

I couldn't believe it. I am such a big fan and I knew she was on tour, but what were the odds of here being there the same night as me?!? I sooooooo wanted to go - it felt like fate. So I went to the box office to see what kind of seats were still available (crappy). Marc was totally behind me going, but in the end, I passed. I kept telling myself that I needed to get to bed early so I wouldn't be trashed for the long car ride ahead. (But I also didn't have anything FABULOUS to wear and nobody FABULOUS to go with. And that is the whole point of going to GAGA anyway! To be FABULOUS. Because GAGA is (yes, you guessed it) FABULOUS. And if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right...)

So this was as close as I got to the stage that night:

Here I am at the back entrance with some cheeky security guy. Lady Gaga's dancers had just gone in (they all oozed FABULOUSNESS, even out of costume) and I was hoping to get a pic with one of them, but security was tight. So much so that he wouldn't leave his post so I could take a picture. I guess he was afraid that I might jump the fence, make a break for the locked gate and try to break my way in backstage.

He might have been right...

When in Rome (or in this case Speedway, Indiana)

Our drive from Iowa to North Carolina took us through parts of the country I have never seen before and while the journey was long, it was exciting to get a taste of Americana along the way. One of the states we drove through was Indiana. Now I am not a NASCAR fan, and know very little about race car culture, but when I think of Indianapolis and what it is famous for, I think of the Indy 500. So, when in Rome, right?

We visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, located in the middle of the race track and took a one lap, guided tour around track. I have to admit, it was thrilling! And I learned something too. For the rest of you NASCAR newbies, this is what I learned:

• The track is nicknamed "The Brickyard" because it was originally made of 3.2 million bricks.
• The Indianapolis 500 is a 500-mile race. Drivers drive 200 times around the 2.5 mile track.
• The averaging speed of the drivers during the race is about 180 mph and some lap speeds top 200 mph. That's a lap time of less than forty seconds! Can you imagine driving 2.5 miles in less than 40 seconds? And you are not going straight either...

In front of an official pace car

A picture of the pagoda (taken from behind gasoline alley.) I had to include this picture because I was so surprised to find Asian influence at the race track.

Afterwards we ate at "Mug-N-Bun", a local drive-in famous for homemade root beer and it's breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. (I've added this link so you can see the sandwich in its entirety. We were STARVING, but neither Marc nor I could put a dent in it!)

Somehow this meal seemed a fitting end to our Speedway adventure.

If you're ever in these parts, be sure to check out the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Mug 'N Bun (or Mug 'N Bug as we kept calling it!). It's a guaranteed American experience.

Be sure to tune in next time! There's more Indianapolis, including my big surprise...