SPX PLUS Part Three

So every occasion I've been to, or through, Washington DC, I've never been able to spend time there.  I've always had to be somewhere else the next day.  This time I arranged to have a day off on the Monday after SPX, so Noah and I could check it out a bit.

At breakfast we found out that Joseph Remnant needed a ride to the airport, so I agreed to take him down there if he didn't mind tagging along on our little tourist jaunt.  We drove down together to the National Mall.

The Washington Monument is very impressive in person.

World War II Memorial

Lincoln Memorial in the distance.

View from the Lincoln Memorial steps.

After that we walked over to the White House.

Wasps' nest on the White House fence.

We ended up at the Smithsonian for a bit before it was time to take Joseph to Dulles.  

Afterwards, Noah and I admitted we were too tired to walk anymore, and decided to head up to Pittsburgh to visit good ol' Jim Rugg.  One of the treats of my life over the last few years has been discovering what a cool city Pittsburgh is, with so many cool people too.  I've managed to make it out there about twice a year since then, and any excuse I've had to visit I'm happy to make use of.

Jim Rugg's neighbors' cat.

KIRBY!!!

I love this cat.

We stayed up late talking about art and comics, as we are wont to do.  I told Jim I wanted to visit Copacetic the next day to look for a copy of the out-of-print Four Color Fear.  Then we went to bed, and Kirby only bothered me once.

Next morning after the rain, Jim Rugg's neighbors' other cat put footprints all over my car.  (They're still there.)

We hung out looking at old comics and talking about stuff, waiting for Copacetic to open for the day.  When Jim found out it was my birthday, he instantly reached into his shelf, pulled out a copy of Four Color Fear, and placed it in my hands.  Happy birthday, he said.  I was speechless. Are you kidding me?  Thanks Jim!

View from Copacetic's balcony.  Yes, what other comic shop in America has a balcony?

And then we were back on the road, heading to Columbus, where I wanted to sell some King-Cats, and where Caitlin McGurk had offered us a tour of OSU's Billy Ireland Cartoon Research Library.

Zzzzzzzz.

NEXT: COLUMBUS, INDY, CHICAGO