Rebekah, plantain, George Bush, Jesus & sand

What do all of these things have in common?

I saw all of them over the last few days (well, sort of). Due to extreme heat, intense gas prices, balding car tires, and many unforseen moving expenses, Bob and I decided to cancel our trip to Texas to visit his sister and take a smaller trip instead. It was kind of a last minute decision, but we decided to go to Washington DC since I had never been there, many things are FREE there, and Rebekah was still at home! So, we left Sunday morning and went to visit Reba (where we had a fabulous time and ate delicious food...Reba, your mom is quite inspiring with her cooking expertise)!

On Monday we went to DC and rode the Metro around like crazy folks because it was way too HOT to walk very far. Monday we went to a lot of the museums because they were air conditioned. Then we ate at an authentic Cuban restuarant in the city, where I had my first experience eating plantain (which I highly recommend)!

Monday night we drove toward the Maryland coast. We finished driving to the coast Tuesday morning. We spent the day (and night) at Ocean City, MD along the beach. We stayed at a very crappy hotel, but it was about $100 cheaper than any of the nicer ones, so it was worth it even though the ceiling had several holes in it. I think it just made the experience more interesting. I didn't see any large bugs, so I was not worried. It ended up being a very cool place because there was a youth group there doing skits and singing songs about Jesus right on the beach. The program was called "Jesus at the Beach." There was even a preacher preaching the word of God on stilts (very cool)! At night, they put on a 3 hour praise and worship program, which drew quite a crowd and was very moving.

Wednesday morning we drove back to DC, and even though the heat index was well over 100 degrees, we walked around all day looking at the monuments and landmarks. Though I just had my air conditioner fixed on my car last week, it had given out on our way to Rebekah's house. So, we decided to drive back home Wednesday night to avoid the blazing temperatures of the daytime sun. We drove on interstate 68 on the way home, which goes directly through the mountains, and it was a beautiful drive! (Also, we felt a little safer than driving on the PA turnpike, which is filled with crazy drivers, as we found out on our way to Reba's house). Overall, it was a fun trip! We hadn't really planned what to do, and we sort of just winged it, and it worked!