Maryland Trip - Weekend in DC, part 1

I promised you all pics of my trip and I'm determined to follow through.  So here are some pics of our weekend in DC.

It rained all weekend which put a kabosh on some of the outdoor activities we had planned, and limited our pics.  Didn't make it to the Lincoln Memorial or the Capitol Building or some of the other museums at the Smithsonian...but it was fun nonetheless.

Through Thor's many many many Priority Club points we got our hotel in DC for free.  We stayed at the Crowne Plaza which was 4 blocks from the White House.  Tried to get pics of the White House, but we seemed to have shown up on a school trip Friday...so droves and droves of teenagers were milling about in front of the gates...which made for iffy pic taking.  The hotel was amazing!  With great views of the city.

We walked around the city for a bit the first night, but rain started really coming down and we didn't bring the umbrella.  So we had dessert at the hotel and called it a night. 

Next morning we went out to the Smithsonian bright and early - and had to wait around for a half hour until they opened.  Got a few shots of DC on the way there.

Shots of the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument and the Treasury Building.

 Washington Monument

So that's it for Part 1 of the DC weekend, post on the Smithsonian and Natural History Museum soon with more pics.  We also made a stop in Annapolis to see Chesapeake Bay and visit the East Coast campus of Thor's college, St. Johns.  Gorgeous campus, exactly what I always envisioned a college campus was supposed to look like when I was a kid. 

Look for that in the next few days!

Wake me up when there is an ACTUAL tornado!

Saturday mornings are all about sleeping in, staying in your pajamas, and generally being a schleb all day - it's absolutely glorious. 

But this morning - I was woken up by the tornado sirens shrieking outside my windows.  Now, these sirens are tested once a month on a Wednesday, so since it was a Saturday morning...I thought it was legit. 

Heart pounding, I threw on sweats and shoes, grabbed my computer and radio, and hustled the cats downstairs to the basement.  Made a bed out of blankets and pillows on the floor and tried to get reception on my radio. 

The siren was blaring still, the cats were totally freaked out and then I hear it... A completely calm radio announcer telling me that the city of Omaha has decided to randomly test the sirens this morning.  All morning long.

Asshats.

Gosh, I miss California sometimes.  Only sirens you hear are the old air raid ones when they malfunction and only in the older neighborhoods.  I'll take earthquakes any day over a tornado.

Movie Saturday, other goings on, and random picture

So Thor and I ran a bunch of errands today in kind of a random circular motion, first going to the Post Office.  Had 2 international packages to go out and AGAIN I had to wait till I got to the counter to ask for customs slips since they never bother to stock the forms in the lobby.  Frantically filled those out so I wouldn't have to get back in line, hopefully they are somewhat legible. 

From there our quest for a larger tackle box for our jewelry tools led us to the mecca of all outdoor stores...Bass Pro Shops.  Ok.  So I get that we are in kinda a hunting/fishing/yay guns area of the country...but I was not prepared for the sheer MASSIVE size of that store.  I did like the sign over the door - it made me laugh.

"Welcome all hunters, fishermen and all other liars."

So we go in and I stopped in the middle of the entryway, staring at the multitudes of people SUPER excited to be in that store on a Saturday.  I felt completely out of place and like I had a giant blinking sign over my head, "*cough* Bass Pro Shops virgin. *cough*"  Plus I think I was the only one not wearing flannel and gum boots.  lol

After the successful mission to find a larger tackle box for class, a Starbucks run (because the Bass Pro Shop had one randomly to one side next to the live bait section), and stop for those heavenly candied warm almonds...we were on our way back to Omaha to hit up Target for catfood.  Before Munchkin staged a full-scale revolt and hostile take over...because he's fairly certain he might die of starvation if he is not fed every 25 minutes or so.

Cat food in hand, we then began a journey to the new Aksarben Cinema that was just finished last month.  We found UNO, found it again...got lost, found it again...and then finally stumbled upon the movie theatre.  Sadly, we were like an hour early so we had a look around at the "shopping center".  That took up about 10 minutes...and then we went to Jones' Cupcakes to kill some more time. 

Ok, I really do not understand the cupcake restaurant business model.  Who the heck wants to pay 3 bucks EACH for a cupcake?!  And a whopping $33 dollars for a dozen.  A DOZEN?!!  What kind of lunacy is that?  Buy a cake mix and a can of frosting - make a dozen yourself for like what, 5 bucks?

So then we were off to see Season of the Witch.  Thank goodness the theatre had a military price, because there is NO reason a movie in Omaha costs $9 per person.  Are you serious?  So anyway...the movie...yeah, it was ok until the last 15 minutes or so.  Classic story - great buildup, climax more of a muted fizzle instead of a bang.  A little heavyhanded with the "moral" of the story...felt a bit like a Sunday School comic book for naughty children.

Weather Men calling for either 50 degree weather or 12 inches of snow.  Can I barter for something in the middle??  Temps in the 30s and like 5 inches of snow?

And here's that random pic I promised you.  Because this is the weather I WISH we were having in January.  Of course the pic is from a cruise I took down to Mexico at the time like 4 years ago.  Balmy 80 degree weather, sun shining, ocean, warm sand....*sniff*

And now that I am thoroughly depressed, I have pics to edit for new products.