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August 31, 1947
Dear Mother and Daddy,
I arrived safely today, only an hour late. The first thing I saw when I walked out of the station was the capital dome. I felt as if I were looking at a picture postcard.
Mrs. [Keyswander?] was there, of course to meet us. She is just lovely, and I know that you would like her so much. We came right home but on the way we saw all the main buildings, just a glimpse, we will see them all more thoroughly later on. But I did see all the main government buildings, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House (through the park) and several of the embassies, only I got so confused that I really can't remember which was which. We also went through the park and the zoological gardens
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and I got a quick glance at a Dromedary camel and a Lama - neither of which I had ever seen before. We really came right home from the station - these were just things we saw on the way.
We came home and got unpacked and took a bath (thank goodness - it got awfully hot and sticky on the train) and then had a huge dinner. That lasted until about fivethirty and then we went for a drive all around - mostly in Maryland. Ruth lives very near the Maryland state line. The country is just beautiful. I was amazed at how green it was, and the hills don't get brown in the summer the way they do in California. All the houses are either colonial brick or English, and you never see any Spanish or modern type. Most of them are also tall and narrow, and almost never spralled out and
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one storey. In the residential sections the streets are mostly narrow with no sidewalks and just a lot of shrubs and grass growing down to the street. We saw the Little Church in the Wild Wood and a perfectly huge naval hospital. Both of these were in Bethesda, Maryland. I am sure that I saw a lot more things, but I had a hard time taking in everything, especially since Mrs. [Keyswander?] was telling about her trip to Paris and Geneva and it was very interesting.
After the ride we came home and talked about plans. Mrs. [Keyswander?] had made a whole list of things for me to see, both in and out of Washington. We may go up to West Point week-end after next, and we are also going to see Gettysburg, Harper's Ferry the place where Washington crossed the Delaware, Harper's Yorktown, and Willamsburg, if we have time for all of them, and also maybe New York. A week from
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tonight we are going to a big reception at the National Art Gallery which is going to be given for the delegates for a Statistical Conference meeting here week after next. Also there is a ball we can go to if the unattached delegates prove interesting enough for us. This will be at the Latin American Embassy, I think - Mrs. [Keyswander?] talked so fast about all these things that I became rather confused - Anyway it seems that my stay will be very full. Ruth is going to act as a French interpreter for some of the delegates, and she may have to take them on such things as shopping tours on which I shall also go along.
I must stop now as I am rather tired and besides I'm having to use some of Mrs. [Keyswander's?] stationery - mine is still in my suitcase which is still at the station - we'll get it tomorrow. Anyway, I don't want to use too much of it.
I wish if you would think about it, you could send a camera. Both Ruth and Mrs. [Keyswander?] send love, Love, Mary -
