Navy Memorial Reliefs

Some of the "Reliefs" at the Navy Memorial - lots of HOO-YAH in these select examples (and one with a ton of CAN-DO too)! Look at the caption on the float ring of the re-entry capsule - "UDT" - precursor frogs and UCTs. As I leave this chapter of my life and move on to another career, I will miss feeling the intense pride of being a part of the UCTs - part frog, part bee, and a whole lot of "I don't know the meaning of quit". If you haven't had the chance to see the Navy Memorial, here's some pictures to see some of the more intricate details (like UDT).

Some DC Checking

Knowing our time here in the Northern Virginia/DC area is growing really short, Las asked that we spend Mother's Day checking out parts of DC that we haven't focused on yet. Capitol Hill, The National Art Museum, The Navy Memorial and the Federal Trade Commission were all the stops we had on this perfect weather'd Mother's Day!

Mother's Day Adventures

We loaded up the truck and drove to DC to ride our bikes, explore the museums and monuments, and enjoy the nice Spring weather on Mother's Day. When we hit the Tidal Basin, I saw schools of Hickory Shad running the wall between the FDR and MLK Monuments. Of course I tried to catch one, but they weren't interested (they were showing spawning behavior). I didn't want to ruin M-Day so I packed up and we moved on. We checked out the Capitol, the Native American and American History Museums and the George Mason monument - then the kids looked really tired. As soon as we hit the truck they konked out. When we got home, you guessed it, I had to get some water time. I tied a Baby Crawfish fly on to Marlon's Kiyotaki and I used one as well - we whacked them again, but that wasn't hard as they are all set up right to the shoreline in spawning pits. I'll take pictures of the nests next time the lighting/winds/water clarity allow. I can also see the spawning color patterns on the big ones nesting close to shore - more vertical stripes used while trying to hold ground against a neighbor, than when airborne with a fly in it's lip. Good fun!!!