Cutting the Umbilical Cord

Saturday was my last day with Dad and Nalan. Nalan and I did a half day, hiking from just south of Old Bowie to Greenbelt, a distance of eleven miles (120 in total). Old Bowie had the feeling of a small town and the citizens were setting up for a town fair as we passed through the area. There was an interesting little railroad museum there as well which was unfortunately closed at the time. Finding a museum in Washington DC will surely prove difficult.
The terrain on the way to Greenbelt via Beaver Dam Road was mainly U.S government property, some owned by NASA and the rest by an unspecified agency or agencies. Besides the numerous "US property, no trespassing signs" though, the land was mainly farm (pesticide testing?)and forestland (designing mutant squirrels trained to combat Al Qaeda?). I didn't see much wildlife today, although Nalan did claim to see a groundhog whilst I was staring at the waste treatment plant spew poo. Not the best decision my wandering eyes have made thus far.
After a four hour trip we arrived in Greenbelt, Maryland, one of three model cities planned and constructed by one of FDR's alphabet soup agencies. I could never keep all of them straight, only the military and education professions have an acronym fetish comparable to FDR's.
Appropriately enough we ate at the New Deal Cafe, which turned out to be a Lebanese restaurant. My chicken schawarma was a good primer for the Lebanese meal Sue is cooking for Scott and I Sunday night. Scott is in the military and did a couple tours in the Middle East where he developed a taste for some of the cuisine. He will be shipping out again in June for six months. Keep him in your thoughts and/or prayers depending on which you are better at doing.
Sunday is a rest day, all I have to do is prep for the C&O Canal and eat some wonderful home cooking. I may have to savor the flavor memories for some time with my upcoming menu looking like Jerky followed by granola, then repeat. Sue's mad kitchen skills shame the Iron Chefs to such an extent they have no choice but to commit seppuku. I have been looking forward to this meal for some time.
These reports will probably be less frequent in the future. I won't be staying in hotels very much any more so my internet access will be spotty at best. I will be writing a daily journal though and I will post my day-to-day activities whenever opportunities arrive, mainly through public libraries.
I am going to miss Dad and Nalan's company very much. They have been an incredible help throughout this first week and I don't know if I could have done it without them. The time has come to cut the umbilical cord now and how I will do on my own is a story to be told in the coming days. Stay tuned. (I bet he screws it up). Shut up me, you have no self-confidence whatsoever. Jeez.

Thanks to recent sponsors and donors:
Jesse and Holly Cunningham
Ellen Flaherty
Larry Holmes (not the boxer)
1st Lt. Ryan and Mrs. Frances Sidlovsky, USMC

We are nearing the $3000 mark, a great start, but like my walk there is still a long way to go.