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| Me with Washington Monument in the background. |
4/16/11 – “We hold these truths to be self-evident” I do NOT like children in museums and have now decided that I have zero desire to contribute to the continued annoyance of museum patrons. Visible birth control, that’s what it was.
I have had an awesome time in Washington D.C. Friday Todd and I walked and walked and walked. In the morning I swear all I did was EAT. We set out around 11:00 walking down to Pennsylvania Ave. looking for the lobster food truck. I wanted, I needed a lobster roll! We got to where the food truck was supposed to be and no truck. No truck! It was 11:35 and I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten breakfast. We found out that the food truck had moved to a different location then got a little confused about our location – well, I got a little confused about our location. Todd eventually got us back on track but by the time we found the food truck there was a line almost to the next block.
I don’t know about you, but when I am hungry and tired of walking I get “cranky” (for lack or instead of a better word). Yes, cranky is the best word choice (this is a family blog anyway). So there I was hungry, tired, and “cranky” – not a pretty sight. I had to decide if I was going to stand in this horrible line or go somewhere else to eat. I had my heart set on a lobster roll. That was all I had wanted. A lobster roll. I envisioned standing in this long line just to be told that there was no more lobster left by the time I made it to the front. That would have been devastating. Todd decided that we should go somewhere else. Let’s just say I wasn’t pleased. Where else were we going to go?! There was a deli on the end of the block and Todd recommended we eat there. I walked inside and declared “I’m NOT eating here!” – diva? (I later learned that the deli is supposed to be awesome.) We walked down the street some and found another place that had burgers and sandwiches. Our meal was great. I got a corn beef sandwich and it came with an Oreo on the side – how can you not like a place that gives you an Oreo with your meal? Todd made a good decision.
As soon as Todd and I ordered our lunch I started to plot how I could still get a lobster roll. Remember I NEEDED a lobster roll. I had to have one in order to have the perfect Washinton D.C. experience. (Fortunately I think more rationally once I have food in me.) Light bulb! I decided that Todd and I would eat our lunch and then walk down the block to the lobster truck and get a lobster roll after our lunch because the line wouldn’t be as bad then. Score! Yes, you read that right. As I was at lunch I was already planning to eat immediately after (second lunch). So, Todd and I ate our food and then booked it down the road. There was still a line but I had just eaten, I could wait. Todd and I waited in line 20 minutes behind a really annoying, loud nanny and then I ordered my Maine lobster roll. I should mention that standing in the lobster line was what I like to term “interesting”. We had an annoying, loud nanny that was immediately behind us and was probably the loudest talker I’ve ever heard and Todd managed to get cussed out by a homeless dude. Yup, you haven’t lived until you’ve been cussed out by a homeless dude. Here is what I heard:
Homeless dude in front of a LOBSTER cart: Can you buy me some food?
Todd: silence
Homeless dude in front of a LOBSTER cart: F- you! White devil. Racist. Whitey.
Homeless dude in front of a LOBSTER cart: Can any black person buy me some food?
Black people in line: silence
Homeless dude in front of a LOBSTER cart: F-you!
Observations: (1) If the homeless dude would have been nicer he might have gotten food. (2) Why would a homeless guy be outside a LOBSTER truck? Why not a McDonald’s instead? (3) At least the homeless guy cussed out white people and black people alike.
After receiving the lobster roll we walked across the street to the parkl. It was delicious but it was small. I’m glad I got the lobster roll and had the whole food truck experience but if that’s what I had had for lunch I would have still been hungry. So, that was how I spent my morning. Eating! Not too shabby.
After lunch 1 and lunch 2 Todd and I headed to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The museum was cool. We saw tons of stuff. The main thing I was interested in was the gallery of First Lady dresses. It was awesome.
I started to drag while we were in the museum. I know I hadn’t done much but I was tired. I had already walked a lot and going through the museum drained what little energy I had left. (You would have thought my 2 lunches would have given me more energy.) When we left the museum we walked down the street a little and found this nice green space were there was a great view of the Washington Monument. Todd bought me a Coke from a street vendor to boost my energy. Todd then went into his photographer mode – I think he’s angling for a Pulitzer. He took multiple pictures of the Washington Monument. All I heard was “click, click, click…click.” As Todd was shooting a motorcade came down the road. I thought Todd was going to throw himself into the road. It turned out to be a bus with people on it, not the president – bummer. I guess I should consider it a good thing because if it had been the president I’m pretty sure Todd would have tried to confirm that there is a car of guys with guns at the back of the motorcade. It wouldn’t have been pretty.
Now we move on to the basis for my opening statement. After I rested and refueled Todd and I went to the National Archives. Todd really wanted to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I feel that this next paragraph requires a preface or a disclaimer. I don’t dislike children. I generally really like kids – hey, I was one. I also help teach the 6th grade girls Sunday school class. Please don’t read this and think I’m a child hater, because I’m not. I’m just an over dramatic person that doesn’t care for rudeness or anarchy. That being said, I think we are prepared to move on.
We didn’t really do a lot at the National Archives. We mostly wanted to see the documents and check out how it related to National Treasure. We went to the Rotunda and I should have known that this wasn’t going to be a good experience when I noticed that we had to stand in line and the lady in front of us walked past us to get some more of her kids. There was no way that she actually had that many kids of her own. Not possible. School group? Oh no. No way was that lady bringing all those other kids in front of me. I immediately assumed my “no way in heck are you gonna pass me” stance. It’s basically feet planted firmly slightly wider than hip width, hands out to the side covering any blank space, and annoyed look on my face – yep, I was prepared. We made it through the line. When you go into the Rotunda they let you out in groups of 20 or so. It is basically a free for all. No lines. You would think they would encourage a line because that would promote order. No. To be honest I’m not sure if I trust these people to accurately maintain our country’s important documents because they allow pure bedlam to ensue in the area where these precious documents are displayed. There were kids everywhere. Talking to friends, cutting in front of people, pushing their way to look at things, I’m pretty sure I saw an elderly lady pushed to the ground or something like that (don’t you love sarcasm?). After being told to clear out of an area because they didn’t like people to form a line by one of the attendants and watching all these kids run crazy and unchecked I decided to take matters into my own hands. That’s right! I pulled out the elbows. Elbows! I pushed my way into one of the lines to look at the Declaration of Independence and I was prepared to elbow any kid who got in my way. I’m a voter for goodness sake! I deserve to see this stuff and not be hassled by some kid who is just now going through puberty. (Was I like that as a kid, I hope not.) “You gotta fight for your right …” I finally got to see everything and firmly declared my intention to never have children because the experience was so traumatic. Why would I want to contribute to that?
Since all my attention was on these kids and not getting cut off, I neglected to watch Todd. Todd requires constant supervision. There was one point in my search for justice that I heard Todd say that the Rotunda “looked nothing like it did on National Treasure” and that he had changed his status update to “stealing the Declaration of Independence.” Great. Not only will I get arrested for elbowing a 9th grader but Todd’s going to get arrested too for appearing to be conspicuous. Marriage Rule: Only one of us can get arrested at a time.
Fortunately Todd and I made it out of the National Archives slightly traumatized but relatively unscathed. (No children were harmed in the writing of this blog.) We had already planned to go see the monuments that night so I needed to get back to the apartment to take a nap. One of the downfalls of chemo, you can only take so much in one day. I needed to rest. We walked back to the apartment.
Last night we had a lovely dinner with friends and family and then headed to the monuments. That was a very cool experience. I have seen the monuments before but never at night. We started at World War II memorial and walked all the way down to Lincoln, seeing Washington from a distance, Korea, and Vietnam as we went. I loved the experience and highly recommend that to anyone. Sitting beside Lincoln at 12:40 in the morning is a very cool experience.
I have so much more to write about, but let’s leave that for the next blog. All in all, the day started out a little bumpy, calmed down, and then got “real” while at the National Archives, but it ended on a high note. Great trip thus far. If I could have anything to eat I would like a cupcake – we are hitting Georgetown Cupcakes tomorrow. My song of the day is “So What” by Pink. “I wanna start a FIGHT!”
P.S. – Mom and Dad, I don’t know how you came to Washington D.C. and say you never saw the Washington Monument. Night y’all!
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