Gaithersburg, Maryland
2 weeks ago
After an early morning flight, Terry and I arrived on a journey that was
uneventful and smooth. And just in time for a relaxing evening and delicious
dinner of pulled pork sandwiches.
Early the next morning, we headed out to Morvan park for a brisk morning walk.
It was so gorgeous, that I let myself go and completely forget about the time!
And got a bit lost, but oh so beautiful!!
No worries, heading back, Dorothy picked me up in time for
a bit of shopping for Katie's orzo salad for the next evenings
party. Lauren, Dorothy and I then headed out to Lansdowne Resort and Spa.
Mani-pedi treatments!
So relaxing and special! And a fantastic view!
A little time to dry and kick back, rehydrate and get a bit of snacking in
we headed to the relaxation room.
perfect, toes all dry now!
Thank you Dorothy! And I have no picture of you, but your beautiful toes!
That evening, after Katie and Terry finished the Orzo salad with roasted vegetables,
Dorothy and Dave treated us to a lovely grilled salmon dinner!
Yum!
Friday was the "welcome dinner" Dorothy planned for all
the out of towners! The kitchen was busy with preparations of Monterey chicken,
green salad, crusty bread, cheesecake and cookies as well as a ton of hor d'oeuvres.
Before we knew it, arrivals began!
Before we knew it, arrivals began!
So many happy faces!! So good to see everyone!
Delicious! And what a great evening!
I don't know. I've been feeling out of sorts. Helpless.
Frustrated. Mad.
Over the New Year celebrations, I spent a couple of late
nights talking about it with Terry. Maureen stayed late New Year's Eve.
Maureen and Dan, Christmas night, late night talks.
No solutions.
Helpless.
Had to do something. Anything.
I had to feel like I was doing Something.
At first, with the inauguration pending, I jumped onto
the bandwagon of urging Congressmen to boycott.
Then, I found it.
The Women's March.
I had talked to some nurses about their plans to go to DC.
Exciting, but out of the questions for me.
Then, I found more. Marches Everywhere!
I mean Everywhere! There was no way I could not go.
And I was off work!
I could do something!
And I was excited! Really excited!
Found my posse to go with and plans were made.
Waking up the evening before the March, I got motivated.
I need a POSTER!
And I was on my way! Full of inspiration and motivation.
No longer frustrated, helpless, but still Mad.
And that kept me moving!
The morning of the March, we were up early.
Yes, bless his heart, Terry, got up early and joined me!
No longer frustrated, helpless, but still Mad.
And that kept me moving!
The morning of the March, we were up early.
Yes, bless his heart, Terry, got up early and joined me!
Coffee and breakfast, pack a bag,
and grab the posters
and grab the posters
Our plan, knowing parking would be impossible, was
Maureen would take us to her building where she has parking at work!
She works about 1/2 mile away from Pershing Square, the start
of the March.
We arrived, although, it did take about 1/2 hour to get the usual
10-15 drive to get there. Fortunately, the street closures did not
affect our route, just traffic.
There were 5 of us with Maureen, Kevin and Izabel 💖💖
And so we marched forward
So many lined the sidewalks on our way!
Cars honked and cheers spontaneously erupted!
People were so happy, supportive and diverse!
Cars honked and cheers spontaneously erupted!
People were so happy, supportive and diverse!
And I should mention that we had one ! day in between heavy rainstorms
and this was the day the skies decided to take a break. It was chilly, but we
were not soaked!
These two guys were terrific, Terry and Kevin! Marching in support!
We got closer and the crowds got thicker.
The Posters were so inventive and inspiring!
and, oh yeah, every version of this you can imagine!
This women was an artist and drew this one!!
She even signed it :))
The closer we got to Pershing Square the slower the crawl and the more
jammed were the streets, until we were at a standstill.
She even signed it :))
The closer we got to Pershing Square the slower the crawl and the more
jammed were the streets, until we were at a standstill.
We could hear things starting at 10, when the March was supposed to take off.
Voices on the loud speaker, the National Anthem.
10:30, still no movement.
10:45 still at a standstill.
We were close enough to the intersection, which you've probably seen
in the news
The problem. No forward movement. The 1 mile march was already there!!
That is a whole lot of people!
You will never believe what happened next.
Word started spreading that we were going nowhere,
and EVERYBODY!! gradually, orderly, TURNED AROUND!
Yes, hundreds of people on the street we were on turned around
and started moving in the opposite direction.
We were going to get to City Hall no matter what!
So we headed for side streets. Heck, this is Los Angeles. We know how
to deal with traffic!!
And we did. No one pushed, shoved, trampled.
It was explain, excuse me and go.
Just like that, it worked.
That is a whole lot of people!
You will never believe what happened next.
Word started spreading that we were going nowhere,
and EVERYBODY!! gradually, orderly, TURNED AROUND!
Yes, hundreds of people on the street we were on turned around
and started moving in the opposite direction.
We were going to get to City Hall no matter what!
So we headed for side streets. Heck, this is Los Angeles. We know how
to deal with traffic!!
And we did. No one pushed, shoved, trampled.
It was explain, excuse me and go.
Just like that, it worked.
Now, understand, no one anticipated these crowds.
They anticipated 80,000. So the closed off streets would
accommodate that. Not 750,000! We made our own route to the
City Hall by side streets, cars just had to wait! Buses had to wait.
Trucks had to wait.
Wait they did and they did gratefully! They cheered us, smiled at us,
clapped for us! It was amazing!
The feeling was INCREDIBLE!
clapped for us! It was amazing!
The feeling was INCREDIBLE!
Trying to send text messages, pictures, phone calls was impossible.
We stuck to each other like glue, No way could you find anyone!
Side streets less packed now, spontaneous music and dancing sprouted
up and we joined in.
People spontaneously erupted in cheers and it spread like
the "wave " at a sports arena.
We were on to City Hall now!
Loved this group of guys without a single woman!
And we made it!
Hard to see, but that is the City Hall building behind us.
We sat for a spell and watched the people go by cheering them on!
Then we noticed. There was a freaking WALL of people that
were coming down the hill packed side to side that just never
let up! We sat about 45 minutes and it never thinned out!
My phone just doesn't zoom in and could not catch it well.
Maureen caught it a bit better here.
So thrilling to see democracy in action, to feel it.
Thank you to this fabulous group for making it so special!
Yeah for Democracy!!
So, back from San Clemente, we had planned to go out to
Riverside to see Colleen and her family. They
asked us out to have dinner and see the
Christmas lights at the Mission Inn!
We even persuaded Terry's mom to go.
The lights went on for a block and just surrounded the inn!
Lighted horse drawn Cinderella carriages
rolled along the blocked off streets.
It was quite the sight!
A little magical, huh?
And it went on around the corner
Pictures really don't capture it.
It opened up to a wider courtyard
full of shops, restaurants, and carts with their wares.
What a great start to the New Year!
