Mark and Tanya's vacation blahg

Friday, April 21, 2006

Wild beasts of our apartment

More animals: not all cute

owl

orang utan

fish of the Amazon

Cute animals at the zoo

River otter

capybara

prairie dog

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Pandas in action!

Mom and I hit the National Zoo today, primarily to see the pandas. Didn't get to see Tai Shan, the baby, but we caught the other two in action. Sorry for the noise on the videos, but there was construction to build a new habitat.
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Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Boyd's Bear Country

We visited Boyd's Bear Country on the way back from QVC. Mom collects the little bears so she stocked up.

This is a statue of the guy who founded Boyd's Bears. Mom likes the little bears he made. I respect him for his use of pen and tablet.

Mom's Graceland

Yep, mom made it to her "Graceland", aka the QVC studios in Pennsylvania. Here are her reactions on video.

How do feel about being here?
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Mom's reaction to the tour
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Tuesday, April 18, 2006

War Memorials

Vietnam War Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Nurses of the Vietnam War

From the reflecting pool

Self-reflection at the Korean War Memorial

Reflecting on myself at the Korean War Memorial

She shoots...

Here's mom trying to take the shot...

And here's what she gets...

It's all about Hawaii

Of course, we are always on the lookout for things that remind us of home. Here's what we found...

At the World War II memorial, the different states are recognized for their contributions.

One of a few mentions of Hawaii at the American Indian Museum. This at the section showing contemporary events dealing with indigenous people.

This rock is supposed to be from Hawaii, marking the western corner of the American Indian Museum (even though the museum is designed without corners). No marker, but we're pretty sure it is.

It's all about mom

Nothing but shots of mom at different places. Tanya thought they should standalone (i.e., no scribbles). Enjoy!

Here she is out in front of the Capitol. We had intended to take a tour, but mom wasn't really interested.

Mom walking through old town Alexandria yesterday.

Looking serious at the World War II memorial in front of a spot that reminds her of work.

Mom with tulips in DC. Lot of things blooming around the capitol, although she was late for prime cherry blossom.

A different angle of at the WWII memorial.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Mom eating tempura

Yeah, I'm sure we've all seen mom eating tempura before, but this is the first time we've seen it at Konami, a Japanese restaurant in Tyson's Corner.

Me enjoying my last seafood for fifty years...

I'm basically giving up seafood for fifty years. Not for environmental reasons really, but to better my chances of being able to enjoy seafood after I'm old and grey. Read about my "50-Year Fish Boycott" here.

Me on a log

Title's pretty self-explanatory, but this is me on a log in the park in Alexandria.

Red Robin

We spent way too much time trying to get a shot of this bird.

Mom in Alexandria

My sushi birthday lunch

Feast your eyes on the last seafood I will eat for the next fifty years...

Shrimp Shumai

Assorted sushi (after I had already finished most of it)

My dessert of scallop, octopus, and salmon skin roll

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Cutting the grass

Click on the photo for a close-up of the sign. It's important for the joke.

Mom and Gal at the Georgetown Flea Market

Yeah, there's a porta-potty in the background but otherwise it's a good shot.

Mom made it up the Exorcist steps.

(well, not really, but it looks good.)

Self-portraits

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Mom with the Halls

Mom met Lisa's parents today. My mom sort of looked out for our friend Lisa when she went to school in Hawaii. Her parents are very grateful and finally got to tell her in person today.

Mom's 2006 visit: Day One

Mom's in town and her first stop was London, England where she had to use the phone. Actually this was at the Hunter's Head pub where we had an early dinner. Good authentic British pub fare.

Messages & photos from our vacations.

: Name: Sumocat

I am @Sumocat@mastodon.world ( https://mastodon.world/@Sumocat ) and also @SumocatS on that other site. I also used to maintain a few blogs on Blogger, which apparently I’m doing again.

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