Our D.C. Trip

Friday evening, the Beetle is headed to Des Moines. A bit south of the Twin Cities, the car overheats, at least per the gauge. (It turns out to be an electrical issue with the fan.) We turn back, unload, and then load the Mystique. The Mystique brakes a little funny. This is a new problem. But, it was inspected before the last trip and was okay then.

We find Methodist Hospital (Des Moines) at 11 p.m. My stepfather, John, is watching NBA basketball with an aide. Though he has been confused on certain issues, he recognizes Monica and talks coherently about most things. He tells us he is tired and to stop back in the morning, which we do. Pizza House is closed due to police activity.

We visit my father and brother for lunch at Des Moines’ best Chinese buffet. He has lots of pictures to show off and we take some.

Donna has pizza available for us upon arrival in Kansas City. We can tell she is an excellent cook, because she has two deserts available-- strawberry shortcake and desert pizza. We head to the dog park, but Beau is not used to this and hangs close to Monica. Donna’s dogs Scooter and Mandy partake in dog activities.

Melissa shows me how to work my watch. We eat egg-bake for breakfast and head to Louisville.

Our brakes scare me, so I get up early to have brakes repaired. We see Colonial Sanders' grave, stop at the Louisville Slugger factory then head northeast, stopping for lunch at KFC. We make it to Christiansburg, VA at 9 p.m., where Aunt Bev has prepared salad and Jumbalaya. Bev wardens off a whole section of the house for us.

Bev shows off VT stadium, where she works, then we see a memorial to those killed at the incident of April, 2007. Bev and George discuss T-Boy, their dog, and decide T-boy should have surgery in Winston-Salem, where George has dropped him off. George prepares steak for us, then Monica and I show George the wonders of Facebook (which is supposed to help him as a realtor). We watch the movie version of Doubt, which is identical to the Broadway play we saw in 2005, except for emphasis. (It is a much different movie than play, even though the lines are pretty much identical.)

We stop at Foamhenge on our way toward D.C., then decide to drive past our motel to Chesapeake Bay. We eat seafood on a bay view picnic table at Bill's Crab Shack (actually, Stephensville Crab Shack), then go to our just barely within the beltway motel.

We rush through heavy traffic to attend Amy Klobachar’s breakfast meeting, and with Randy Foreman’s assistance find a parking lot and the Hart Office building. Amy is not present, but instead find a full office of boring Minnesotans. (Present company excepted, is ‘boring Minnesotans’ redundant?) Monica is enjoying the Senate office buildings. “Was that Amy Klobachar? No, it is Dianne Feinstein.” I think Monica needs to see the Capitol and Supreme Court building. The Capitol is set up differently than I remember and is now too touristy. We meet Randy at a dog park. (Beau is with us after spending the morning in Union Square parking ramp.) Then, we visit the mall-- Monica is wearing her Mall of America Twins cap. Capitol Hill Suites offers no parking, so we unload our car at the ramp, and load everything, dog included, into a taxi. Randy shows us the White House and Lincoln Memorial. I notice the new World War II Memorial along the way, which bothers me, because the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery, to me, is the more elegant memorial. Randy’s walking tour through Georgetown is postponed due to rain.

We take pictures of the offices of Senators and Representatives, then meet Randy at the Senate Chef. The three of us go to the Senate gallery with two passes. We get there just after the pro forma session adjourns, but saw the prayer on C-SPAN while waiting to get in. Ignoring the signage, Randy gives us a personalized special tour of the capital, and we see the rotunda area that was open to tourists last time I was there. We head to the Air and Space museum, then take the subway toward embassy row. “We do not have time to see the National Cathedral, I tell Randy. We have a dog.” Randy assures us the cathedral is along the way and is redeemed because Bob Schieffer is giving a talk at the Beauvoir Elementary school graduation there. We would have been upset otherwise, as the National Cathedral detour was a solid mile or two out of the way. Fortunately, Beau, who is proud to have escaped the crate, has done no damage, though if he had, given the time he was confined, it would not have been is fault. Randy and us meet again and take the metro to the Nationals game, where the minimum ticket price, excluding a few promotional seats that are always sold out, is $20. We enjoy the game, and even though the Nationals are bad, they tie the Phillies in the bottom of the ninth before losing in twelve. Fireworks are canceled as the game runs late, “in consideration of the neighbors”. After walking back to the hotel, we decide to drive to Georgetown, where we see more sights. Five Guys Pizza is closed early due to a police issue, so Randy gets to eat at Johnny Rockets before we make it home at 3 a.m. ( I cancel the proposed canal tour based on the time of day.)

We stop at Arlington Cemetery where the walls of Kennedy words always move me. Then, we drive toward Pittsburgh, getting there just after the Pirates game starts. On the spur of the moment, we buy tickets, just as rain delays the game. We catch our breathe, watch the videos and make phone calls until the tarp is removed and the game finished. (Pirates 7, Rockies 4.)

Pennsylvania and Ohio are pretty and we drive on turnpikes until Highway 41, South Lake Shore drive. After a trip along the Miracle Mile, we go to The Patio, which I consider to be a model of a good restaurant-- order and pay, get a glass for your drinks, take a number, the food is delivered, the televisions are on mute with closed captions, good music is on. Our “Studio 6” motel is art deco, actually better designed than our fancy DC Suite.

Our drive through Wisconsin is uneventful. We make it home just as my neighborhood crime meeting ends. Along the way, we have heard my cousin’s band, The Makes Nice, twice on Little Steven’s Underground Garage, the XM channel. (His new band, which sounds like The Makes Nice, is the Saucy Jacks.)