"It's the easiest city in the world to get into; and the hardest to get out of."

Whew! That was a whirlwind nine days. Or, more correctly, a whirlwind nine days followed by a ticked off tenth day due to a cancelled flight home. However, that couldn't detract from an otherwise great trip.

So, if you haven't guessed, I'm back from an action-packed, fun-filled vacation. The destination? This nation's capitol...Washington, DC. I was there with my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece.

We hit all the high spots:

Walk around the White House. Check.
Air and Space Museum. Check.
Natural History Museum. Check.
National Zoo. Check.
Library of Congress. Check.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Check.
Department of the Treasury. Check.
Mt. Vernon. Check.

Then, it was off to Annapolis, Maryland, for a tour of the United States Naval Academy. Then Hershey, Pennsylvania to check out Chocolate World. A long morning in Philadelphia to visit Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. And then finally a short jaunt over to my brother-in-law's house to rest and relax around the pool for a day for a day.

All in all, a good time was had by all. As we were packing up to head back to DC for the plane ride home, I was confirming the directions back to Reagan National Airport and my brother-in-law said, "It's not hard to get there. It's the easiest city in the world to get into; and the hardest to get out of." He was talking about the highway system, but it's a good diagnosis of what's wrong with our political system as well.