Visiting Maryland and Washington, DC

June 28th I hopped on a plane at Narita and headed out to Baltimore, Maryland.  It was quite a flight with stops in Vancouver, where I had lunch with my brother and he graciously picked up a suitcase, another stop in Denver, Colorado and on to Baltimore.  All tolled the trip took about 24 hours from Tokyo to Baltimore. By the time I landed in Baltimore, it was 1:30 am on June 29th.  I took the shuttle to the car rental and found out that they couldn't process my paperwork until 7 am.  I decided to stay at the rental facility, since it was really daytime for my body and I wasn't really that sleepy.  By 7 am, there was someone who could help me, but she was confused as to why the other person couldn't process my rental.  It seemed odd to me as well, since the whole process was very similar to what I had before.  Anyway, by 8 am I was on the road and heading over to Verbrugge's where I stayed for my week in Maryland.

The dark rental facility.

Taken at 3:55 am

I tried to remember to take a photo of each person(s) I visited, but that didn't happen.  Some folks I missed were Laurie Overway, Robinsons, Bratts, Verbrugges, Capps, Stewarts, Boumans, Bushouses and the Silver Spring Christian Reformed Church's Mission Awareness Committee.  I also attended Jon and Xioameng's wedding, where I didn't take any photos.

Krystal Nola

Becky Groves

Holly

Pat and Holly Sanderson

Jean Van Dyke.  I did visit Mark, Russell and Jean's mom, Adriana.

Angie and Olivia Baker

One day I went with a few other people to the Tudor Place.  It was owned by Martha Washington's relatives.  It was an interesting tour where they described the history of the house and its owners.  It is located in Georgetown, if you're ever interested.

The back of the house

The front of the house, taken from the garden.

Judy took the picture

Irene took the picture.

If one stays in Washington, DC area over July 4th, the fireworks is something to see.  The SSCRC usually has a contingent that goes to The Mall and stakes out some land with tarps and food, waiting for the fireworks.  They were pretty neat this year. What was extra special, a couple was sitting behind us and noticed my Vancouver Canucks t-shirt.  They asked if I was from Vancouver, BC.  It turns out they were from the Vancouver area and attended a Christian Reformed Church.  They were able to tell we were also Christian Reformed.  Maybe it was the number of blonds as well as the amount of food shared by us all. 

There was a group of children going around and singing patriotic US songs. 

I also took a few minutes to drive by my condo.  It looks fine.

My condo is the two middle windows. 

I am having a good time visiting with friends and family.  I am blessed to be able to zip across this North American continent.  The Lord has blessed me with many good friends in many places around this world.