"From the halls of Montezuma..."

Day 215: Sunset Parade, Silent Drill Platoon—This, was a Top 10 experience this summer in D.C.! I’ve heard about it from several of my Marine buddies, and knew I’d love it, but didn’t make it until this final one of the summer. Naturally, I was running late and arriving on my own, so I missed the shuttle and had to book it walking from the cemetery to the statue (you think it’s close, but that cemetery is bigger than you may realize!), I passed hundreds (okay, maybe not that many, but plenty) of Marines, all gathered around the backside of the monument and had to walk a couple hundred yards alone past them to join the crowds on the right side, beaming the whole time at what I knew was going to be an awesome event, but probably looking ridiculous. Boy, was I right, it was great! It was fairly crowded for an event I had only heard of a handful of times and not from anyone local, and I’d say the vast majority was military, both active and retired, with their families or on their own. The announcer asked us to rise for the presentation of the colors, and we learned tidbits of history throughout. Then the Marines come marching around my all-time favorite statue of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima and proceeded to do an excellent silent routine where all sounds came from their marching, hands hitting to their sides, or their rifles, it was pretty awesome. Afterwards, the crowd was not asked to stand for the Marine Corps Hymn, but within 3 notes, men all around me jumped up to give respect to the flag and notes that represent the branch they still so highly respect and honor. The rest of the crowd quickly followed suit, but it was clear who the Marines were among us, and it was pretty special. I highly recommend attending this if you are ever in D.C. on a Tuesday night in the summer. There is a website, but aside from that, you won’t hear any advertising but for word of mouth, but it is absolutely worth the effort.

Day 214: Slowey pitched a 7-inning no hitter yesterday, but they took him out! I still wanted to give him a tribute though. At 106 pitches they didn’t want to kill him and took him out, but I’m proud!

Day 213: I was pretty content after church today to not move for the rest of the day. I changed into the comfiest clothes possible, planned to bake, and started to nap before I was awoken to go to an Ethiopian restaurant for lunch. Huh. Let me tell you…this weekend has been one of several new and intriguing cultural experiences and this did not disappoint. Well, it didn’t disappoint in the sense that I did not have high expectations. Always up for something new, Carrie got me up to go, but I was a bit hesitant. The “bread” (injera) they had felt like skin, looked like a napkin, and didn’t have any taste, so that consistency was a bit hard to handle. The lamb and beef was actually fairly good, but I had a mouthful of “medium” cooked meat before I realized that by “medium” they meant that half the chunks were RAW! I ate for a little while, but eventually my mind got the better of me and I had to quit. Glad I tried it, but I won’t go back. Oh, but you eat with your fingers and that was fun!

Day 212: Today I had the privilege to go and watch 2 more friends graduate from Officer Candidate School at Quantico. Ralph and Sarah both had a tough summer, but they both did awesome! Sarah went from the president of her sorority to being commissioned yesterday as an officer of the United States Marine Corps. Pretty impressive! I’m so thankful that I’m close to go and watch these events, it may be a hassle to get up early, deal with traffic (yes, even at 7 on Saturday morning), and parking, but after what they have already been through, and what they are promising to do in the future, it’s the least I can do to go and support them. Proud of you guys!

Day 211: We kept the girls too busy this weekend!

Day 210: There are few night life experiences that Carrie was allowed to join in on in D.C., but we called ahead and found out she could definitely come line dancing! While not quite the experience I enjoyed occasionally in high school, the largely partner dances at Nick’s in Alexandria were still quite enjoyable if you had a partner who knew what he was doing. Unfortunately the best looked like Jesse Ventura, but boy could he spin us around! Amanda and Lauren pretty much refused to dance, but at least the music was to Amanda’s loving! Haha, the night definitely had some shining moments, and if you’re willing to give it a shot, and look dumb for a little while, you’ll eventually get the hang of it! Carrie, I'm glad you were willing to dance!

Day 209: This picture is a few days early cuz’ I have too many from this weekend with Carrie and Rae Rae in town. But we wanted to have a BBQ since we had so much company. We felt pretty grown up, and our kabobs were delicious, even if we aren’t quite the Grill Masters that would make our fathers proud. We also had an excellent game of volleyball, with me and Amanda vs. Rae Rae and Carrie, naturally the Graduates won.

Day 208: I saw this in the parking lot at Pentagon City and was pretty pumped! I never see other Twins paraphernalia on vehicles out here!!