October 27, 2015: In Memory of Maggie Victoria Gonyo

Maggie Gonyo was the child I never had.  She was born November 30, 2003 under a computer desk at my friend Betsy Floyd's house.     Betsy gave her to me in January 2004 and my life changed forever.    I remember looking up names for my new dog and the name Maggie stood out.     

The first day I got Maggie, she was only 3 pounds.      I remember the neighbor kids on Lawnel Avenue, Cody and Conner, came over to see her.  She would run and hide under the lazy boy or behind the refrigerator.  Patty and Matthew also came over that day to meet her.    She was always a bundle of joy.     The first day, I remember calling Betsy as Maggie was hiding behind the refrigerator and I was so afraid she would get hurt.  I had never had a dog before so this was all new to me.     The first night, I put Maggie in the crate, which she hated.   She threw up two times that night in the crate.   Ever since then, she never would go in a crate, no matter how hard I tried to get her to go in there to rest.      I would even try to put peanut butter in balls and put it in the crate, but she was sneaky and would walk around the crate to try and get it, without going inside.  Sometimes, she would make sure to keep one paw out of the crate so she could escape.

I used to dress up Maggie in cute outfits, such as swim suits, sailor outfits, jean skirts, sweaters, etc.  She always looked cute in them, but never liked wearing clothes.    I wonder why?    

I had birthday parties for her when she was 1, 2, and 3 years old.    I had my friends come over with their dogs and we played dog themed games such as the Best Kisser, fastest dresser, fastest runner, etc.    I had doggie ice cream and cake for humans.   I also gave each dog a treat bag to bring home, just like you would for a child's birthday party.       We all had a good time at those parties.

She loved to play ball especially with men. She would go crazy when she would see a man in the house.  She gave you endless kisses and licks over the years and had the softest fur of any dog I have ever seen.  She truly was a princess in my eyes.    

I took Maggie on several trips, including Chicago, Mackinaw City, Indiana, Jamestown, NY, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor.      She always went with us up to Baldwin on Memorial Day weekend to see Peggy and get some Jone's Ice Cream.   She would lick her chops when she would see the vanilla ice cream.

She had some tough times during her life, too.  She fell out of my bed one time and hit her eye, which made it partially pop out, which needed surgery.  She was attacked by a dog at our first apartment, Hamptons Court, which she overcame.   She had a toe amputated due to cancer.  She had pancreatitis in June 2012, which was the same week we moved into the condo. She had to go to Grand Rapids to the vet to get treated.   Not sure what happened recently, but she was sick for about 3 weeks and could barely jump onto my bed, and spent most of her days laying under the bed.     It was not an easy decision to end her life, but I did not want her to suffer anymore.     I was surprised how fast the procedure went and how quickly she left us.  I do believe she is up in heaven with my dad, grandparents, neighbors, etc, and that one day I will be back holding her in my arms.

Thank you Maggie for the 11 years of life you gave me.  You helped me through some tough times, but also brought me much happiness which was such a blessing.  I will miss you, dear Maggie, but look forward to holding you once again.

October 9, 2015: National Cathedral and Flight 93 Memorial

Today, was our last day in Washington D.C.     We went to the National Cathedral which was simply magnificent. We had a nice tour of the cathedral with is Episcopal.  We drove by Sidwell school which is where the Obama girls attend school.   It is a Quaker school and costs around $37,000 a year.    

Stopped at the Flight 93 memorial in Pennsylvania which was interesting.   The terrorists chose a flight that was less crowded and was staight through as it would be full of gas which would cause the most damage.   If it weren't for these passengers being so brave and trying the stop the terrorists,  there may have been an even greater tragedy.   The new visitors center just opened in September 2015.

We stayed at a hotel in Pittsburgh for the night.  

October 8, 2015: Arlington Cemetery and Mount Vernon

Today, I thought would be less walking than the day before, but I was wrong.   I walked over 13,000 steps today.

Our first stop was to Arlington National Cemetery where over 400,000 people are buried.  They have around 20-30 funeral ceremonies each day.   The military person, his/her spouse and child can be buried here.   If you get just the white stone, it is free.   We went to the Changing of the Guard.  I remember having to dress up for this ceremony back in 8th grade in 1989.   Now, the kids wear any ole thing.  I overheard this guy telling the kids in the ceremony they had to wear closed toed shoes.  One girl was wearing flip flops and a short skirt while a guy was wearing sneakers.  Sneakers are not allowed either.

Saw where the Kennedys are buried.   

Next, we went to the Jefferson Memorial, Franklin Roosevelt Memorial, and the Mrtin Luther King Memorial.

Our last stop of the day was to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington.     We toured his home and saw where they are buried on the property.    We had a turkey dinner at the restaurant on-site.    

October 7, 2015: Washington D.C. City Tour

The bus drove us in from Woodbridge, VA to get our step on guide.   I was shocked by all of the traffic coming into the city.   I would use public transportation as it would take you 1 1/2 hours to get to work.  

We had an excellent guide, Helen.    Our first stop was going to see the White House but as our group walked to the square where you can see the home, the Secret Service said we couldn't as they were closing it off so we had to see this later.      

We went to the World War II memorial which was gorgeous.   16 million served in World War II but about 400,000 were killed.   All 50 states were represented in this memorial.    

We also saw the Korean memorial.     

The Vietnam memorial was very nice. All the names of the deceased or still missing were engraved on this memorial.  We found my mom's classmate, Dennis Lanore, who died in 1966.    They had a book with the names that told you where on the memorial it could be found.   

The Lincoln Memorial was massive and was built like the Parthenon in Greece.   

We had lunch at Au Bon Pain inside Union Station.   

Then, we took a tour of Capitol Hill.   We went inside the rotunda which was being restored.   They have underground tunnels and public transportation.     Saw the Supreme Court and Library of Congress.   

Went back to see the White House as well as the Blair house which is the Presidential guest house.  George Washington was the only President who did not live in the White House as it hadn't been constructed.   The Oval Office is in the East Wing and Michelle Obama's office is in the East Wing.   The Obama's live in the upper floors.  

We had dinner at Smoky Bones back in Woodbridge which was next to our hotel.  We had to wait for our food for over an hour, then the server lost our order and they got our order wrong.   Other people had to wait forever.   I complained to the manager and we got our meal for free.

October 6, 2016: Washington D.C.

We took about 3 hours from our hotel in Somerset, PA to Washington D.C.   The GW Parkway is very scenic and crosses the Potomoc River.  Drove by the White House,  Washington Monument, and the Smithsonian museums.    Mom and I decided to go first to the Holocaust Museum.   It was very interesting.  I didn't realize the Jews were put in ghetto groups and forced to do slave work and many died within 2 weeks.  Others were gassed or shot just because they were referred to as an inferior race.  About 2/3 of the Jews were killed.   I thought the whole thing was very sad.  You could easily spend 3 hours in this museum.

Our 2nd museum was the American History Museum.  We saw the original United States flag and saw the First Ladies exhibit.   Mom wasn't too impressed with Michelle Obama's inaugural dress.  It had Swarovski crystals on it.    

The third museum we saw was the Museum of Natural History where we saw the Hope Diamond.   Neither one of us had been to Washington D.C. Since we were in 8th grade.  For me, it was about 27 years ago.

We had a delicious dinner at Carmine's Italian restaurant.  We had salad, garlic bread, penne pasta, chicken Marsala, egg plant parmigiana, and cannolis for dessert.   I would highly recommend this restaurant.  

We did a quick twilight tour and then headed for our hotel in Woodbridge, Virginia.

October 5, 2015: Heading to Washington D.C.

Mom and I decided to take an Orchard View Traveler's trip to Washington D.C. as neither of us had been there since we were in 8th grade.   The trip was $800 which is pretty cheap for transportation, hotels, some meals, and entrances into the tourist places.

We have 51 people on the bus and I am the youngest one.  

Had a nice lunch at the Cracker Barrel near Toledo, Ohio and then dinner at Ruby Tuesdays in Somerset, Pennsylvania.    We are trying to keep our meal spending as cheap as possible as neither of us has much money these days.   My car payment of $537 a month is killing me.  I'm hoping to refinance the car in a year or two.

We are staying at the Hampton Inn Hotel in Somerset, Pennsylvania.    The room is nice and they gave us free cookies, chex mix, and popcorn.  

October 3, 2015: Maggie and Lunch with Aunt Charlene

For the past day, Maggie has been hiding under the bed and not eating.   I was so worried that she got pancreatitis again and that I would have to put her to sleep.     Took her to the vet and they checked her out.   The vet thinks she has arthritis or a muscle spasm as her back seemed to scrunch up when the vet checked her.  They are going to give her a steroid shot and some anti-inflammatory medication.  She will stay at the vet until we come back from vacation.

Then, went to Grand Rapids for a belated birthday lunch with my Aunt Charlene.  I wanted to go to Founder's Brewery and see my former co-worker, Josh Maitner's art that he submitted for Art Prize.   I saw his painting but we didn't eat there as it was a zoo there both inside and outside.   That is sure a big restaurant.   It's about a city block long.   My friend, Tony Dragel, who was my cube mate at my job in Chicago, said they sell Founders beer in the Chicago area.

I decided we should eat somewhere else so  suggested the City Market which I have always wanted to see.   We had some authentic tacos there and saw a wedding going on there upstairs,    We got some delicious cookies from the bakery that Steve likes.   We took the cookies home and had tea and great conversation.    

September, 26, 2015: Art Prize 7

Today, we went to Grand Rapids for Art Prize 7 which was started by the Devos family seven years ago.   We've been to this for the last 5 years or so.   This year, I thought the best displays were at the Gerald Ford Museum and Devos Place.    Usually, there are some nice displays at the Bob and Amway Grand Hotel but I wasn't too impressed with them this year.