See? My Hippie Doodle loves me. And I am glad to be home, too!Okay, so, moving forward in the pictures. The Chinatown stuff was on Monday; I have a whole week left to write about!
I believe this picture is from Silver Spring, Maryland, where our training classes ended up being held. They were originally scheduled to be in DC, near the Mall and the Smithsonian and right in the middle of it all. This new location seemed like it would be a hassle at first. Turned out, I loved this city and had a great time exploring it!
When I was in college, I took an awesome group trip to several cities in Europe. After a month, most of us went home but a few people stayed longer to explore on Eurorail. I still remember talking to my friend Laura about what she and her cousin Winnie would do while they explored all the rest of wherever they wanted to go in Europe. Laura said, "And if we get lost... we'll just have fun there!!"
I love that attitude. And that is kind of how my thinking about travelling has evolved. Especially with this past week's trip, I have been finding loads of things to look at or do or enjoy... wherever I've ended up! I don't know if I would have ever woke up one day and said, "Man, I want to go to Silver Spring, Maryland!" ...But I had a great time there. I found a mall, a used bookstore, several fantastic places to eat, lots of pretty things to photograph, and lots of other stuff.
So. Silver Spring.
THIS giant building was there:
...and I even made a friend! hahaha
This snazzy art wall was between the Metro and our building:
And there was a MALL across the street! Talk about a great way to spend a lunch hour. ;-)
...a five-story mall, at that... here are all the stores and restaurants it had to offer:
I had lunch Monday at this place... sooo good... I even took my leftovers with me, though I lost them somewhere between class and the Metro back to the hotel. Hopefully some homeless guy had a delicious dinner.
Not Your Average Joe's had a decorating style that made me feel happy. :)
Training was... well, it was training. But they did give us toys to play with while we were being trained. I gained a whole new appreciation of the aptness of the name "fidget spinner"... the more fidgety I felt, the more it spun. Ha ha
The squeezy balls were helpful also.
The view from the balcony outside the room we used:
It was nice. Now. I travelled a LONG way today and I'm tired. So I will continue my story soon. Ta-ta for now......
