DC Road Trip

Our motor west weekend was fun. We headed out mid-day on Thursday (5/25) and took our time enjoying some sights along the way. We visited Thomas Jefferson's home, the Monticello, located in Charlottesville, VA. It's beautiful, the house, the grounds, the gardens. We decided to skip the bus load of kids and instead walked from the parking area to the main house. The path was less than a mile, maybe only 1/2 a mile. It didn't take long and the weather was spectacular.

As we headed up the trail a small group of about 10-15 people, mostly pre-teen kids, were making their way down. Most of the youngsters were complaining about how tired they were from too much walking. They appeared healthy enough but perhaps they all enjoy indoor lives in front of screens either watching TV or playing video games or navigating the internet.

The Monticello is a large brick building that Jefferson designed and redesigned himself. It was one of his favorite projects. In fact he prided himself on being the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and as founder of the University of Virginia. This is what is noted on his tombstone, it doesn't mention the fact that was the third president of the United States.

From Charlottesville we headed to our friends home in Arlington. There we spent the weekend getting acquainted with the lovely 3, sorry almost 4, year old Princess Clare. An adorable child, but all the same, this weekend experience re-confirmed for me that a childless life is just what I need and want. Fortunately the hubby feels the same. We enjoyed Clare's company but being a parent 24/7 just isn't for us.

Friday night (5/26) we went to a baseball game. I was dreading it. I find baseball to usually be quite long, drawn out, boring, dull, loathsome, ... you get the idea. However the Nationals vs. Dodgers game was quite fun. I actually enjoyed myself more than I thought possible. Perhaps it was the great seats, perhaps it was the hot dog and Cracker Jacks? Either way, I think I enjoyed the game more than Erik and our friends. Amadie and Erik are Dodgers fans so the fact that the Nats squashed the Dods, 10/6, didn't help. Philip is a Cubs fan so he stuck by his wife and rooted for the Dods. Since I have no loyalty to any team I figured I'd root for the home team. Turns out that was a fun way to go.

Saturday was a blast. We had breakfast at the Market and walked around the flea market, arts & crafts booths, and then headed to the Zoo. D.C. has a very nice zoo and it's very pedestrian friendly. We spent most of the day walking which was great since most of May has been spent in either a car or plane seat. Amadie ran more than 7 miles before joining us for breakfast and then walked the zoo with us. She's my hero. Getting up before the sun, running around the city and then spending the rest of the day walking around with a 4 year old at the zoo... that requires super powers. I wouldn't even attempt such things, not even in my sleep.

Saturday night our hosts attended a wedding and the hubby and I headed to old town Arlington. Traffic was crazy. It was like a bunch of Tennessee folk had escaped through the Smokies and overtook Route 7. All of the traffic lights are on an alternating system so if one light is red, the next one will be green. However, once you get to the next light it switches back and you're stuck. Very little movement, just like I-40 by Papermill - minus lights and construction. It was very frustrating. However once the seven miles of Route 7 came to an end, 45-50 minute later, we parked and sought out food. We ate a very nice Tap Room. The grub was good. Since we were tired we called it an early night and headed back to our hosts home, via a different route, it took the same amount of time but at least we were moving.

Sunday, the 28th, Amadie, Philip and Clare attended a birthday party so Erik and I went to the mall to avoid any crowds. We really wanted to visit the memorials... but with it being Memorial Day Weekend and with Rolling Thunder in town we figured we skip the insanity and head to some nice air-conditioned, crowdless place.

Sunday evening we enjoyed a cookout on the back deck. The weather was nice and the kids played in the backyard. The food was good and a nice evening was had by all.

Monday morning we headed back to the land of horrible drivers. Once we crossed over from VA to TN we immediately noticed a downturn in road conditions and the very poor driving skillz of the locals. Those in the DC metro area drive aggressively, but at least they know what they're doing. TN drivers seem to think that God is watching over them and therefore anything they do behind the wheel of a huge hunk of metal is nothing they personally need to be concerned with since they're the just the co-pilot. Ugh. I won't miss TN drivers at all.

So, bad TN drivers aside, we had a great weekend in our Nation's capital. Thank you Amadie, Philip and Clare for welcoming us into your home. We hope you'll visit us in our new place in Cali so we can return the favor!