We returned to Brian's residence. I think he was still sleeping. Speaking of sleeping, it should be noted that Brian's sleeping quarters was designed for a King. It was the first time I had seen this much emphasis put into resting. I LOVED IT! The bed had temperature controls, there was a controller for white noise and another for lighting. 

Anyways we took a shower and got prepared to leave. Brian prepared a to go breakfast drink for us and we hugged and left.

Brian, Thanks Champion!!!   

​Off to meet Ryan at a Starbucks to meet and interview one of his friends Yoni Micael. You can listen to Yoni's #12minconvo below. 

Maacia Gilbert-Dagirmanjian, my Aunty. We were supposed to meet her that night however we decided that it would be in our best interest to keep moving on. Our decisions were heavily weighed upon money and time. I was determined to meet her for I did give her my word in 2017 when I was in North Carolina to meet her the next time I was in the US. For us to pull it off we would have to visit her at her work place, Johns Hopkins Hospital. 

Seeing her brought back a ton of memories. My first train ride coincidentally was with her back in the 90's. I hadn't seen her in over two decades. She was the same Aunty Macia, warm-hearted,  loving and bold. Bold enough to let me know how disappointed she was that I was not staying to have dinner with her yet understanding that I was an amateur at roadtrip planning.

Next we drove out to meet Cathy E Smith at her home. Cathy couldn't meet us the day before but opened her home for us to meet. She was located on route so we decided why not. Additionally she raved about her father's famous recipe for croquettes. I had never had them before. We arrived and were welcomed by her father. We had an amazing breakfast then I was so enthralled by David Anderson Sr. mannerism that I interviewed him.

Then I interviewed Cathy and we were off again. This time we were going to meet more family. 

The limited time I got to share with my family. Merle and her husband, Ryan and his family. In hindsight meeting family was a great way to be refocused. Merle for example encouraged us to continue our journey and complete it. She said that it had been a dream of hers to accomplish what we were setting out to do. 

Ryan's wife, prepared a curry meal for us with dhalpouri. Being away from home for a couple of weeks but getting this surprise was heaven on earth.

We would visit Michael Woodward who opened up his home for us to nightover. When we arrived at Michael's home I immediately wondered about who had the job of cutting the grass. His house was sitting on the middle of surrounding acres. When I asked him he said that he did it with a motorized lawnmower. Then he said, do you want to drive it. Guess my answer? With a two minute tutorial I was on and driving. Fun, Fun, Fun. 

An early morning walk is always a great way to start the day. Despite not having the typical 'walking clothes' Engel and I took a walk on this cool D.C. morning. We made our way up to the park then came back to the apartment where we captured a rooftop view of the Pentagon and its surroundings. It was breathtaking. Our leisure time soon expired as we had to keep on schedule. We readied ourselves and said our final goodbye to Brian, but not before he made a special breakfast smoothie. It was delicious, giving us a boost to get our engines revving. Brian Nelson Palmer we thank you for your hospitality.

We reconvened with Ryan who had stayed the night over at a friend's place. At a Starbucks location, which proved to be a popular meeting place, Engel met his first guest, Yoni, for the day. The buzz of the cafe activity was a bit too much for recording purpose so we ventured to an outdoor parklike space and got it done.

Thereafter we would be travelling in the direction of Pennsylvania and would be meeting Cathy E. Smith at her home which was on our route. Little did we know that cathy's dad would be present and willing to share his story. Mr. Anderson also showed off his culinary skills as we were treated to a hearty breakfast. I was really impressed by Cathy's home studio set up which reflected her seriousness for her craft. Thank you Cathy for sharing this time with us.

In the background of all things related to the 12minrvconvo journey we were communicating with relatives and friends who were living in the U.S. On this particular day we were communicating with Engel's aunt via text message. She lived in Maryland and was at work. Though meeting her seemed impossible, it was made possible. Countless times I've read articles about Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Hospital and anything Johns Hopkins related. It is an institution I highly respect. Never in my wildest thoughts would I imagine walking the corridors of Johns Hopkins in this capacity. It was Aunty Macia's place of work and we were meeting her there. I must say the embrace between nephew and aunt was priceless. Love is lovely. She gave us a tour of her workplace and we met some of her co-workers. It felt like a proud aunty moment. The time went by so quickly that goodbye was now on our lips. 

More of Engel's family to meet as we made our way on to Pennsylvania. A refreshing stop as we received words of encouragement and delicious curry. Our stay was not long here as we were offered a night's stay at the Woodwards home. We wanted to get in at a respectable hour and share enough time with that family also. Two things I distinctly remember here. One was Michael's narrow escape of Engel mowing him into the landscape and two, the display of lights automatically done by the fireflies in the night. It was amazing. We thank Michael and his beautiful family for their hospitality. After a long day this night's rest was appreciated.

On our drive to Virginia I streamed live on Facebook as we were driving by naval bases as Ryan pointed out. One of my cousins was looking on and messsaged that she was living nearby. We exchanged numbers on Facebook messenger and planned to meet the next Day. 

When we arrived at Ryan's home his parents were most welcoming. His parents and Samson. I have a picture below on the camera roll with Samson. Check out the size on that guy. 

If you missed out on Day 3 and you are curious to catch up click HERE.