2008-09-05:   Well, I'm now 58 years old.  Big whoop.

I flew to DC on Friday afternoon, arrived about 6:15 or so.  Jean (SIL) and I met up in the baggage claim area (she'd flown in from San Francisco), and called Jay (nephew, Jean's son) on the cell phone.  He picked us up; we checked in to the hotel (wonderful hotel!  Best beds ever! Slept in them better than I've slept in any other bed, including my own) (Hotel George, near Union Station.  I highly recommend it.), then met Corinne at a restaurant in Union Station.  Jay and Corinne gave me a beautiful pair of hand-made earrings for my birthday - they really look good with my brown suit.

Saturday we went to the Newseum, the journalism museum where Corinne works.  There are 5 floors chock full of the history of journalism of all kinds, interesting exhibits.  It's like the Smithsonian - you can't take it all in in  one day.  Then Saturday night we went to a Nats game.  We left in the 8th inning where it was tied 8 - 8.  The Nats eventually won (yay!) - Jay says they do better if they have to go into extra innings.  I think it's because they sleep through the first 4 or 5 innings while the other team is playing.  Then when it's the 10th inning, they are rested and the other team is worn out.  Hey.  Whatever works!  Sunday morning I did marathon training, then Sunday night we went to see Shear Madness, which is an audience participation play at the Kennedy Center.  Hilarious fun.  Again, I highly recommend it.

They are opening a tourist center at the Capitol and are hiring docents.  Now I know what I want to be when I retire and move to DC.

Sunday morning I walked/ran 20 miles along the C&O Canal.  I was able to keep up my running (with occasional walk breaks) for about 10 miles, then wound up having to walk most of the rest of the way.  That's further than I've run before.   I also found that I recovered more quickly afterwards than I have before.  So all in all I am making progress.  

Weight is staying steady, although people tell me I am still losing.   Must be muscle definition.  My legs are positively skinny!

Hurricane Gustav made landfall in Louisiana on Monday morning and went north, which means that Jackson (where I am) got a lot of wind and even more rain.  Gustav wasn't near as bad as predicted, but it still spawned a lot of tornados to our south, east, and west, but we didn't get any to speak of.  No damage here, but I'm glad I decided to come home on Monday rather than Tuesday, because Southwest Airlines cancelled all their flights on Tuesday (!).  It has been raining solid now for three days, and looks threatening today (Thursday).  I open the door for Owen (my cat) - he runs enthusiastically out, then screeches to a halt at the border between the (outside) driveway and the (covered) carport.  He steps gingerly onto the driveway, walks on the driveway to the backyard, stays there a little bit.  I'll close the door to keep bugs and mosquitoes out, then I'll hear Owen crying to get back in.  I open the door, he runs in furious, complaining all the time.  Owen, I can't do anything about it!  But he stays grumpy.   A couple of hours later it starts again.  I think he prefers to use the outdoors as his litter box, as I haven't had to clean one out since Princess died.  So maybe he likes to go outside to go to the bathroom, then comes back in because he can't stand the rain.  I just hope he remembers how to use the litter box!