The Librarian Project: Parts 3 and 4 or What I Did On My Vacation

Hello Internet! I'm back from my trip. I had a good time, but it also was a rather difficult trip for me. It was extremely hectic, and I was with a bunch of people who are tall and walk very fast. I had a terrible time keeping up with them. We did a LOT of walking too. We went to Washington DC for a week to take in the sites. We visited Mt Vernon, fabulous museums, most of the memorials, the National Mall, toured the White House,

Me coming out of the White House

sat in on the Senate in the Capitol building,

and ate a lot of good food. The capitol of our country is very interesting. We didn't see half of what there is to see, so I hope we can go back one day.

On the day we went Memorial touring, we rented bikes and rode them around. It was so much faster and easier than trying to walk to them all. The National Mall is 2 miles long! Riding bikes really sped things up. I saw the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial,

the Vietnam memorial, the Korean memorial, the Martin Luther King memorial,

the Washington memorial, to name a few. We visited part of the Smithsonian National History Museum, and most of the Smithsonian American History museum, which is just a drop in the bucket of museums on the mall. Did you know there are 19 of them? No way could we visit them all in a week.

We also visited and toured Mt Vernon, which is the home of President George Washington. It was a fascinating place. We toured the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center which is an air and space museum. It's HUGE. So many airplanes to see. But the highlight for me was the space shuttle Discovery was there.

I finally got to see a space shuttle up close.

Under Space Shuttle Discovery

I actually got to stand underneath it. Wow, what an amazing vehicle.

After a week in DC, we went to New York City. We took the Amtrak train to New York, which was a blast. It's been years since I rode a train and I forgot how much fun it can be. I had to ride in the dining car because there were no seats available in the car the rest of the family was in. It was a packed train, but I had a whole table to myself, with nice big windows. I knitted most of the way.

In New York we walked through Time Square, took in a Broadway show-Mama Mia to be precise. It was wonderful!

We toured the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island,

rode the subway, visited Grand Central Station (a gorgeous building!),

and ate more good food. I learned that it's true-pizza is better in New York.

Unfortunately, while crossing Time Square I was looking up at all the pretty lights while half running to catch up with the family and I tripped and fell. I landed BANG! hard on both of my knees. Oh man, did that ever hurt. The crying and nauseous gonna-throw-up kind of pain. For some dumb reason, I decided to grit my teeth and bear it, rather than stopping right there and taking care of myself. So on to the planned events we went. By the time we got back to the hotel, I could hardly walk. My knees had swollen up to the size of basketballs and the bruising was horrible. I am on blood thinners, so when I bruise, I really bruise. Both my legs were completely black and blue from my knees to my feet. I iced them good that night. But the pain was excruciating. The next day I decided I must carry on and walked, actually it was hobbling, all over Liberty and Ellis islands, then several blocks in New York. Needless to say, the swelling got worse. That's when I started getting to ride in taxi's, which I much prefer over the subway anyway. The subway is crowded, smelly, dirty, and under the ground. You don't see New York under there. I hated it. Taxi's are much better.

After New York, we rented a car and drove to Providence, Rhode Island to visit my daughter Sarah and son-in-law Frank. We stayed with them just a couple days, but I enjoyed it so much.

Grandkitty Meadowlark

Finally, the hectic pace we'd been going at could stop. I just wanted to spend my time with them. No site seeing please! We played games at the kitchen table, talked, went out to dinner, and relaxed. I got OFF my feet and started actually taking care of my poor injured knees. I really enjoyed the visit. We had so much fun just being together.

I finished 2 of the librarian projects while on my trip.

Back side

Twisted Stitch Mitts

Pattern: Twisted Stitch Mitts by Amy McElwain
Size: Ladies Medium

Yarn: Vintage by Berroco
Content: 50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon, worsted weight
Color: 51191 - Blue Moon

Needles: Addi Turbo Circular size 4

Cast on: March 17, 2014
Completed: April 2, 2014

Palm side

Margaretes Fingerless Gloves

Pattern: Margarete Fingerless Gloves by Sybil R
Size: Ladies Medium

Yarn: Astra by Patons
Content: 100% Acrylic, sport weight
Color: Ocean Mist

Needles: Addi Turbo Circular size 4

Cast on: April 2, 2014
Completed: April 9, 2014

On Friday I went to see a doctor about my knees. I was beginning to wonder if I'd broken something in there because the pain has been so incredibly intense. Nothing is broken. Just really really sprained. I'm to stay off my feet until the swelling goes down, while applying ice packs several times a day. I also got a prescription for some pain killing Hydrocodon which is helping a little, but not as much as I'd hoped. The damage shouldn't be permanent, but it will take several months for them to heal completely. The swelling has gone down considerably since I started following doctors orders. I'm gonna be okay.

It's good to be home. Spring came while we were away. My crocuses are blooming, the daffodils have sprouted, leaves are opening up, there are flower buds on the trees, and the grass is green. We had 2 beautiful sunny days over the weekend.

Mostly, it smells so good here. Fresh and clean. The thing that struck me most about New York was the horrible smell. The city stinks something awful. The air is thick with the odor of urine mixed with garbage and exhaust fumes. Everything is filthy and the roads are in terrible condition. It is very much like Acapulco was. I was very disappointed. It's also very crowded. I don't understand how people can live in an environment like that. To each his own, I guess. Washington DC, on the other hand, was beautiful and clean, but so incredibly noisy! Helicopters fly over the National Mall all day, and there's airplanes, and traffic. Police and fire engine sirens were going on every 5 minutes. Just a constant assault of loud noise on the ears. Made home sound downright silent.

Unfortunately, the one thing I wanted to see the most, cherry  blossoms blooming, were closed up tight. The unusually hard winter delayed their blooming by 3 to 4 weeks. So we saw DC in it's winter clothing. That's okay. I can try again some time. I will see those cherry blossoms yet.

Live long and prosper. \\//