V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

I’m not taking a vacation this year, for various reasons, so may I live vicariously through you? Where did–or are–you going this year? Weekend in Havana? Christmas in Connecticut? Springtime in the Rockies?

Well, you sure picked the wrong year to live vicariously through the Keller family. From 1995 through 1998, we’ve been to 43 different U.S. states and 9 Canadian provinces, and Washington DC, but this year (for us) is the year of vacationing cheaply.

But we still have something to offer.

July 4th weekend we took a 3-day trip to Virginia and North Carolina. We spent July 4th itself in Colonial Williamsburg, made a barbecue in a nearby public park after closing and returned for a spectacular fireworks show that night. We drove to Mann’s Harbor, NC, where we spent the night in a nightmarish situation described in the MPSIMS forum in the “Lying Customers” thread.

July 5th we went to see Fort Raleigh on Roanoke Island, although it was a bit of a disappointment; all there was there are a few artifacts from the Lost Colony, not even guided tours of teh area (at least not at the time we were there, 10 AM). Things went better at our next destination, the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills. Then back to Virginia…Newport News to see the Mariners Museum (incredible exhibits about seafaring, navigation, exploration and tatoos!), and the Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach. Then north to Dumfries (near Washington, DC) to spend the night.

Tuesday was split between two activities: a guided tour of the Pentagon (not bad, but really not worth the bother. All you see are offices and portraits) in Arlington, and George Washington’s home in Mount Vernon (good, but the museum was closed because the air conditioning had broken down. This was during the big heat wave, remember.) Still plenty of interesting stuff to see there, though.

Next weekend we intend to tour Maryland, with a single stop in Virginia (the Newseum in Arlington) and Delaware (the Treasures of the Sea exhibit in Georgetown).


Chaim Mattis Keller
ckeller@schicktech.com

“Sherlock Holmes once said that once you have eliminated the
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be
the answer. I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible.
The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it that the merely improbable lacks.”
– Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective

Hey Chaim -

Where in MD are you planning on going? (Just asking since I live here and all…)

MPSIMS incoming!

Nickrz
GQ Mod