D.C. days

Baltimore's only 45 minutes from Washington D.C., a city my niece Nathalie had never been to. I love D.C. (as long as I don't have to live there without family), as does my mom and Mark. We couldn't wait to go back.

We took the train in from Baltimore on the first day, which proved very easy. Union Station was under lots of construction, which was a bummer, since it's a magnificent building both inside and out. It's also only a couple blocks from the Capitol, where our first tour of the day was scheduled.

Did I mention it was spring time? Because there's really not a more beautiful time to visit D.C. (well, okay, maybe a couple weeks earlier, when the cherry blossoms were blooming would've been a wee bit better). The trees were all flowering, and like Baltimore, there were tulips everywhere. It was breathtaking.

Our first stop was the Hart Senate building. Mom and I went through security pretty quickly, but it was almost as if Mark and Nathalie had never seen a metal detector before. The guards were very patient with them, reminding them to take off their belts, to put back the little storage bowls for your phone and wallet, and to go back, once again, and remove any metal, including their belts (yes, they were told twice). We finally got through, and the guard said, "OK, now you can go about your business. Where are you going, so I can direct you?" We were embarrassed to admit we just needed the bathrooms!

The guard started laughing and said, "You came into my beautiful building, and went through all that hassle just to use the bathroom?" He just laughed again and shook his head.

Next, it was on to the Capitol, with a photo stop first in front of the Supreme Court.

Court and Congress were on spring break, so while there were no protesters in front, there were tons of middle schoolers on tour. After seeing all the matching shirts and jackets, Mark and Nathalie were thankful to be in a much smaller group with no color-coordinated clothes.

The Capitol tour was nice. It is such an amazing building, and the dome...man, I could seriously just sit inside there and stare up at that gorgeous dome all day. (In fact, that's just what I did--didn't hear much of the tour facts during this part.) Our tour guide was hilarious. She kept mixing up John Adams and Sam Adams, and then saying she was thirsty. She had a really dry sense of humor, and we loved her.

We stopped to take some more touristy pics of the Library of Congress, then headed to the Metro. A few stops later, we were down by the White House, and on our way to lunch. The last time we were in D.C. was during President Obama's inauguration, and we stumbled on to the Old Ebbitt Grill restaurant for lunch. It was so good, my mom insisted we return this trip.

 

We spent a good two hours eating some wonderful food. We ordered lobster rolls, which were awesome, although I'm kinda spoiled now that I've been to Maine and had a REAL lobster roll. But these were still amazing, and way better than anything we have in California!

 

After lunch, we strolled. We walked to the White House to take pictures, then down to the Mall. It was a bit windy, and when Nathalie and my mom stopped at the back of the White House to take photos, Nat's baseball cap flew off--and landed on the other side of the fenced-in White House lawn! She fell to the ground, and reached with all her might under the fence, where she came out victorious. A man walking by laughed, and told my mom, "I wouldn't have risked that for anything except a Red Sox hat!"

Next, it was on to the Washington Monument, and then up the Mall toward the Smithsonian museums. It was fun to show it all off to Nathalie, who, it turns out, really didn't care that much. She was just having a blast being on vacation--she could have been anywhere, really, and she still would've had fun.

We stopped briefly for water (Mom), low blood sugar (Mark), and to rest the busted knee (me). We were kind of a mess.

Our last stop was the Smithsonian Museum of American History. They have a new display for the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner." It was dark, quiet and profoundly moving.

They even had a display of the Presidents, where this hopeful candidate gave a rousing speech.

And best of all, they had a really interesting display on Abraham Lincoln. They even had the top hat he wore the night he was killed, which was iconic, impressive and sad all at once.

On our next day trip, we ventured out to Mt. Vernon, George Washington's gorgeous estate. Because it was much further out, we drove instead of taking the train. The road was beautiful, lined with lush trees and flowers. I'd forgotten how beautiful D.C. and its surrounding areas were.

They'd built a new visitor's center since the last time I'd been there (seemed to be a running theme). We watched a movie about the first Prez, and then wandered the grounds. It was supposed to rain, and we were a bit worried, but the weather turned out to be way better than we expected.

We couldn't leave without an iconic picture on George's back porch.

Besides all the flowers and trees, spring meant babies--lots of them! There were tons of new lambs, and baby pigs. I was excited, and whispered to Nat, "These are the ancestors of George Washington's sheep!" She was cracking up at me.

The kids really dug Mt. Vernon, but I think the lambs were honestly their favorite part.

Since we had a car, we made the most of it by driving to all the memorials outside of the city. We stopped at the World War II Iwo Jima memorial, where a groups of vets were paying homage to their fallen comrades. It was very moving.

We didn't think we'd have enough time to take the tour of Arlington Cemetery, so we just peeked over the fence at all the crosses. Nathalie was the only one who hadn't been there before, and I learned on this trip she's totally creeped out by cemeteries--even one as beautiful as Arlington. So we never made it back to take the full tour, but I don't think Nat really minded.

We were supposed to meet up with my other niece Hannah, whose middle school was also visiting Washington. However, I got lost trying to get to the restaurant--I took a wrong turn, and ended up in front of the Pentagon. Which was cool, because hey, here was another awesome sight to show the kids. But even better were the signs I saw as I tried to leave the Pentagon parking lot--signs directing us to a memorial for those lost in 9/11. I didn't even know they had a memorial for that, but it made sense. It was haunting, and beautiful.

Due to snafus you only encounter when dealing with groups of tweens, we never did meet up with Hannah. Which bummed us all out at first, until I realized that meant we could have dinner somewhere even better--in my previous hometown, at the Lost Dog Cafe! Yahooooo! It was every bit as wonderful as I remembered.

Our last day of vacation was a Saturday, and the day of the Cherry Blossom parade and festival. We planned to return for both, but by the time Saturday rolled around, we were pretty well exhausted.

So we still went to D.C., but we blew off the parade. Instead, we jumped on a trolley tour, for one last look at all the monuments. It worked out pretty well, since we avoided most of the crowds.

Along the way, we saw some of the newer monuments, like the thoughtful Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. one. It was a nice tribute to an amazing man.

We exited the trolley at the Lincoln Memorial. Doesn't matter how many times you see it, the experience is always awe-inspiring. A giant Lincoln sits above you, and you almost feel like he's about to get up, or maybe just say something profound.

The Gettysburg Address was carved into the wall, and it was pretty cool to read it, having just been to the battlefield days earlier. There was a whole lotta learning going on here.

I also marveled at the view from the steps, facing the Washington Monument, and further back, the Capitol building. The Reflection Pool was empty, drained for all the construction going on around the park, but it was still a contemplative moment. My thoughts were finally broken by a nearby family, whose mom was positioning the kids closer together in front of the Washington Monument.

"Move ovah," she commanded in a thick New York accent. "Make it look like the giant pencil is stickin' outta ya head!"

I almost lost it, erupting into silent laughter at that. And I will never be able to think of the Washington Monument as anything but a giant pencil again.

We walked over to the Korean War memorial, and took loads of pictures for my dad. He served in Korea, albeit a couple years after the war, so he was front and center in our minds then.

After a quick lunch, we trekked over to Ford's Theatre, which was closed because there was a play going on. I didn't even know they still showed plays in there--seems kinda sick to me, and I'd be nervous the whole time if I were in the audience. So we didn't get to take the kids inside, but we were all so tired, we honestly didn't even care that much.

And so it was back to Baltimore. It was a Jewish holiday, so the Gludts were celebrating at a friend's house.

But they came home very excited for two reasons--the first was that at nightfall, Passover was officially over, and they could once again eat bread. Secondly, it was Rob's birthday, which was a nice coincidence, because we could celebrate with all his favorite leavened carbs--pizza, apple pie, and beer. YUM! 

We'd had some really great family dinners that week, and a lot of good times visiting with the Gludts. Mark and I were already members of Romi's fan club, but he also easily converted my mom and Nathalie--they thought he was hilarious, and, as my mom noted, "It was worth the trip out here just to meet him."

So all in all, it was a fantastic trip. I'm grateful for the time I spent with my good friends, and showing off so many new sites to the kids (and to me and my mom, too). We laughed a lot, and kept super busy, but really, my favorite parts were the quiet moments. The long drive Kelley and I took through the Maryland countryside, the matzah breakfasts, sitting in the backyard with Rob while Romi made everyone (including the dog) get in the car as he pretended to drive them somewhere. Those were the moments I'll remember best, the ones that meant the most. Hershey was a blast, but sitting around the living room laughing, playing games...that's the reason we keep visiting the Gludts, wherever they may roam, wherever they may land.

Thank you Rob, Kelley and Romi for hosting us, and to Steven for being a good sport and giving up your room to a bunch of crazy Californians.