Inauguration Day

We thought we’d go to Washington for the Inauguration. We bought tickets to take the Virginia Rail Express from Fredericksburg, near Pam’s house, to Union Station. Knowing that we would not be able to be close enough to see the swearing in platform, we figured that just being there with all the other Americans would be the real experience anyway. Meg, Pam and James, and Russ and I all planned to go.

But as the time drew closer and it became clear that the temperature would be far below Florida standards, we reconsidered. In the end, we chose to be able to see the ceremony and hear the Inaugural address, over being there to swell the crowd.

Russ and I went to a gathering here in Gainesville to watch with a mini-crowd. But the feed was via the web, and the site went down at the critical point. So, having had a great potluck lunch, we joined all the others in rushing home to watch on TV. We didn’t stop watching all day. No regrets. What a wonderful day.

Happy New Year

The day everyone flew home after our Family Christmas, we started a renovation project. We replaced the old sliding glass doors in the living room and master bedroom with French doors and got new windows in the living room to match the new doors. At one point during the week between our first and our second Christmas celebrations, we had a whole in the living room wall that was 7’ x 12’. Good thing it is warm in Florida in December! We like the new look.

We had a quieter second Christmas celebration. We took a little walk and cooked a great lamb roast. Our tree and decorations made the house look pretty. We were happy that the holiday stretched out for so long.

To start the New Year, we went to San Felasco Park and walked the 4.8-mile trail. It was a perfect cool day. The sun shone on the long leaf pines and the Spanish moss in the wonderful way that makes them iridescent. Of course wee ate collard greens and black-eyed peas for good luck. And, we started thinking that we may return to Spain and hike another section of the Camino. Time to start training again.