Cottage

Our Cousin Alden is in town. I was able to spend a wonderful day with this fine young man.

In the morning John O and I met Alden and my friend Larissa at Foggy Bottom and then drove to a very interesting national historic site in Washington, President Lincoln's Cottage.

President Lincoln's Cottage

We took a tour of the Cottage, led by a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable tour guide.

From the Cottage's website:

During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln spent June to November, 1862-1864 in a 34-room Gothic Revival "cottage" there.  He reportedly made his last visit to the house, on April 13, 1865, the day before his assassination.  He found cool breezes and quiet, but he brought his wartime responsibilities with him.  Lincoln was staying in this house when he wrote the final draft of the Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862.  Frederick Douglass, the famous African American abolitionist and writer, called the proclamation “the immortal paper, making slavery forever impossible in the United States."

After the tour, we took advantage of a great photo op. See the photos below.

Cousins Alden and Chris flanking President Lincoln 

                                                   John O and Christine with The President 

Larissa and Christine, who makes a point of bringing the lovely horse into the photo

The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

John then had a good idea - to visit the nearby National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Roman Catholic church in North America and one of the 10 largest churches in the world.

We had lunch in the cafeteria there and then visited the church. I hope to add photos of the Shrine taken by John.

Alden and Arthur: The Cousins Meet

Alden and I then came back to our house so that he could meet his Cousin Arthur. Unfortunately, his local cousins were out of town, Christian in Charlottesville and Colin in Miami.

Alden and Arthur got involved in a heavy tech conversation and it was all Greek to me!

We then enjoyed a pizza together before I took Alden back to his hotel.

I enjoyed seeing Alden again. He is an impressive young man who knows a lot about a lot of things. I enjoyed talking to him, in particular about history and architecture. (Not technology!)

Cousins Arthur and Alden