lasts.

today is my last trip to Winchester :/

i am currently sitting in Panera Bread (as usual). they don't have broccoli cheddar soup, so i can already tell that it won't be the best day...ha. i actually said "this is the worst day EVER" when i didn't see that bless-ed soup on today's menu.

the ladies from Capon (waitresses, kitchen staff) are taking me to eat tonight at Red Lobster, so i have a couple hours to kill in Winchester. i'm pretty excited about dinner with all of them. it's sort of a "going away" dinner, which is very thoughtful. we never get a time to just chill outside of work and hopefully i'll get to know all of them better.

the leaves are falling like CRAZY today! i won't be surprised if all the trees are bare on the way home tonight :) it was nice to take Back Creek Road and be surrounded by the fall colors and drive through blankets of falling leaves. fall in West Virginia is a good bit different than fall in Savannah. maybe it's because WV isn't filled with palm trees and huge oaks..

i have 3 more days of work and will start the journey home on Monday morning. i will be making 3 different family visits till i finally make it home on the 26th, the day before my birthday :) 

i am very excited about Nicki and Josh's wedding and all the portraits next month!

i would write more, but i have to go shopping for my mom's birthday present :)

my monk.

i can't tell you how happy i am to finally have this photo.

i pass this man about twice a week on a back road near a monastery. he is one of the monks. i've been wanting his portrait for about 4 months, but i either didn't have my camera, or i was too afraid to get out and actually ask him for it.
the other day i went out with my camera in the passenger seat to hopefully see him on the road. a couple yards away, i saw him with his headphones on and walking down the middle of the road. he didn't even notice i was there, and was going slow enough to where i might as well have stopped to get out. it was one of those "here's your sign" moments. so i got out and explained to him that i had seen him all the time and had always wanted his photo and asked for his permission. (by the way, that's a big step for me). i think he was startled that some American girl that was about a foot taller than he was asking such a random question. i don't think he knew much English, except for "yes" :)
so i took his photo, said thank you, and we each went on our way. he gave me a wave (as he always does) as i drove back by him.

ouw nashun's capitow

i tried to make the title sound Forrest Gump-ish :)

i went to Washington, DC a couple weeks ago and it was great..

the day started off by leaving WV at 8 so i could have a semi-early start in Washington. well, apparently, getting to the metro around 10 is way too late to find parking places. everything was packed, so i parked at the $1 per hour meters (which is kind of ridiculous if you're there all day). i went inside to see if they had any quarters and they promptly told me that they don't provide change. so i decided to get a $5 metro ticket to get the change back, and soon realized i had, instead, paid for a $10 metro ticket. i started tearing up...i went back outside to see if there was any other possible form of payment for the meters, but no luck. i actually met people who were in the same predicament, which made me feel more normal. i made so many trips outside, that i had practically made friends with the people who were doing the landscaping outside! :) well, 2 trips later, the security lady finally heard my story and escorted me to a machine that gives change (but the machine was not intended for that purpose..blabla). anyways, i wish she would have just told me to begin with, but i wanted to hug her afterwards :)

so i quickly got on the metro and headed to the Smithsonian. once i was off the train and out of the station, i was greeted by a man who i assumed was homeless, but clearly realized i was a tourist. he handed me a map and asked where i was headed. he was so nice :) i handed him a few dollars (i think he said he was with a homeless organization) and followed the path to the US Holocaust Museum. i was stoked to go in! i have always been really interested with movies and literature about the Holocaust. so, i went through the security check and one of the security ladies asked me about my "Be Still Know God" bracelet. she liked it :) there were a couple school groups in the Museum. there was an exhibit called "Daniel's Story" that takes you through pages and scenes from his diary. it was pretty neat - and sad. i LOVED both of the Walls of Remembrance.

next, i headed to the African Art Museum. i never knew this about myself, but i LOVED everything about the art. it was all so detailed and amazing. and the way that the museum displays and lighting were designed was very attractive. i wish i could have bought half of the gift store :)

after i left, i headed to the Smithsonian Castle too look around. i'll be honest, it was pretty boring, but the height of everything made it look grand. lots of random things to look at, and i also had a scoop of ice cream for lunch while i was there.

i next headed to the Smithsonian Museum. on my way, a lady stopped me and told me that she was homeless with 4 children...hmmm. she wasn't very nice until i pulled out a couple dollars, and even then she said "i hope it's enough for 4 kids!" i understand that she probably has it rough (and that she might not actually even have 4 children), but her ungrateful heart made me want to just put my money back in my backpack. stuff like that is just frustrating. i finally made it into the museum, and it was lovely! i got to see fossils, another African exhibit, and the Hope Diamond :) there were so many older ladies gathered around the diamond taking photos...ha. i also visited a large exhibit on mammals, and got to see a cool Asian room.

next on my stops was Lincoln Memorial. it seemed miles and miles away! i passed a lot foreigners that were dressed in v-necks, "summer scarves", and leather pointy shoes :) i passed the Washington Monument on the way, but didn't stop to go up to the top because of the long line waiting outside. i also happened to see The White House on my way. one i got to Lincoln, i was greeted by a group of geese that had "taken care of business" all along the side of the Reflecting Pool. hmmmm. lovely. the Memorial was beautiful, though. there were a bunch of people there, all aiming their cameras at themselves to get a picture with Abraham :) (i was one of those people..) afterwards, i sat on the steps for a while and watched people go in and out. there was a man sitting near me with a very thick southern accent, and it made me happy!

i walked down the steps of the Memorial and noticed a crowd gathered behind a man that was being filmed dancing and singing in front of the Memorial. he looked so much like Little Richard (ha), but i later found out he was a previous contestant on American Idol. how cool!

i headed back towards the Smithsonian and ate a hotdog at a refreshments stand outside of the museum (note to self - if you'd like to save about $20, pack a PB&J) i sat there surrounded by foreigners, and was happy to finally have the chance to rest. there were pigeons everywhere, just waiting for people to drop something on the ground. at one point i dropped a fry toward one of the birds, and this whole flock of birds swarmed over to get a piece. it's crazy how that happens...

well, i realized that most of the museums were probably already closed, so i headed back to the metro. business people were whizzing by me on the escalator down to the metro to make their bus. i didn't realize that everything was sort of timed, so i made it just in time! i think i had about a minute or 2 to spare. i saw lots of people dressed in suits on my way back to Fairfax (my stop). it would have been a cool opportunity for pictures, but at that point - all i really wanted to do was close my eyes! it was such a tiring day...

it was a good day :)