I should be doing paperwork or something else productive for my private practice.  But, I have had so many conflicting feelings about my career, that I think I will save the heavy thinking for some other day, and write a little more about family vacation memories.

This one is from when I was 13, so the memories, while still probably not exact, are a little more fleshed out.  I have rather visual way of memorizing.  While it is not "photographic", it does recreate memories as little Super 8 films in my mind.  Maybe that is how everyone's memories work!

Our trip to Washington D.C. and the outer banks of North Carolina was memorable for other reasons as well

1).  This was our first family vacation without my sister.  She was working as a tour guide at the Capitol building and or was touring with the Lion's band (Marching band.  Not cool garage band btw).

2).  I have pictures from this trip

3). My Dad was working (sortof)

The reason we were in DC, was because my dad was a delegate to the General Synod, which is the  governing body of the United Church of Christ.  So he spent most of his time in meetings while we were there.  The conference was in The Washington Hilton.  It's claim to fame is that it is the same hotel that President Regan stayed when he got shot several years later.  The place was huge!  And it had a great pool.

One of the reasons I remember so clearly that I was 13, was due to an incident at that pool.  I was reading The Exorcist.  I was too young to see the movie, but I could read the book!  I was sitting on a lounge chair by the pool when this...hippie chick, I guess you might call her, came to sit in the next chair.  In hindsight, I am pretty sure she was under the influence, but maybe she was just a spaced out, in-the-groove kind of girl.  She was in a bikini that was a little too small and she lolled languidly on her towel.

She struck up a conversation.  She asked where I was from and I told her Jefferson City which she, of course had no clue where THAT was.  She asked what I was reading and when I told her, she said, "Wow! That's really heavy!"  I'm sure she made some small talk and then she asked how old I was.  "Your only 13? Wow!  You really have your shit together for only 13"  That was the nicest thing anyone ever said to me.  She talked some more about stuff I do not recall, but I do remember her telling me that I should meet her brother and that I would like him because he looked just like Jesus.

Because my Dad was working, sort of, my Mom, brother and I did all of the touristy things.  We were hanging with another women and her daughter.  I know the daughters name was Ellen because I wrote it one the back of some picture with her in it.  We went to The Smithsonian, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, all the usual stuff.  I love that we were in an actual city because, despite it's name, Jefferson City is not one!

The rest of that trip accounted for our real vacation.  One where my dad didn't have to work.  For this phase, we drove to the outer banks of North Carolina.  We did some touristy things like visit Kitty Hawk, but mostly we hung out at the rental cabin by the shore and swam and hung at the beach.

I want to put up some pic, but the scanner is being obstinate, so look for them in another post.

I could write more about vacations and trip memories,but I am going in a different direction for awhile.  Be prepared to shift again!