Visiting DC

Saturday morning, the contingency of girlie Carter cousins were off into the tunnels of the Hilton.

There, with the help of our younger & geekier cousins, train passes were purchased from the big confusing automatic machines. Soon we were off on a train headed for downtown Washington DC.

Down, down, down into the subterranean 

Once in DC we were onto one of the local bus tours that allows passengers on and off privileges.

Settled in on a Tour Bus of DC

Look Familiar? It's where great men & women go to nap.

Hum... I know I've seen this on a nickle...

The Washington Monument is getting a little work done.

Our first stop of the day was to pay our respects at the year old Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Standing tall with Dr. King.

When we had taken enough photos to fill the Capital Mall, we were back on the tour bus, headed for our next stop - The Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

One of the gems of the Smithsonian Museums

By this time breakfast seemed as if it was days ago, so we started off our Smithsonian visit with lunch at its cafeteria. Once filled and feeling more human, we raced off to view the Inaugural gowns of all the first ladies of the United States - gowns from the 18th through the 21st Century. Here are my personal favorites. Please pardon the glass reflections.

Mary Todd Lincoln's plush purple velvet gown believed
made by her friend, African-American dressmaker Elizabeth Keckly

A blue satin flapper's styled gown, worn by Grace Coolidge

Beautiful yellow silk gown worn by Jackie O., but not at an inaugurate.

 And here is the most recent inauguration gown, worn, of course, by Michelle Obama.

Michelle's Jason Wu Gown

 By the time my cousins and I were out of the Smithsonian, we were whipped! We re-boarded a tour bus and headed back downtown. We were soon within a block of something I'd had my thoughts on since we arrived in DC - getting a chance to visit Ford's Theater and the Peterson House. I begged my cousins to hang tight while I ran into Ford's Theater to soak up a few minutes history and to get my first National Park Passport stamps for the Washington DC area. OH JOY!

We weren't quite finished... Rhonda had her heart set on visiting Madame Trusseau's Wax Museum. We futzed and fumbled outside the museum, then thought, 'what the heck!'. Soon we were rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.

Mr. Lincoln wondering how 'Our American Cousins' got up in the box with him

Idea and Dolores feeling a bit frisky with Mr. Freeman

Carol in good company with Samuel

Cousin Donna and Will Smith seem
a tad too chummy, don't they?

Whew! I was pretty tired by the time we got back to the Hilton. We rested up a bit, but we were, believe it or not, not quite done for the day. Around 6 PM all the girlie cousins were chauffeured by our Cousin Jackie and her husband, to their lovely Chevy Chase Home.

Let me tell you, Cousin Jackie outdid herself in preparing a dinner for all of her cousins. The meal was Caribbean in theme and quite drool worthy. Following the awesome feast, we settled into puzzling over where we might hold a Carter Family Reunion in 2014. The final local options were a bit of a surprise for me, as I visited the first two for the first time, only last spring.

• Savannah, Georgia
• Charleston, South Carolina
• Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Other possibility: Island local such as Bermuda or Barbados

Which site will be the venue of our reunion depends on what our honored elders have to say on the matter. Myself, I casting my hopes on either Savannah or, if the elders are up to it, a Caribbean adventure. 

Donna, Yvonne, Rhonda and one of my hairier smaller cousins

By the time we were all chauffeured back to the Hilton at night's end, we were all sated, happy and a little tired. I haven't had such a cousin filled day since the days before my family left New York City in 1967.

On to DC

My pretties: Cousin Rhonda and my Sister, Dolores

Early Friday morning, Dolores, my cousin Rhonda and I were in a taxi, driving along the Hudson River, headed for Penn Station. The station was full to the max with harried and hurried travelers. Dolores, a pro at traversing the distance between NYC and Baltimore, kept an eye on Rhonda and I so we didn't wind up on the tracks or on some train headed for parts unknown.

Our Amtrak ride was only about 3.5 hours long, and with loads of scenery flashing past my window, the time passed quickly.

Uh... a view out the train window in... New Jersey?

Well, OK, the scenery I enjoyed most was the nice big animal murals

Once in the Baltimore Amtrak station, my nephew Kirk - Dolores' son - picked us up. It's always a party seeing Kirk, he's got such a fun spirit about him. He had no sooner packed us into his family van then Rhonda put forward a request to see a museum she'd heard about - a wax museum of famous African Americans.Kirk agreed and soon we were headed into an old stone building that looked like an ancient white brick firehouse.



To me the museum had the air of a long ago side show. The exhibits were of great interest and my favorite was of Matthew Henson, the arctic explorer, though probably because his exhibit featured an enormous stuffed polar bear.

Personages from the Civil Rights era

African-American Writers and 18th Century historical figures

We enjoyed our quick tour of the museum which was both interesting, and in some spots deeply disturbing in its depictions of scarier aspects of Black history. We were delighted when one of the museum's representatives took the time to talk with us and tell us facts about the exhibits. We were all impressed and stunned to find out each wax figure costs in excess of $40 thousand dollars!

Following our wax museum tour of the , we headed off to Kirk's house. There we greeted Nicole, Kirk's better half, & I quickly condensed my luggage down to one weekender tote. Quickly we were off again, headed for Chevy Chase Maryland where Dolores, Rhonda and I had a lovely 2 room suite at the Hilton.

View of HUMONGOUS interior of the Hilton
with rooms, shops and offices galore

We were at the Hilton for a unique event - the first ever Reunion of the Carter Family Girl Cousins. The even was months in the planning by my cousins Yvonne and Donna.

It wasn't long before all the girl cousins were together in Yvonne's suite for our initial meet and greet. I was pleased to see my cousins Yvonne, Donna, Wanda, Carol and her daughter Ideaa. After our intial meet and greet we headed off to the Hilton's complementary cocktail hour for some libation. Then, with the edge off our appetites we headed for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  There we met up with Cousin Jackie, her husband, and little son and daughter. 

Waiting for our table at the Restaurant; Yvonne, Wanda, Dolores, Carol and Jackie

Donna, Yvonne, Ideaa and Dolores

Wanda with her niece & nephew cuties -  photo by Ideaa Brown

I can say we all enjoyed our dinner, no one left the table hungry I can tell you! Well, it was a wildly active and fun day, but with more to follow tomorrow. It seemed far later than it actually was when all my beloved cousins and I headed back home or to our hotel suites to get some must needed rest.

New York, New York!

Late yesterday afternoon, I sat enthralled. My forehead pressed against a jet window, staring at the most amazing view of New York City I've ever seen. If you're wondering where the photos of that sight are, there are none - at least none taken by me. We'd been told to turn off our phones and that was the only camera I had handy. GAK! I resolved to myself I'd have to hold the memory in my mind's eye for once. I watched as we all slowly coasted up along the southern tip of Manhattan. The whole of the city I was born in, looked like an exhibit in Legoland; completely unreal. The setting sun was low in the sky and gave all the skyscrapers an unreal golden glow. I momentarily freaked as the jet skipped over the Bronx and kept heading north. For one weird moment I wondered if I'd gotten on the wrong jet and was headed for Bangor Maine or something. But eventually the jet turned south and we landed at La Guardia.

I got to my sister Dolores' house in Manhattan safe and sound, via a shuttle. Must say, my sister is looking her usual beautiful self. This morning - Thursday - Dolores and I were picked up and driven to the Bronx where we visited with my big brother Juan.
 

My Sibs, Dolores and Juan

Back in the day, before Juan's medical turnaround,  most visits we would get into scrapes for one stupid reason or another. It's funny now how that fractious part of our relationship is over and done forever. Now when we get together I only remember all the reasons I've loved him. It is like it was only yesterday my big brother would take me to Coney Island or the Bronx Zoo when I was little and he was my total hero.

This visit was kind of fun because Dolores did not tell Juan I was going to visit, so I was a bit of a surprise for his birthday which is this Saturday. Around the time Dolores and I took our leave of Juan, Gloria, Juan's wife, came by with clothing and such for Juan. She drove Dolores and myself back to Dolores's apartment on 145th street.

Dolores and Gloria

Bernice - eighty-eight and still pretty in pink

Late afternoon, Dolores and I took a taxi over to visit my Godmother Bernice. She doesn't live more than a few miles from Dolores's place. I was tickled to see Bernice and a little bummed to hear she'd had a fall mishap and a bit of surgery. Now mind you - there is no grass growing under my Godmother (there is loads growing under me!). She walks or takes the bus or subway everywhere she goes. And she goes! She has lots of activities including tutoring at a local elementary school twice a week. If I took a page from her book I'd be in good shape, I can tell you. As Bernice told Dolores and I about her hip adventure it didn't take long to tell it hasn't got the better of her. No one in bad shape can possibly have that  lively a glint in their eyes.

Our visit with Bernice was only an hour or so, and then Dolores and I headed back home. There, Dolores, Gloria and I ended the day with a take-away Chinese and Japanese dinner and more than a little excitement for tomorrow's trip. Dolores, my cousin Rhonda and I are heading down to Washington DC for a glorious weekend meet up with our Girlie Cousins!