Back home!

Well, as some of you saw, Joe and I were able to make it back to the States in May. He completed a one-week course at Bethesda Medical Center and then we went back home to Indiana.

Sadly, we were so busy just spending time with everyone, that we forgot to take pictures! The first week in Washington, DC/Bethesda was lots of fun for me -- shopping with Mom! I have been a little Macy's - starved out here in Okinawa and this trip was perfect. Not only did we shop, but we had some wonderful meals, saw the newly renovated American History Museum and even experienced a few new things!

One afternoon, Mom and I went to the Anderson House in Dupont Circle. The Anderson House was owned by Lars Anderson, who was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. In its heyday, this house was THE place to host dignitaries, presidents and other people of importance. We had a very knowledgeable tour guide, which made the tour even more personal.

Another new favorite in DC would be the restaurant Brasserie Beck. On our last day in DC we (Mom, Dad, Joe and I) had lunch here. It was wonderful! Not only was the company great, so was the food! We sampled a variety of ales, had gourmet frites, a braised pork tenderloin that Joe still talks about and even a beer-root-beer float. It was a sweet way to say goodbye to my parents (again). [You could insert a few sniffles here!]

Of course, the sniffles didn't last for long; we (with our many suitcases) flew up to Indianapolis to see the Platt family. We had a fantastic week with the Platts! We saw/heard Rebecca play for Fiddler on the Roof, saw lots of family, were able to visit with many old friends and even fit in a bit more shopping.

The one thing I just couldn't get over was how much my youngest sister-in-law had grown. For many of you, you recall the sweet, short Christina. Well, when I walked in the door Friday night I was amazed! My [still] sweet youngest sister-in-law looked me in the eye! One of the few pictures I did managed to take was of her -- and she's catching up!Finally, on the way back to Okinawa, we had one more stop in DC. There we saw my little brother! After a delicious meal at Charlie Palmer's we went back to the hotel and heard a great live quartet. It's not the best of videos, but Joe requested this song for me :)