Caden and his brothers got to spend Veteran’s Day 2008 with their favorite veteran (your truly) in Washington, DC. This was Caden’s and Josiah’s first trip to DC. Riley and Mommy got to visit DC on one of Daddy’s work trips back in 2003 when Daddy was doing work for the FBI. Riley was only 11 months old back then and does not remember the trip.
Day 1 (Monday 10th)
The Osbornes and now President-elect Obama arrived in DC on the same day. We were not greeted by President Bush at the White House, but that’s okay since we didn’t let him know we were coming into town this week. Seriously, I think the only common folk kids who get to meet the president at the White House anymore are those who do something to gain 15 minutes of fame or by doing something like playing ball on a team that wins the little league world series. Anyway…
I took a vacation day to drive up on Monday. The drive up to DC was mostly uneventful but it took much longer than expected.
Josiah entertained us with a little bit of snoring during the drive.
Did you know that you can’t do 500 miles of driving in less than about ten hours with a car full of crumb crunchers no matter what Google Maps says? Since we did not get the wheels to turning until about 10am on Monday morning that put us into downtown DC after 8pm.
Our hotel is in a great spot about four blocks from the Capital. This put Sherry and the boys within walking distance of a number of major tourist attractions. There is a metro rail stop (Federal Center) one block from the hotel that allows them to shave off some walking to get to things on the other side of the National Mall. We are staying at a Marriott Residence Inn at 3rd and E Street SW. The room/suite normally runs $399 per night this time of the year, but I get it for about half that amount on government rates. We only have to pick up the tab for one night while I was on leave since I am working the rest of the week at the DHS headquarters. My hotel would be paid for on the days I am on official travel whether Sherry and the boys were with me or not. Since I drove my own vehicle I get approximately 58 cents per mile and end up with a few hundred dollars of surplus mileage that balances out the one night of out-of-pocket hotel. As long as we continue to watch our spending we can easily break even on the trip with government per diem and mileage allowed for this trip.
Day 2 (Veteran’s Day)
This was an official holiday for me so I got to play tourist with Sherry and the boys.
First stop was a train ride
How could we come to DC without getting these train-loving kids on the Metro?
We visited both Smithsonian Air and Space Museum locations and ended our day at Don Pablo’s. Sherry loves Don Pablos’s and has been upset ever since the one in North Charleston closed. Then we found out that they closed the one a few miles from her parents in Peachtree City, GA. We just learned a few months ago that there is one still open in Greenville, SC. We will be visiting that one the next time we have a trip to/thru the upstate of SC.
While dinner was great for Sherry the evening did not end good for me. I ended up counting floor tiles in our hotel bathroom. I was already feeling pretty queasy long before arriving at the restaurant so I know the food there had nothing to do with me getting sick. I got sick about four days earlier at home but just chalked that one up to the election results or some bad pizza. Maybe it was the same thing on Tuesday even though I was told that this stomach bug going around usually goes away in about 36 hours. Thank God no one else in the family got it.
Day 3 (Highest and Low Points)
I spent most of the day on Wednesday trying shake the stomach bug and rehydrate myself (low point) while Sherry and the boys visited and wet to the top of the Washington Monument.(highest point)
Then they took a walk up by the White House
All the walking left the whole gang ready to hit the hay.
Day 4 (Evolution or Creation?)
Sherry and the boys visited the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
There they saw dinosaurs that lived on the Earth millions and … hmmm?, many years ago after God created them. It was fun but the day almost brought Sherry to her knees (physically and spiritually) for the second day in a row. Washington DC does not normally show up on the “most friendly cities in America” list. Folks visiting these parts don’t take kindly to strollers, much less a double stroller with a six-year-old in tow, and they can be down right rude. Unfortunately there ain’t many choices in how our family travels with a 15 month old who is still walking at a snail’s pace and a four year old who is still building his stamina after an open heart surgery less than two months ago. And let us not forget the feeding pump and suction machine that is a load that justifies a set of wheels by themselves. After two days of walking miles per day pushing this load and wrestling a tired and grumpy gang of boys, Sherry was beat. She said that people were rude and pushy for the most part. However she did get pleasantly surprised when a family helped her navigate the Metro system to get back to the hotel at one point. I think that was actually on Tuesday.
Days 5-6 (To Be Continued)
The story and the trip is still unfolding. Sherry will most likely stay near the hotel on Friday. She is tired and so are the kids. We have all been getting to bed late and getting up early. I am sure there will be plenty more to share later.