Quick Trip to Miami

I had a quick trip to Miami Florida this week for a business meeting (National Association of State Workforce Agencies) I represent Oregon on the Employment and Training Committee of this organization so end up travelling out of state three or four times a year for meetings. I was looking forward to a little warm sunshine for a break from Oregon Winter weather...I got the sunshine but not the warm...it was unseasonable cold there this week. Not cold by Oregon/Washington standards (low 60's) but very cold by theirs. I didn't have much time to see anything except for one evening walk towards the South Beach area.

The picture above is the beach right behind the hotel the meeting was in. Below is the lobby of the hotel...yes they do celebrate Christmas in Florida.
One view out my Hotel window of the canal on one side of Miami Beach
The Ocean side from the other side of my room window.
Below, the outside of the Hotel I was in.
And across the canal one of the little houses on the shore.
Lots of interesting architecture around South beach. Mostly small hotels and condos

It was a quick trip- left Monday Morning, and got back home Wed. night. Now back to the regular grind.

Martin's Trip to DC

I went on a quick 2 day trip this week to Washington DC for one my regular NASWA committee meetings (National Association of State Workforce Agencies) I hadn't been to DC for over 30 years. I didn't have much time to see anything, however I did use a couple hours at the end of the first day to take a very long walk. My Pedometer said I did over 22,000 steps when I was done that day, which is about 9 1/2 miles! My main goal was the Vietnam Veterans memorial. It wasn't in existence the last time I was here, and I really wanted to see it. However it was located about 3 miles from where my hotel was, so in order to walk there I ended up walking past lots of other points of interest.

It was National Police Week while I was in town. There were thousands of rowdy police officers from all across the country every where you went. The picture above is of hundreds of police motorcycles. These were LAPD cycles from Las Angeles.

The White House. You can still walk by the front, however no vehicles are allowed.

The Lincoln Monument. This was at the far end of my walk that day, but worth seeing again.

This is the Vietnam Women's memorial. It is one of the newest memorials on the mall, and very moving. The artist concentrated on the facial expressions of the characters.

This is at the base of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Many items and messages are left there by visitors.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It's still one of the most popular memorials for visitors.

Part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The Second World War Memorial. Very big and very impressive. Hard to take a picture that does it justice.

The Washington Monument

The Castle. The original Smithsonian building. Now one of many up and down the entire length of the mall. I didn't have time to visit any of them. I want to come back with Marlene and spend several days exploring it all.

I did rush in to the National Art Galley for about 15 minutes and took this shot of an iconic Rembrandt painting.

This picture is rather dark, but it is the inside of the National Art Gallery. You can make out the huge columns inside the atrium.

The Capitol is very impressive, no matter how many pictures you have seen of it, seeing it in person is still amazing

Someone passing by offered to take my picture and I accepted.

The trip just whetted my appetite for more. Have to go back with Marlene.