However, I didn't go there. My trip was to Washington, D.C. with a few hours in Chicago going and coming home. Those stops were fun, and I'll try to write more about that another time. As you know, or maybe not, I travelled by train which means I left my home at 3:30 p.m. on Wed., Dec. 22, and arrived in D.C.'s Union Station at 1:10 p.m. Dec. 24.
This is not actually my train, but one I borrowed from another application. My best shot of my train was on a curve in the Allegheny Mountains with snow all around, but my best shot wasn't very good. The scene, however, was wonderful---imagine it.
It seems imperative that I tell you first what "up to date" means these days. Example: In D.C., adjoining Chevy Chase, Md and in Chicago the pedestrian walk signs at big intersections have an attached window which clicks down the seconds remaining for the scurrying pedestrian to make it safely across the street before the herd of vehicles is untethered and free to mow one down. Wish I'd gotten a picture of them; alas, I did not. The thought, "Toto, we're not in Louisiana anymore," did cross my mind. I was tentative at first and didn't trust 22 sec. to be sufficient time, but soon leapt right out there if we had 16 sec. I really can move fairly fast, especially if the wind is not a factor.
But here's what you really want to know---the latest restroom technology. So, we're all accustomed to sensor toilets that flush automatically, faucets that go on and off, and paper towels that stingily dispense towels based on our motion. But how about this?
Above it were the directions which explained that one should push the red button to rotate the plastic wrapped seat before using the toilet.
Who knew that peeing would become a learning experience?
At the Newseum, the place I was most eager to visit, the restroom walls were also decorated with headline bloopers. Each stall had one or two as well as the common area. How much fun is that? (It reminded me of the father in Cheaper By the Dozen who had educational info posted everywhere in their home so that the children would be learning wherever they were and whatever they were doing.)
More to come . . . I hope.
2 comments:
Wow, indeed. Happy to see what ranked on your list of vacation highlights. The only one of these items I mentioned when quizzed over the last week about your visit was the crosswalk timer. I feel it bears mentioning that in many places in Louisiana there aren't even sidewalks, muck less pedestrian crossing signals.
Not sure that those were the high points, but, certainly, they made an impression. And it was a starting point until I collect my thoughts a little more.
In addition to the Bon Voyage, let me wish you a very happy birthday and hope it continues throughout your voyage. Love you.
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