OK, life was crazy before, during and after the D.C. trip, so I need to backtrack to the D.C. trip and tell the stories.
Pre-trip - I outlined an itinerary for Mom and girls and included maps, pictures and descriptions on exactly how to get out of the subway and onto the right street. On Sunday evening, I went through the itinerary with Barb (Megan's mom), Megan, Stella and Abby. (Mom, Abby, Megan will be known as MAM for the rest of this trip.) MAM were flying on a different airline (since I was traveling for work, I had to use the contracted carrier ) but, that was okay. I had a map outlining the airport showing where they would come off the plane, pointed out to them to take a left off of the plane and wander to my terminal. I figured it was easy enough, and they had an hour to get across the airport.
Monday morning came VERY early (4 a.m. on the road). Megan, Abby and I picked up Stella and headed to the airport for their 6 a.m. flight. Challenge: getting them to Terminal A, checked in, through security then getting my vehicle parked, me to the airport and checked in/ready to fly an hour later. The first part went pretty easy - drove right up to the terminal and parked in short term parking. I did the online check in on Sunday, so they could head straight to the gate. I had about 95% of Stella's stuff in my suitcase, and A&M each took one bag as a carry on so security was pretty easy for them. (No liquids either - I had them all.) I pointed out their gate (#6) and after I saw them get through security, I gave a little wave and headed back to the van. Whoa - less than 30 min of parking in short term is no longer free; it's now a buck. Mind you, I can handle $1, but hey, ain't nothin' free any more? Alright, pay the buck and move on. So - on to the Parking Spot.
Now, I was driving the van - which is a whole other story - and it took FOREVER for the driver to come around. Finally picked up/dropped at Terminal C and flying in to the airport. (Yes, pun intended.) Saw my friend, Nancy, doing the curbside checking, so I knew I would have someone to chat with while waiting. I expected a quick check in for my bag and thus, would have plenty of time to get through security. At the counter, imagine my surprise...eek, there's a weight limit of 50 lbs or it's $75?!?!? Uh, no. OK- I could handle this - after all, it's only 7 lbs that needs to come out, right? The helpful counter lady said she would just hold my bag tag while I rearranged, so I stepped out of line and unzipped the mega-bag. I had packed a messenger satchel to go back/forth to work each day, so the satchel was the first 6 oz pulled out and then stuffed with a bunch of clothes. Liquids are heavy, and I had everyone's. Pulled some of those out. Computer cables - got them too. My computer bag (carry on) only had two laptops and a paperback in it, so between my computer bag and satchel, I was pretty confident that I would keep my $75. Headed back around to the counter to an empty space and got the lady's attention. Imagine her surprise when the bag is 14 lbs lighter (down to 43 lbs!) Am I rockin' at the packin' or what??? Hmmm. A quick check showed that I was still good on time, and I really didn't want to look like a pack mule going on the plane, so asked for another shot at rearranging. I left my bag ON the scales this time and started another journey of packing. Unzip, stuff, stuff, stuff. Liquids back in - may as well make security checkpoint easier. Some of the clothes back in - sorry for the wrinkles, Mom!. And topped it off to the 49.5 lbs mark. Counter lady was happy; I was okay with my carry-ons cause the computer case had wheels, and I was off to security check in. This scenario is 'one', cause you know these kind of things happen in 'threes'.
As I'm waiting in the gate area, Abby calls me a few times. Call #1 - they are waiting at gate and some stranger saw her ticket said gate 6. He told her that they needed to be at gate #8. Me: OK - go to gate 8. 2 - they are asking people to check their bags because it's a full flight. Me: OK - remember we talked about this? They take your bag at the plane and then give it to you as you get off the plane. Calls #3, 4, 5 - well, you get the idea. So, loosely counting this as 'two'.
So, the flight was fine, and MAM were waiting for me at my gate. (YAY, they did it!) Grabbed my bag (one of the first off) and headed for the taxi line. Here's me: blab, blab, blab - explaining how the taxi line works, the airport fiasco, etc. while leaning against the rail. It was the longest taxi line that I had experienced so blab, scoot, lean against the rail, blab, scoot, lean. You get the idea. This led to blab, scoot, about-fall-on-my- butt-in-the-street-cause-there's-no-rail!!!! THANK GOD everyone and their brother/uncle/cousin needed a taxi, and there were none coming, because I would have been hit! You know how it is when you're walking down the sidewalk and trip...over nothing...so you look first, at the offending sidewalk and then second, to see if anyone notices? Uh-huh, that's what I did - frown at the rail
and the street, and then see that yes, EVERYONE noticed. Of course, it possibly could have been my flailing arms and yell that brought on the attention. Nope, no quiet fall for me! So, that's 'three'.
As we continue to wait in the taxi line, Abby lets me know the excitement of traveling with Grandma Stella. She (Abby) had the airport layout in her head and knew she where was going, but Gma kept asking for directions. They didn't have too long of a wait for me - and heck, free wifi, so M&A didn't really care because they had actually been electronically disconnected for the 2 1/2 hour flight.
We got to the hotel - Holiday Inn Capitol. While this is not the Ritz, it is in a totally awesome location - two blocks from the Mall (green one, that is). We were way too early for check-in, so I started rearranging stuff in the bags - again - to drop them with the concierge. Thank you, Holiday Inn people(!) - before I did too much, they had a room come available. Of course, it may have also been four travelers with bags open and clothes, liquids, and paraphernalia being shifted around in the center of their lobby that got us into the room early. [grin] Dump the bags, teen girls put on cute clothes/shoes, and we're off to experience D.C.!
We take a little jaunt to the Mall and, wouldn't you know it. Rather than the picturesque expanse of grass with people milling about, dogs catching frisbees, picnics on old blankets, and lines of street vendors....I get to show them construction!
Apparently, 2012 is when they decided to redo all of the drainage problems. Oh well. MAM gets their first view of the Capitol, Washington and Smithsonian buildings, and I show them the map boards of the Mall for future reference.
It was getting to be lunch time and since no one had really had breakfast, the first experience for the DC-newbies was a hot dog vendor. No, they're not very good, but sometimes it's the experience that counts, right? Besides, I wasn't about to 'experience' sushi or lamb from the back end of a truck regardless of the probably billion DC truck-food regulations. (Not that MAM would EVEN go there anyway....) We grab the dogs, munch 'em down.
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| Abby topped her dog with a Sponge Bob ice cream. |
For our first trip on the Metro (subway), I have MAM buy $5 passes because we're going to a Commuter Store later that day to get better 'deals'. I explain how the subway works, how to look for the brown posts and figure out where you need to go, and then we're on our way to Arlington National Cemetery. As we are getting ready to exit the turnstiles, there are three people from my mom's church coming through from the Cemetery. We are 1/2 of the U.S.A. away from home, in a subway with no one around, and that's who we see! A few minutes of chat and we move along. Arlington has JFK and Jackie O's graves, the Tomb of the Unknowns, and
several other monuments, in addition to all of the fallen military.
It's quite a hike, and why we didn't get on a bus, is beyond me. (I didn't follow my own rule of 'save the steps'.) We all would have enjoyed the experience a bit more.
We stopped at JFK/Jackie graves and saw the Eternal Flame.
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| The 'ask not what your country can do for you' speech |
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| Not sure who this is, but it prompted the horse feet in the air or down = died in action? Actually, hoof position means nothing. |
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| Really cool marble amphitheater along the walk. |
We saw the changing of the guards which is a very solemn ceremony. If you ever want to experience 'military precision', watch this as it is the epitome of it.
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| Notice their right feet - 99.9% identical position. |
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| Our feet weren't precise at all! : ) |
Back we go to the subway and heading to the underground mall at Crystal City. Well, as long as you get on the Metro going the right direction. (We were on the wrong side but was able to change before the next train came along.)
Yes, Crystal City Underground is a real mall (not the National [green grass] Mall), and it is truly underground. We headed to the Commuter Store to 'experience' a confusing, and completely unhelpful, conversation with a surely underpaid worker. The Metro changed practices the week before - paper vs. plastic-y card, then throw in the visitor, student, and senior options, and you get a cluster of information from a worker who doesn't want to recommend a 'best' option for you. As I always say, 'drop back and punt' or 'we'll take a couple of these and a couple of those'. Happy hour dinner waited for us across the aisle at Hamburger Hamlet, and I was ready for the happy hour beer. I ordered way too many appetizers and ended up with a carry out bag to take to a room without a microwave. (How smart is that?) Now that I think about it, it was probably still in the hotel fridge when we left. As we were leaving, mom realized that she left her water bottle at the Commuter Store. Yep, we could see it....right through the chain link gate of the closed store. It was left behind (literally) because it just wasn't worth the Metro fare or time back to get it.
The next stop - Pentagon City Mall. Yup, another REAL mall. We got there at 7:15, so I told M&A they had 45 minutes then to meet us right back where mom and I were - resting our feet while lounging in the food court. You would have thought a rocket blasted them out of there. One minute here, five seconds later gone. I'm sure they were doing some major power walking. I called about 10 minutes before they were supposed to be back as a reminder - didn't want those teenagers to be totally sidetracked. They made it back on time, but Megan lost the belly ring/navel ring/whatchamacallit along the way so they had to backtrack. Amazingly, they found it on the floor.
I had to show them the real Ritz while we were there. Imagine the teen disgust when I mentioned that I had checked there for reservations! HOW COULD I put them two blocks from the National Mall when they could have been attached to the PC mall??? I don't think they appreciated the beauty of the Ritz at that point.
We hopped back on the subway and headed to the Pentagon and the 9-11 memorial. This memorial was one that I had not seen (and honestly didn't know about until I was putting together the itinerary.) The design of the memorial is so interesting (and I am not a history buff). I really recommend taking the time to watch the
video tour at
http://www.pentagonmemorial.net/plan/visitor-resources. The memorial is on the opposite side of the Pentagon from the subway, I think. I can, at least, say it's a heck of a long walk! There are a lot of signs telling you not to take photos, and no way was I not following rules of the most powerful military building in the world! The camera stayed firmly at my side. OK - honest Abe - I tried to sneak a picture and this is what I got:
To see what it really looks like, you get a day-time 'stock' photo:
It is truly beautiful when lit up at night. Seeing this was a melancholy ending to a long day.
We headed back to the hotel to crash for the night. Five a.m. was gonna to be early....
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