Epic Summer Road Trip (Day 21 – 23): Our Nation's Capital

The night we spent in Enfield, NC included a nice down pour complete with flashes of lightening.  Drew and I were trying to play a little badminton that evening when the wind suddenly picked up and we heard/saw a squall coming through the field across the road.  I told Drew to start running toward the camper so we could pull all the towels off of the clothesline.  He has never really been in a rain storm that comes in quickly especially coming from Seattle, so he was surprised with me running and trying to get everything under cover.  Sure enough   The kids were very concerned as we were snuggled in the camper hearing the rain pound the roof and lightening flashes every 30 seconds or so.  I grew up on the east coast so I was familiar with these storms and was giddy with excitement, but calm.  I think it helped them calm down as well. 

the rain came down hard and strong.

The next morning, I decided to go for a run while the kids slept.  It’s been quite a while since I have going running on a long country road with fields on each side of the road.  My souvenir was an American flag that had fallen off of someone’s vehicle and I picked it out of the ditch.  We left around 9am from campground and started heading north toward Colonial Williamsburg.

The last time I had been in Williamsburg was probably 1997 or 1998 for a college track meet at William and Mary.  I remember walking through colonial Williamsburg between events.  This time around I actually spent the money for tickets so we could go on the tours and check out all of the different historical shops.  As interesting as it was to go into the exhibits and tours, I don’t know if it as worth the $90+ for the three of us.  Oh well, I guess we’re on the vacation!  The kids were definitely tired of me asking questions of each of the tour guides and colonial characters, though!  I want to get my money’s worth.  One of the my favorite exhibits was the tin shop.  I asked the proprietor about where the colonies were getting their tin after declaring independence from Britain.  Apparently, the US received all of it’s tin from France, because we didn’t have any tin mines or manufacturing plants.  The US did this until the McKinley Tariffs which forced all tin importers to start buying tin from Brazil.  It cost more, but not as much as the tariff.  It was interesting to hear about how imposing tariffs can really disrupt supply changes and the businesses that rely upon the materials.  Sound familiar?

We left Williamsburg a little later than intended and had to suffer through Washington DC rush hour traffic in order to get to my Aunt Janet and Uncle Chris’ house in Annandale, VA which is just outside of the beltway.  Olivia and Drew both keyed in to the fact that all the signs for Washington DC simply state, “Washington”.  Don’t they realize there is an entire state named Washington?  Either they are trying to save money on sign printing or there may be a sense of self-importance that there is only one “Washington” in the US.  It’s pretty funny the little things that you pick up on when you come to a different place which locals take for granted or just don’t even notice. 

Janet greeted us at the front door and quickly provided me with a much needed cold beer to calm the nerves and cool the temper.  Ahhh…  We enjoyed a nice evening on the deck for dinner minus the next door neighbor who decided to start mowing the lawn AND using the leaf blower as we watched him from the deck. 

The next day Chris and Janet drove us down to the National Mall around 9am so we could beat the heat while walking around.  Unfortunately, it was already hot out at 9am and the tourists were out in force since it happened to be a Saturday.  It was so much fun seeing the awe on the kids’ faces as we walked from one memorial to another.  The Lincoln Memorial which is on the western end of the mall to the Capital building which is on the east end is approximately 2 ½ miles and we walked the whole thing with minimal complaining!  The air conditioned museums probably saved us along with the drinking fountains in each building.  For those of you who don’t know, all of the museums on the mall are free and they are all very impressive.  Our tax dollars at work!

The kids’ favorite part, I believe, was actually the rows of food trucks that lined the road near the Washington monument.  The trick is to arrive around 11:30am right before the crowds come in for lunch.  Every other food truck will hand out free samples of their products.  Sort of like Costco, but without the lines or shopping carts.  Everything was delicious from the Teriyaki cheese steaks to the lamb gyros.  We found a spot under a tree along with all of the other sun stroked tourists and ate lunch. 

We made our way to the Capitol building with the intent of going on the tour, but once we got there the lines were too long so we were content just people watching on a bench enjoying the air conditioning.  No senator or Congressperson sightings.  Once we got back out into the heat, I promised the kids that I would rent them an electric scooter to get back to the Metro (light rail for my Seattle friends).  We managed to find a couple and hummed back across the mall avoiding tourists as we cruised along.  It was a long, hot day and am proud of the kids for hanging in there. 

That night we met up with my uncle on my father’s side (Uncle John) and his wife, Aunt Kathy.  They treated us to some Chinese food at a local restaurant where Kathy knew the owner.  I have a habit of surprising John and Kathy without enough advanced notice and we had a long discussion about communication etiquette between those that use cell phones on a regular basis and those that still communicate via land line.  I will probably never live it down.  John and Kathy were pleasantly surprised at Drew and Olivia’s proficiency using chopsticks and they ate their entire meal without forks.  Of course, Drew mostly ate miso soup for his meal. 

I let the kids sleep in the next day after such an exhausting day before while Janet and I planned out a menu for an impromptu reunion dinner that night with all of the local relatives.  Instead of trying to explain all of the relationships of relatives that came that night, I decided to put together a Visio diagram with those who attended highlighted in yellow.  There are quite a few people missing from the list, but added in some people as a source of reference:

We had a GREAT time swimming, BBQ’ing, eating, laughing, etc.  Living in Seattle can be tough with my closest blood relative (other than Drew & Olivia) being Cousin Carol & Tom’s son living in Portland, OR.  I had forgotten how nice it was to be around kin.  The comedian, Jim Gaffigan, has a bit where he compares family reunions to going to McDonalds.  Jim quips, “At first you’re excited, but by the end you’ve realized you made a huge mistake.”  This reunion was nothing like going to McDonalds, fortunately.  After we returned to Janet’s house, she kept me up until 1:30am talking about our family.  As tired as I was, I really enjoyed hearing stories about my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and about my mom especially.  So much history that I had never heard before.  What a great visit. 

Next stop: NYC, baby!