Lousy Trip

[cw1865]

My wife had to attend a convention in Washington DC and the weather was absolutely stunning so I figured I would go along and we would make a weekend out of it. Mind you, I have to keep my wife entertained as well, but the plan was to visit Baltimore and then go to Alexandria, VA Monday through Friday.

Unfortunately on the way down I was struck with a nasty cold which made life miserable for me. It started out as just sneazing on the trip down which I mistook for allergies. That night my wife and I had dinner in the Inner Harbor and you can walk aroundd and take in the sights and I saw the USS Constellation (and other vessels). The plan was to wake up Sunday morning and to visit the Baltimore Civil War Museum, the Aquarium and then Fort McHenry. Unfortunately I woke up in the full throes of the cold and my back was bothering me (herniated disc) and all we accomplished was to obtain some nasal spray from CVS, but I just was not in any condition to walk around, so we departed for Alexandria, VA and I didn't get to go to Ft. McHenry or to go inside the USS Constellation. Overall the Inner Harbor is a definite must see if in the area, its a nice place to go when the weather is nice, will definitely go again to catch an Orioles/Yanks game and will finally get into Ft. McHenry.

While in Alexandria I still wasn't feeling well and my back was really barking but went to the convention with my wife in DC proper. I hadn't been to DC in a while and I was going to go and visit the Pentagon but you know what, from the road, it is one of the absolute least impressive structures I have ever seen (I'm told that from the air it is a different matter), nevertheless, it absolutely killed any desire I had to visit.

Today we checked out and my wife took the Metro into DC, my back pain had eased (I could take the car anyway so I was less concerned about it) and I'm in the end stages of the cold (Drixoral dried me out nice). So, I took the car, alone, to Manassas National Park off of I-66. Its actually a beautiful site to visit. I had to pack up the car and check out of the hotel and didn't get fully started until 11:15 and didn't get ther until noon so this left me very little time (I would have to pick my wife up soon and go home), so I didn't have time for the movie or for a guided tour. The battlefield has two 'walks' - one for First Bull Run, the other for Second Bull Run. First Bull Run being shorter (1 miles) vs. 6 miles for Second Bull Run (time precluded the 6 miles and my back probably wouldn't have been able to have hacked the hike anyway), I had no choice but to do the one mile walk, but of course that runs along the area where Jackson earned his nickname so considering the weather, the ride out there, it was still worth going to visit, BUT I ONLY GOT TO SPEND ONE HOUR THERE

The best laid plans! Anybody out there want to cry me a river?