Washington DC Day #1

We arrived in time today to meet Brett for lunch at We, The Pizza.  It was great to catch up with him and the food was as good as we remembered.  After visiting for awhile we all piled into the Pilot and drove to Mount Vernon.  It was hotter than last year, but thankfully less crowded.  The tour was the same as we remembered, but we were glad to have taken it.  Doug, Brett, Cam and Meg also walked down to the Potomac.  I opted out of that hike and instead hung out in the shaded area of the slave memorial.

Once we left the Washingtons' home we went to the Pentagon City Mall.  We didn't buy anything, but it was a nice break from the heat.  It dropped from 100 to 95 by the time we reached Arlington National Cemetery.  I made it to the Kennedy graves, but decided from there to wait on everyone else.  It was just to hot and hilly for a long walk for me.  Doug and Cam made it to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Brett met them at the grave of Joe Louis and Meg stayed with me resting in the shade.

We picked Bonefish Grill for dinner and everyone found something delicious on the menu.  The wait was long, but our waiter was funny so we didn't mine.  We also found a nail in our back tire when we drove into the parking lot which answered why our tire pressure light had come on.  Doug talked to a 24 hour repair service.  They met him in the lot while we waited for our food and within ten minutes the tire was repaired.  It was close to 8 by the time we left Arlington.  We decided that it was a good time for a night walk around the monuments.  We didn't make it to all of them, but we were able to visit FDR's, Martin Luther King Jr's, the Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Wall before calling it a night.  It was an exhausting day, but a great start to a DC visit.  

Another Friday, Another Day of Packing

I woke up early this morning to make sure that Cam was ready to play golf with my Dad.  They wanted to get in eighteen holes before it became too hot.  I thought beating the projected heat wave was a good idea myself and headed out the door to get in enough steps that I could make 10,000 before we left this afternoon.  Although the heat index wasn't supposed to reach 100 degrees until later in the day, it was definitely hot this morning when I was walking.  Therefore, I decided to stay in Woodland Acres for this hike.  It was nicely shaded and I had over 6500 steps before I reached my front door.  I was pretty excited when I weighed in this morning as well.  I had officially lost over sixteen pounds which was half way to my second weight goal all in a month's time.

The rest of the day was spent much as last Friday - packing, laundry, watering plants, and running errands.  Cal came home from work in the middle of the day.  He said that it was definitely hot at the golf course.  He finished helping Vicky with some projects around the home and then went to visit Hannah Marie before she left for a graduation party in Michigan.  He had to work all weekend, so he didn't seem to mind that everyone would be gone for the next couple of days.  He planned on driving the CR-V until we get back since the truck does not have air conditioning.  Cam made it home in time to pack before we left.  He was pleased with his golf round.  Meg also spent time packing, but did have time to finish her SAT practice for the week, read, play the piano and FaceTime Jackie.

The Pilot was cleaned and packed when Doug arrived at 4:30.  The drive was an easy one through Ohio.  The mountains of Pennsylvania always make me nervous, but the weather was clear which made it easier.  We drove until close to midnight.  Sundance TV was having a Law & Order marathon which we were able to watch with the DirectTv app.  That made the trip seem to fly by.  Meg and Cal have stated that we are lame for watching it, but it was entertaining.  Cam, however, appreciates our current obsession with it.

An Extra Week Off

Earlier this spring we found out that Bethany had decided to take a second moratorium week off this summer.  When they discussed it in the fall they weren't sure what week made the most sense.  In the end they picked the week before the mandatory July 4th week chosen by the IHSAA.  This meant that Meg had this week off to relax and hang with her friends.  She made the most of it.  On Tuesday she went to Jackie's to go shopping at University Park Mall and then spend the night.  They also caught up with Biz and Alistair.  Wednesday she left Jackie's and drove to Michigan to hang out with Liam at his lake home.  Today she invited friends over for karaoke, basketball, a trip to the beach, ice cream at Joe's and a drive around town.  I was glad that she was able to make the most of her time off.  School schedules just came out and the first day will be here soon enough.  It was nice to have an extra week just to enjoy summer.

Who Needs a Putter, When You Have a Driver??

Today Cameron had a golf tournament at Erskine Golf Course in South Bend.  The weather was once again dreary and cool for June.  It didn't seem to bother Cameron.  He was worried about the lesson he had yesterday, however, especially since the golf pro changed his entire swing.  He struggled with it a little, but looked very good on the front despite the change finishing with a 38.  The back was longer and a little more challenging, but Cam hung in there shooting a 43 putting him in a third place tie once again.

The playoff started on number 17, a par three hole.  Cam hit his tee ball well, pin high, but a little to the right placing him in a bunker.  Cam has not been a fan of the sand trap this summer, but didn't look like it today.  He hit a beautiful shot within two feet of the hole.  His opponent struggled and found himself at the same distance putting for bogey.  I felt confident that Cam would sink the putt, but noticed that he kept going back to his bag.  As I was still standing by the tee I wasn't sure what he was doing, but soon enough he had sunk the putt and was shaking his opponent's hand.  The boys following him cheered and I noticed he was laughing with Grandpa on the walk back up the fairway.  That's when I was let in on the secret.  Cameron had left his putter by the door of the clubhouse and instead had to use his driver on the green.  I couldn't believe it, but was happy that it worked for him.  Soon enough he was wearing a third place medal around his neck and had the best golf story ever to share with the rest of his family.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Brett sent me a link today stating that the American Children's Librarian Association voted unanimously to take Laura Ingalls Wilder's name off of their highest children's author award.  They stated that they did this because of her stereotypical portrayal of other races in her Little House on the Prairie series.  I had to read that statement over and over again to fully understand what it was saying.  I have read Wilder's series multiple times over the years starting when I was in first grade.  She was by far my favorite author growing up and I had encouraged Meg to read her books when she was in elementary as well.  I could not fathom how anyone could accuse Laura Ingalls of being a racist.  She wrote about what she lived at that time period.  Her vivid descriptions of being a pioneer made me wish that I had lived during that era when I was a child.  From her writings I understood that there was an Indian country and that families on the prairie had to be cautious when building homes in the west.  There were raids, but there were also relationships built.  Wilder wrote in detail about the Indian trail and watching the tribes walk by all while wishing she had her own papoose.  My heart broke as a little girl when the Ingalls family had to leave their favored home with real glass windows because the western territories redrew their borders and their prairie home was across the line in Indian territory.

The children's association obviously did not understand that children could actually relate to stories set in a different time period.  "Wilder's work is considered "controversial," because of how she speaks of her family's fear of Native American attacks, and her era-specific views on blacks. Intellectuals and historians might teach Wilder's works in the context of her upbringing, but, apparently, children's librarians are incapable of the same level of nuance."  This statement does a disservice to students and teachers everywhere.  An eight year old may not understand race relationships, but they do not base their opinions on a favored childhood book.  They can actually understand that the world was a different place one hundred and fifty years ago.  I know that because I have discussed the Little House on the Prairie series with my own daughter and many of my students.  They understand that blacks were treated differently during Wilder's lifetime in the same manner that they understand that the threat of locusts, prairie fires and harsh winter's have changed over that same time period.

It took me quite some time to get over the frustration I felt with this group.  Ultimately, it won't change my opinion of the Little House series.  The best part about reading those books was that I could learn about history without reading a history book.  It was the same reason why Jane Austen later became my favorite author, and why I tend to only read fiction set in other centuries.  In fact I just finished Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest."  Not only was it well written, but it also gave me into an insight into Wilde's impression of love and marriage in the late 1800s Europe along with other social themes of the time.  Just as with Laura Ingalls Wilder I do not judge any authors' opinions of long ago based on today's knowledge.  If I did I would miss some wonderful works like "Les Miserables", "The Phantom of the Opera," "Ethan Frome" and so many more.

Zoo Day

Every summer Cam, Meg and I take a day trip to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.  Normally, we wait until late July, but with a two week sport moratorium this year we decided to move up our visit to today.  We were surprised by all of the cars in the parking lot when we arrived, but thankful that the zoo was not too crowded.  For the first time ever we altered our normal trek through the zoo by heading straight to the sea lions so that we could watch them be fed.  It was a fun demonstration.

Once the sea lion chat was over we walked to our normal path stopping first in Africa for a ride on the Skyfari and to feed the giraffe.  Our next visit was to Asia.  We enjoyed watching the baby orangutan swinging on the ropes and refueled with lunch at their cafe.  In Australia we took a turn on the log flume ride while being on the "look out" for crocodiles.  Cam and I also walked through the bird sanctuary and got a picture of him touching a sting ray.  The geese slowed down our train ride, but we had fun just the same.  Meg opted out of the children's farm, but Cam got some great video of the chickens for her to view.  Today was the perfect zoo day for the three of us.  Not only was the weather beautiful, but we enjoyed our day together as well.

Back Home Again!

It was hard after a fantastic weekend in Bloomington to head home.  After Cam and Doug played tennis, a visit to Parce's and lunch at Oliver Winery we knew that it was time to go.   It was strange this morning knowing that this was our last time at Parce's apartment.  It has been a lot of fun visiting him on our frequent trips and we appreciated him letting us stay there many times over the last four years. While driving back we did make plans to return next month and stay at Brett's .  There were several plays at through IU's summer theater that I was interested in attending and Doug was up trying a few more of Bloomington's fabulous restaurants.  

Cal was asleep when we got home.  He has worked the past three nights from 6 a.m. to 2 and was thankful to have tomorrow off until I reminded him about his dentist appointment in the morning!!  Doug started mowing once we got the van unloaded, but Cal decided that he wanted to do it instead.  Thus, he was able to get a few other projects done instead while I unpacked.  Cam left with my Mom to play golf.  It was crowded, but they were able to get in nine holes.  Doug said that he would walk up to Huntington's for dinner with me.  I was glad to do it as I needed the steps.  The walk back up the hill at the high school was a challenge, but I did get my 10,000 steps in before the evening was over.  We relaxed by a bonfire when we got home, ready for some down time.  Cal and Cam got in a game of badminton before it got too dark and Meg joined us for some conversation before she headed up.  It was a nice way to end a fun packed weekend.