September usually signals the end of summer.
Our ‘lingering’ pace speeds up a bit.
We exchange our light, white garments for deeper autumn shades, thicker shoes and, toward the end of the month, more layers.
This September is a bit different this year.
The moisture gauge has dipped little from the soggy days of summer.
Cooler temps at night still hold heavy clouds that drench the days with relentless moisture.
Some predict that this summer will be the wettest on record.
We’ll see.
The rains have yet to cease and it’s almost the end of the month!
After too many days of rain, a sunny day is forecast.
So, we plan a picnic and a trip to the local art fair.
Tony’s cousins come from out of town.
A day of FUN is planned and then they will return home.
Within hours, torrents of wet relentlessly splash down on
us.
We huddle in the large tent until the worst is over. Fortunately, we’d seen every offering of art in the park.
As the rain lets up just a little, we slog through the endless slush of muddy terrain trying to find our car.
If we’d walked from our car instead of embracing an invitation to ride in the golf cart that transported people to the distant entrance, we may have paid a bit more attention to where we parked.
Now, four of us, wandering in the wilderness, umbrellas in hand, moved in varied directions until a dear volunteer drove by to take one of us to the second car-park much further away.
Hubby’s cousin had already gone that direction and found the car but, of course, he did not have his cell phone with him. [note to all over 70. Always carry a phone with you as a safety concern.]
Brave soul that I was, I thought my little “rain” jacket was waterproof!
I was soaked, head to toe.
It never occurred to me that I could put on the emergency poncho I’d tucked into each day-pack.
Actually, I did not know I was soaked through until I got in the car and hubby greeted me with two beach towels. The others were dry because I’d given each an umbrella, with none left for me.
Amazingly, we all had a laugh as as we changed into dry socks and wrung out our shoes.
- Always carry a telephone
- If carrying extra munitions against rain, ie.tacky poncho with writing all over it, use them.
- LAUGH through the adventure if the circumstances are not too dire.
- Make a memory . . . as we did.
We’ve made many memories this summer but September drew us into travel mode.
Hubby and I ventured into the big city to the Museum of Art and lingered for five hours, marveling at beauty in every format.
We sauntered into the middle east, the orient, ancient Israel and foreign countries all over the world as we embraced a Buddhist temple, a Japanese Tea House, a Shinto Shrine, an Italian Atrium leading to monastic art and beautiful statues of Mary, and Jesus on the Cross.
Famous artists’ originals drew us into another world.
Then it was time to leave.
We’ll come again, we said.
And so we will.
Having managed the most circuitous roads in and out of the city with mind-boggling traffic, hubby felt he’d conquered a nation . . . and so did I but I was not driving.
We decided our next adventure would be much easier, Washington D.C.
Some gasp at the thought of navigating this busy city but for us, it’s home.
We lived within the ‘city’ parameters for many years and know how to get in and out with ease.
METRO is the easiest way but finding parking and actually walking to the metro were challenging.
Construction work caused us to make many detours but very helpful passersby guided us around this maze of twists and turns.
The actual metro ride was a breeze.
We exited at the perfect Metro stop, around the corner
from the Bible Museum.
How convenient is that!?
Three story high pages of script in bronze greeted us as we entered.
High tech cubbies, each big enough for our day packs, screened our contents as smiling faces invited us into an amazing six stories of STORIES!
The impeccable open stair case invited us to climb to the highest floor, where the Manna restaurant, in middle eastern setting, embraced all who ate there with healthy, delicious, mediterranean food.
A walk through a Jewish village and dozens of other exhibits, including a short-term exhibit detailing the life of the nation’s greatest evangelist, Billy Graham was vibrant and stimulating.
A young, high-energy millennial, in an on-screen tour of our Judeo/Christian routes via various speedy cars, helped us tour Israel to Italy as we embraced both old
and new worlds of Christianity.
One whole floor was filled with scrolls of ancient Hebrew and Christian texts such as an original King James Bible as small videos explained the history of the printed word.
Moses actually invented the Hebrew script when he wrote on papyrus the words of Torah.
A retired Rabbi penned one letter at a time as he copied words for a new Torah.
A tiny camera enabled us to watch without disturbing him.
He stoped at certain times to write our names in Hebrew on lovely cards we could take home.
Perfect timing for us.
The Rabbi said that every new synagogue needs a new Torah.
This one would take many years to finish because, in his words, “I take many breaks.”
We spent Two days studying the origins of ancient scripts, from Old Covenant to New Covenant, and so much more.
We were totally satisfied with our lingering through the Bible Museum but hubby was on a roll.
Of course we visited our old neighborhood and ate at the our favorite little neighborhood Italian restaurant.
What a delight for us to walk into a newly updated piece of Italy with the same delicious food.
The family history, still on the walls, expanded into a tiny addition.
Nice.
On one of our many days going into the city we took a wrong turn.
We ended up going across one of the many bridges right into the Mall, the ‘green space’ that gives the endless density of buildings a place to breathe.
People could linger, enjoy food trucks, play frisbee, jump on the old marry-go-round, run or walk on the surrounding crushed-rock path, or simply sit on one of many benches and watch people saunter to their next destination.
The Smithsonian museums lined the open green field making it easy to cross from one row of buildings to another.
We just ‘happened’ to find a two hour parking place in front of the History Museum, where we wanted to spend just a couple hours.
Amazing!
We were very familiar with the contents but we knew there was some revamping since our last visit many years ago, especially with the National Flag from the Civil War.
We strolled from one exhibit to another and, after two hours, were totally satisfied.
Almost the minute we returned to our car, in front of the building, the rain began to sputter from the sky.
The bit of sprinkle here and there was all we experienced in D.C. while Hurricane Florence was devastating the Carolinas.
We felt totally blessed.
We moved on to Alexandria, our old haunt.
Much of it is the same.
The flooded lower streets next to the pier were cordoned off due to the endless summer rains.
Yet, shops and restaurants brimmed with tourists.
The narrow row-homes are still elegant and expensive but lovely to look at.
We were invited into a church that we’d missed seeing all the years we lived in the area.
It’s hidden in the neighborhood of tightly fitted abodes and cobbled streets.
Centuries old beauty in this place of worship has fortified the souls of very active parishioners.
We dream of spending a month in this beautiful part of town before we grow too old and gray.
Who would let us rent for a month?
We have so much yet to do and see.
Hubby is excited.
He is researching ways we can ‘live’ in our favorite area for a few weeks.
We do have options.
One is returning to the place we stayed while on this trip.
The seminary guest house is inexpensive, clean, convenient, quiet and safe.
We’ll see if they can accommodate us, perhaps between summer terms?
It’s a wonder-filled thought.
There is so much more to this month but I’ve lingered too long with fine memories.
We know we are so very blessed with the ability to make more memories and return to old ones.
God is good.
Life is good.
WE ARE GOOD . . . as we look forward to lingering through this Fall season.
A BABE LYING IN A MANGER WOULD GROW AND LEAD THE WORLD
