Where The Orange Blossoms Grow....

Hello! Welcome to the Stricklen's blog. We hope to keep our family and friends up to date with what is going on with our family. You will find a variety of experiences posted here -- you may find pictures of the never ending project of building our house, Callie helping William with his first steps, Mary studying a rare insect species, or perhaps you may be terribly bored with Molly's numerous fruit trees, berries, vegetables and rare plant pictures! Who knows what we may find Chris and CJ doing -- probably something having to do with a tractor or machine of sorts. Abby and Margaret will keep us entertained with costumes from other lands or a fairy story. Whatever we post, we trust it will lift your spirits and bring honor and glory to our Lord!

Friday, May 30, 2008

Trip to Virginia and DC









Mama's wonderful driver!



I think this is a stupid picture, but it's the
only picture of us in the car.

Our first stop was Richmond VA. We saw the monuments for Robert E.Lee, Pres. Jefferson Davis, "Stonewall" Jackson, and J.E.B. Stuart.



Grandma Harris and my little Buddy.



Callie, Gma and RG with Jefferson Davis -- Pres. of the Confederacy



(Notice the natural "RG Pose" pinky in beltloop)


WOW, it's HOT!



Some part of the monument!



Neat lookin'




Mama said I took WAY too many pictures of houses, but they turned out nice, don't you think!




In front of the Jackson monument.




(Notice the pinkies.)





Cowboy Dan
Granddaddy



(Grandmother, I got all those D's)



Another pretty Southern home!



In front of the Lee monument



Later that day, we stopped at the Museum of the Confederacy



Here we are in the Museum of the Confederacy -- 4 generations of Southerners (Disregard the Indiana Cowboy in the back row :)



Jefferson Davis





We found a WONDERFUL Mexican resturaunt in VA!





Mother and Daughter!


Will is enjoyin' his!






Me, obviously enjoying my meal


Deeda concentrating on ridding herself of the "spicy parts" of her meal, and CJ being goofy.


OOPS--I think I caught them in the middle of a bite!




Granddaddy brought us some Ice Cream!


(Notice Willie laughing hysterically at himself)





Hmmm...That Ice Cream looks GOOD!


continuing to laugh at himself, hoping someone will notice


Cousins


(Oh, my goodness--NO PINKIES!!!!!!!!!! What's going on here????? What happened?--Sorry, RJ I wont be obnoxious any more, can't you tell how serious I am???)

Is he happy, or terrified???




Gma and Mama at breakfast. Are you ready for a big day??




First stop--Arlington National Cemetery


Ya ready to go, brothers?






Starting our exciting day at the metro station!






Arlington National Cemetery






What do you know--An airplane in Wash. DC!!






Gma Harris loved this picture






The changing of the guard is always amazing.






Grandma was very touched -- she is a true patriot and loves her country dearly






Another architectural photo!






Hmm...ROCKS!! Big ones, little ones, and tasty ones for Willie!






Four Generations at the Lee Custis House in Arlington!








LUNCHTIME!




Observe the the whiz of people in the background. The people in Washington DC move unnaturally fast, for no apparent reason--It's a plague that its residents catch after living there for more than a month. They MUST make that exact metro ride, or the whole world will stop in its tracks, even if there's another metro 3 minutes later going to the same place. Watch out, or you might get trampled.




Just a Thought--Mary


Iwa Jima memorial was especially meaningful to Grandma because Grandpa Harris fought there among many other places. She has always wanted to go there and she said it was beautiful.



More pictures presently



Mary

5 comments:

R said...

Mary, what a great post! You covered the first part of the trip so well! Yes, I immediately noticed the 4 d's in "Granddaddy" -- good for you! Now, go look up ... umm, how to I do this without giving it away??? Let's see . . . go look up "the business establishment where people buy meals, sit down at tables, and eat them".

Also, you commented on the very "pinkie/loop connection" I was noticing! Has this been a thing with the cousins and I am just noticing it? I thought, "hmmm, RG's hand is always in that position in pictures!"

Mary, I especially appreciated your thoughts on Grandmother Harris' dedication to Granddaddy Harris and his service. She is truly a precious role model for us family women.

Also, what a great picture with the whizzing people! It was a perfect illustration of the different culture there in Washington. Indeed, what is the hurry when there is another train in 3 minutes?? Oh, well, it sure is nice to be back in quiet Alturas, isn't it!? Good job, Mary. I'll be looking for more! Hoping to get more up soon at Clearly Seen, too.

Love,
Grandmother Frodge

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post, Mary!! You did a really great job. The pictures bring back memories of our trip a few years back! I definetely agree with you on the different cultures. It amazes me how those people think they always have to be running all different directions - 90 miles an hour!

Maybe we'll see y'all before too long! :)
~Mallory for the Whiddons

Bonnie said...

Mary, hopefully, you figured out that RG had been using my computer last and I didn't realize I was posting under his email address! For a while, I thought I had lost my magnificent composition when I went to change to my own email ID. Thankfully, it was still there -- I don't know if I could have remembered all I wrote! Anyway, that was me in the first reply!

Love,
Grandmother

Kitty said...

Very humerous post, Mary! =) Looks like yall enjoyed tour trip!!! :)

His Space said...

aww i'm glad to see u had a wonderful trip, thanks for the post luv the pics ( :

peace in chirst ~ julia