Headed to Washington DC to do some work with the Department of Justice on rape data and research. Excellent get together with some old friends and new ones. Some great projects will hopefully grow out of this get-together. (The photo to the left is not DOJ, but instead the Lincoln Memorial. Didn't get a shot of DOJ).
Being in DC is really fun for me. It's a beautiful place with such history all around. Plus, I get the added bonus of seeing where I used to live, hang out, work, etc. Most of my photos here are marginal - took most from a zooming vehicle. :)
Upon completion of that, I worked with Lynn Addington of American University on some other research we are going to be presenting (Gack!) at the American Society of Criminology conference (also in DC this year) in November. Nice to get the work moving along, and as always, it's nice to hang out with Lynn.
On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Lynn and I headed out for a bird walk in Rock Creek Park. Great fun! So happy she thought of it as it wouldn't have occurred to me. We saw some excellent birds including Pileated Woodpeckers, many Wood Thrush, Grey Catbirds, etc. Really quite an assortment though the consensus was that it was a slow bird day. Didn't matter to me as many of these birds are not found in Boulder. They are a treat to see at all.
Driving around the DC area never fails to offer a beautiful view. One of my favorite structures is the National Cathedral. Though whizzing by, I managed to grab a photo of the spires. You can see the damage from the recent 5.9 earthquake in DC. Hopefully it can be repaired to it's previous glory.
And here's a real helpful driving tip for DC. When it is the the tenth anniversary of 9/11, don't rent a U-Haul van to drive in town! It will get you more attention than you want. Lynn was horrified that I was hanging out the window trying to get photos of this police action. :) Seriously, who would rent a U-Haul on that day????
Another real treat of this trip was spending time with Alan, Lynn's husband and hearing his interesting discussions about politics and philosophy (he's a professor at American as well). Really fascinating.
And even more fun (Hey, Alan's not reading this is he??? :) haha) was spending some time with Sam, Lynn's geriatric cat. Sam and Lynn have been a pair for 15 years. I am happy to say that Sam liked me as much as I liked him. He meowed for me, wanted scratching, allowed me to punk-rock his hair. I was honored. :)
Finally Sunday evening, Lynn navigating some ridiculous road closures managed to get me to National Airport for the flight back to Colorado. It was a terrific and productive trip. On a very sad note, the next morning, I received the news from Lynn that Sam had passed away. He'd suffered a stroke during the night and she held him while he was put to sleep. I couldn't believe it. How lucky I was to get to meet and play with him. How astonishing that he was just the night before a vibrant kitty. RIP Sam. You will forever be in our hearts. :(
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