I went to Indianapolis late last week for a meeting with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation about the annual stair climb that we do. We are about to take it across the nation….more on that another time. We met in Indy because everyone was already there for the annual FDIC conference – the largest firefighter conference in the nation. Each year it’s held in Indy (I have been twice before) so they have quite the set-up since it can be used year-to-year. I had about a hour to browse the exhibits before the meeting and was able to visit the exhibit annex at Lucas Oil Field (new home of the Colts) as well as all of the exhibits at the convention center. The stadium is huge, and looks like a gigantic old-school fieldhouse. Needless to say, it’s a different venue for fire trucks than you normally see.

Nov 23, 1931 – April 20, 2010. My Great-Aunt Jodie passed away as a result of a fall last week. She had only been a treatment or two away from beating cancer and was suddenly taken away due to a simple slip. She lead an amazing life of many things, including being the first woman in the state of Georgia to earn a firefighter certificate. She also drove tractor trailer trucks, had an Indian motorcycle, and flew in a 1929 bi-wing plane. She and my Uncle Bob lived in Woodbine, Georgia where they have a fire museum and an antique shop. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the funeral, but she was honored with full fire service tradition, including crossed ladders, a honor guard, and a fire truck procession. The photo below is from Christmas a couple of years back…

Sorry for the extremely long delay between postings. Since we last spoke, we have traveled a couple of times (for business), worked a lot, dealt with all three of us being sick on and off, had a family emergency, lived through a tornado outbreak, and made it around 16 inches of snow. So….I am finally getting around to sorting through some pictures and finding a way to share them with you.

an Easter gift

Dad tries out new camera stuff while Ezra eats

Easter Sunday brought a really enjoyable day to us. The three of us traveled to church in Denver for the early morning service, where two (at any given time) of us were not paying as close attention as we would have liked – including a point where Ezra made a b-line right up the center of all of the pews and to the front of the church.

Following church and a too-short nap during which Ahna and I made lunch, my parent’s and friends Mark, Kendra, and Sydney came over for a meal. We enjoyed split-pea soup, a spinach and gruyere quiche, a broccoli and swiss quiche, and a strawberry and mandarin orange salad. The kids enjoyed each other’s company (as did the adults), and after lunch we did an egg hunt in the front yard. PS – this egg hunt was a ton more satisfying that the mass hunt done on Saturday at the park.

While in DC, I visited the Newseum – a place that I hadn’t been to since it was formerly located in the first two floors of the old USA Today buildings in Arlington. Since then, they built a beautiful new building only blocks from the Capitol and right next door to the Canadian embassy. It’s a fantastic museum that takes you through a lot of US history as told by and through the media. There are lots and lots of interactive exhibits and some really interesting artifacts. I would suggest that the appropriate age for this place be 7th or 8th grade on up. One of the coolest features of the place is the ‘Current Day’s Front Page’ exhibit on the 6th floor. It shows the front pages from all over the world and all 50 states from that same day (click here for an on-line version). Also on the 6th floor is a unique view of the US Capitol building that was never before seen until this terrace opened a couple of years ago.

They have an amazing 9/11 exhibit of which the centerpiece is part of the TV antenna off of the north tower. They also have a great 15 minute video of interviews and footage from the NYC reporters covering the news that day. On the first floor is an exhibit of all of the Pulitzer Prize winning photos since they started giving out that award. Then all of the way in the basement of the museum, there is a piece of the Berlin Wall and one of the watchtowers from the wall. I had a good time and highly recommend this museum (full disclosure: I am a news junkie).

PS – Did I mention that it has great architectural elements?

Updated: I forgot to explain that the map that is photographed below shows the level of freedom of the press. Green means that the press is completely free. Yellow is some amount of censorship, and red means that there isn’t any free press. It really suprised me at how few places have a completely free press, and equally surprised me as to some of the places that censor.

When I flew into DC and checked the weather (rainy, thunderstorms, rainy, then perhaps some sun) I was a little disheartened at the photo possibilities. Despite the weather, I figured that I would head into downtown for sunrise on the first morning that I was there. Worst that could happen would be to get there and it be raining, but how often do I get to take that opportunity? Well, the conditions turned out perfect: the storm broke enough to have amazing light for about 20 minutes before and after sunrise before the sun ducked behind the clouds for the rest of the day. I chose the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as my location and was also able to grab shots of the Lincoln Memorial, the Capital and the Washington Monument, and the World War 2 Memorial.