Masonry

Because of my recent knee surgery, and subsequent (and ongoing) recovery process, things have been somewhat quiet for the past month. Thanks in part to the physical therapy exercises I'm currently doing, I have much more mobility now in my left knee, but I'm still far from completely recovered. Which has proven to be very frustrating, because I love to walk. I'm getting tired of hobbling and limping.

Anyway, getting to the point of this particular post, we found ourselves in Alexandria this afternoon needing to visit our credit union. The transactions were done much more quickly than anticipated, and with some unanticipated free time and with my camera conveniently on hand, we decided to visit the George Washington Masonic Memorial, the 333-foot (101 meters) tall edifice that sits atop a hill overlooking downtown Alexandria. We've driven by this building on many occasions, and Amber and I once took a look at the outside after closing time, but today was the moment we took the opportunity to finally go inside and ascend the tower. Which can be done at any time during opening hours provided you join the guided tour - ours commenced at 3 p.m.

Inside the main hall, the general stands tall and proud. My daughter, who last week went on a school field trip to Mount Vernon, was suitably impressed.

Lafayette, we are down here. Stained-glass windows of prominent personages from Washington's time line the walls on the left and right sides of the main hall.

On the third floor there are displays on Masonic societies in the United States. My maternal grandfather was at one time a Mason in the U.K.

The fourth floor contains artifacts connected with Washington's life. Some of the odder ones included locks of the first President's hair and a cup made with metal from his first casket. I settled for a picture of this banner carried by American forces during the War of 1812 (which took place thirteen years after Washington's death).

The real reason for visiting the Washington Memorial is to enjoy the views from the ninth-floor observation deck. Here is the view looking down King Street in Alexandria. In the distance loomed ominous-looking rain clouds.

The skies were a little clearer looking towards the District of Columbia

Things were getting breezy as the rain clouds neared, but being wind-swept didn't seem to faze Amber much.

Back inside, we walked through a hallway lined with postcard images of historic Masonic temples from various locales around the U.S. This is Sacramento's house of Masonry, dating from 1913. Below is a picture of what is looks like today:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento_Masonic_Temple

The George Washington Masonic Memorial from the outside. This was taken as we were leaving for home, and by this point the rain clouds had started to reach us.

All Quiet on the Blogging Front

Things have been a little quiet lately. Not in real life, mind you, where the past week has been a blur of citizenship interviews and oaths, passport and visa applications, medical examinations and the ongoing struggles with studies of Mandarin Chinese. But in my little corner of the blogosphere, there hasn't been much to write about. Mainly that's because in my free time I haven't done much since banging up my elbow and knee on Old Rag Mountain last month. I certainly haven't been able to do any serious hiking since then, and instead of walking around different parts of Washington, D.C., we've been spending our weekends between either going to stores or parks, or just being lazy at home. Hopefully, now that I'm feeling much better, I can getting back into a few of the old habits, and thus have a few pictures to post here.

Today wasn't a terribly exciting one, but at least my daughter and I did get out of the apartment for a little while. Seeing as my friends Jeff and Barbara will be visiting us at the end of this month, and how that will entail picking them up at Union Station in Alexandria as they arrive by train from New York, I decided to use the afternoon to plot the best route between FSI and the station. Amber came along and kept herself busy on the station platforms. In wasn't long before a southbound Amtrak train rolled in...:

...followed not long after by a northbound one:

Mission accomplished (as in I now know how to get there), we drove across the road and up the hill to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Although it was after closing time and rain had started to fall, it was still fun to walk around the tower and take in the view from atop Shooter's Hill. With all the things we have to do between now and our scheduled departure for Shanghai 上海 in the middle of next month, the Washington Memorial will probably have to wait until we get back in two years' time. Unless, of course, I fail my exit exam and/or I need an operation on my knee, in which case...

The memorial stands 333 feet (101 meters) high

The view looking towards Old Town Alexandria, as well as the Metro and train stations, from the steps of the memorial.

If the weather cooperates tomorrow, I'm planning on testing out the knee with a light hike somewhere in Maryland. On Monday, I meet with an orthopedist to go over the results of the MRI I had done last Wednesday, and find out whether surgery might be needed on what has turned out to be an arthritic knee. Speaking of the MRI exam, while I was lying there on the table listening to the sounds emitted by the machine, I was reminded of those industrial music tracks I used to hear in the wee hours of the morning on KDVS. In particular, I wondered if anyone had been inspired by these sounds to mix them into something musical. YouTube has answered that question.

Happy 281st, George

It's Presidents' Day today, when Abraham Lincoln's birthday on February 12, and that of George Washington on the 22nd of the same month, are combined to provide retail outlets with another opportunity to advertise sales. Back at the dawn of time, I have vague memories of the two birthdays being celebrated individually, but that hasn't been the case for eons (if it ever, in fact, was). Other than being a federal holiday, I don't recall there being any special celebrations on this occasion, by my wife heard that there was going to be an official George Washington Birthday Parade in Alexandria on the 18th (today). Seeing as Pamela was eager to visit Alexandria's Old Town area, where the parade was going to be held, our holiday plans were quickly made. It turned out to be a good choice. Though it was cold again today, the skies were clear and we scored a spot up front, next to the reviewing stand. Suffice it to say, a good time was had by all (three of us).

Old Town Alexandria is only a short drive down Leesburg Pike from our temporary home in Falls Church, but, fearing traffic jams, we traveled by Metro to the King Street station, and walked down King Street to Old Town and the parade route. But not before fortifying ourselves with some hearty brunch fare like steak and eggs (above) while en route.

Then it was time for the parade, and another introduction to a piece of Americana for my wife and daughter. For about 90 minutes we watched military units, police and firefighters, boy and girl scout troops, Legionnaires, car clubs, school marching bands, local politicians, fraternal orders and the like pass by the reviewing stand to the sometimes corny, but always enthusiastic, commentary from the parade announcer. Amber sat right at curbside, and had a great view of the proceedings, which apparently have been going on since 1923.

There were several groups in Revolutionary-era garb. The unit above stopped to fire their cannon and muskets for several extremely loud volleys, temporarily giving Taiwan and its firecracker tossers a brief run for their money in the noise-generating department.

No American small-town parade would be complete without the Shriners in their silly hats and even sillier cars. The latter were my daughter's favorite part of the parade, and considering the work the Shriners do for sick children, I say they let them have their fun.

Once the parade was over, we spent what was left of the afternoon wandering around Old Town. Alexandria's visitor center is housed in Ramsay House, the oldest in the town (1724). That's my wife and daughter on the porch, poring over maps and deciding where to go next.

"Next" turned out to be Carlyle House, built around 1753. The free admission today (it usually charges $5 to tour the interior) meant it was busy inside.

On the waterfront, with the sun in our eyes and the Potomac River behind us. The highlight in this part of town is the Torpedo Factory Arts Center, once a torpedo factory and now a three-story collection of art galleries, most of them featuring the work of white, middle-aged women.

Amber didn't let the cold or the walking get her down. Here she stands in front of Alexandria's post-Civil War City Hall.

Still 元気 on the bus ride back to Falls Church. Because of the parade, we were only able to scratch the surface of the many things to see (historical buildings, restaurants, shops etc.) in Alexandria's Old Town. We probably won't have time to go back before we're scheduled to ship out in mid-April, but I'm sure it'll still be around the next time we're back in town.

Then again, considering the struggles I'm having with Mandarin, we might have plenty of time to visit Old Town again real soon.

Holmes...walk

Now that A-100 is winding down, and my wife and daughter have pretty much settled in here in Falls Church, it's time to get into some habits. The most pressing non-work related routine that needs to be established involves some kind of exercise regimen. While our apartment complex does have a small gym, I prefer the great outdoors. Northern Virginia, however, is a lot flatter than Taiwan, and I'm starting to miss having Dakeng  大坑 on my back doorstep. Still, a Google search did turn up a number of walking trails in this area, and this morning I checked out one of them, an area about a 15-minute drive from here called Holmes Run, located in Alexandria. While the trails were hardly challenging, and almost completely level, they did make for a quiet, shaded walk. In all, I spent about 75 minutes exploring the area. 

The closest entrance to the Dora Kelley Nature Park from where I parked my car

 The bicycle and jogging trails were paved in parts, whereas the walking paths were more "rugged"

 Holmes Run is the name of the creek that passes through the park. Portions of it evoked images of James Fenimore Cooper in my overactive imagination.

Wildlife to be seen this morning included birds, dragonflies, small fish and squirrels