October

Life really settled down into our new normal in October, with no family travel this month. School for Russ and both the kids, cheer for Laura and mountain biking with mates for Ben, kept them busy.

Laura managed to wrangle an invite to the homecoming dance at Yorktown High School which was held the first weekend in October. Homecoming is traditionally a big reunion weekend, with alumni returning to celebrate their school, comprising a football game for everyone to attend and a dance for the students.

Had to get a mum and dad picture :)

The group Laura went to homecoming with. Note the incredibly smart footwear choice the ladies make these days!

The following weekend Russ and I took in another Friday night football game and were treated  to a show from aurora borealis, which Russ managed to capture:

#nofilter

Another big win for Washington-Liberty

On Saturday Russ and I visited the Arlington National Cemetery https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/#/. It is incredible to walk around and see the graves (over 400,000 of them across the entire cemetery). John F Kennedy is buried there and it is also the home of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which has been guarded 24/7 by members of The Old Guard unit since 1937. 

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Memorial Amphitheatre behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Sunday saw us head over to National Harbour https://washington.org/find-dc-listings/visit-national-harbor which is an entertainment and shopping precinct on the Potomac River in Maryland (south of DC). Everyone enjoyed some retail therapy of the outlet stores before we explored the harbour itself.

In the Capital Wheel

Check out Russ' milkshake - they were all equally as over the top. Dessert courtesy of The Yard Milkshake Bar. 

I have started regularly walking with a friend I made at an open night at Ben's school. Evelyn is Irish but has been living in America for over twenty years and has a daughter in Ben's grade. We usually walk in Great Falls Park, about a half hour drive from home, which has stunning scenery with the trail running between the Potomac and the C&O Canal https://www.canaltrust.org/plan/ 

Yes, Evelyn walked this day with a Starbucks coffee!

Russ had a trip to Tennessee during the period 22-27 October. The trip was part of Russ' War College studies, with the focus of this trip on US Civil Rights, with the highlight of the trip being a visit to the National Civil Right Museum, situated in The Lorraine Hotel. The Lorraine Hotel is the hotel that Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in on 4th April 1968. 

The bed on the right was Martin Luther King's bed, the night before he was assassinated.

On arrival in Memphis Tennessee, Russ headed to Ripley, about an hours drive north of Memphis where he was met by Angie and Mike Allmand who hosted Russ for a homestay. Angie and Mike had a fabulous house on about 50 acres, 20 minutes out of Ripley. 

Mike cooking some steaks for dinner.

Back in Memphis, Russ visited the famous Bass Pro Pyramid. The pyramid originally started off as a basketball stadium, but after a few years was deemed not up to NBA standards and lost its accreditation. The Bass Pro company (think BCF) bought it and turned it into a huge camping/hunting/fishing shop, with a bar right at the top. It's incredible. 

Bar at the top of the pyramid

It has internal lakes with fish and boats floating, and also has alligators. The alligator pond has high glass fences around it....

Entry foyer

The mighty Mississippi River. A lot of barge traffic heads up and down the river, with the river being a key freight hub for the US.

The water level of the Mississippi was quite low while Russ was visiting, about 10 feet below normal, and a number of boat sheds and mariners were high and dry. These boats are all sitting on the mud flats.

Russ also saw a scale model of the Mississippi River. Unfortunately the water wasn't flowing through the model when Russ was there. The model is over a mile long, and ends up in large wading pool.

Another highlight of the trip for Russ was getting to watch an NBA games while in Memphis, in which the home team, the Grizzlies won. An electric atmosphere and amazing experience.

Russ and Ed, an Australian Army Officer who is also studying in the US, but on a different course from Russ. He is also from South Australia.

Russ and Ed went clubbing after the basketball.

The last weekend of October, while Russ was away, was Washington-Liberty High School homecoming. Laura cheered at the varsity football game on the Friday night and attended the dance on the Saturday night which was a huge event on the school sports field. It was a pretty cold evening so the girls in their little dresses suffered, but beauty is pain (until you're middle aged when comfort overrides all!). At least their feet were comfortable again.

Cheerleaders doing what cheerleaders do!

On Sunday morning I got up early to watch the participants in the DC Marine Corps Marathon do their thing, as the route passed by the end of our street. There were about 30,000 runners this year. School buses were used to block off streets and there were military personnel positioned regularly along the way.

Finally, we rounded out October with Halloween, which was a lot of fun. It goes without saying that Halloween is a big deal over here. From the beginning of October decorations started appearing in front yards. From giant spiderwebs to elaborate lights, skeletons, grave stones and inflatables of many varieties (huge black cats, witches, cauldrons etc). The night of the 31st was beautifully mild which made for a pleasant walk around the neighbourhood. A street just up the road from us was closed to traffic as there were so many people out and about.

Our leprechaun before he disappeared with his friends

Laura clearly missed the black outfit memo!

What we've learned:

We have found it very interesting that households display their political affiliations by way of signs or flags in their front yard. I can't imagine having an Albanese or Dutton sign in our front yard (and even if we did, it wouldn't last long!).

Trump flag

Hard to see, but Harris sign by from steps