Touring DC = Walking

This is an important fact to know before coming to the DC area. There is a LOT of walking involved! Not a little walking, not a few blocks, a LOT of walking. This last weekend I got a visit from my Long Lost sister. (I say that because she is lost in Fresno Clovis California) This is the first time she has come to visit me in like 13 years (Christmas didn’t count, wasn’t my place). So this was a very special visit. Gina has also never been to the DC area so it was a monumental occasion! (see what I did there?) She came into town because my Nephew got invited to play with his school orchestra at the Kennedy Center. She flew in as a surprise to see him and to visit me so we went and did the whirlwind DC tour!

I picked up Noah early on Saturday and brought him back to my place. Andrew had a baseball game that day so Noah got to see his cousin play (and win!). Afterwards I dropped them off and went to pick up Gina. She was flying into Dulles so it was only like 30 min. Noah had no clue that his mom was coming in so it was a huge surprise! Then we headed downtown. This is where the walking comes in. Gina wanted to visit the Capitol Building so that she could sing her “I’m just a bill” song so that required driving there first. I found a great place to park near there. She also wanted to get to the Lincoln memorial and see things along the way. I mentioned the amount of walking and she said it was ok. (I even reiterated it twice). Somewhere around the WWII memorial everyone started complaining about being tired of walking [grin]. We finally made it down to see Santa Lincoln and decided to grab a cab and take it back to the truck. We drove over to the Hard Rock and had a great dinner (I love my all access pass!) and then took Noah back to his Hotel and went home to crash.

Sunday was mostly just Gina and I. Andrew had some homework and such to take care of so after morning Pool we dropped him off and headed out. First stop was the comic store to Visit TG (and get comics, but mostly visit TG). We went downtown and tried to hit some museums but sadly most of them are close on Sunday. American History was being renovated and the rest just weren’t open. We did get to see the Top of the Old Post office and the White House. After that we went to Old Towne Alexandria where we walked through some antique stores and had some great Thai food. At one point we did try and stop by to see Noah. He was practicing with the orchestra and said he would be out for the rest of the evening so we went on our own.

Monday was the big day! We took our time getting up and got ready to head to the Kennedy Center. That place is huge! (and Parking ain’t cheap!) Noah’s group was up first and fourth so we got to see him twice. I even managed to sneak in a video camera so that I could tape the whole thing. I have both of his performances on tape now, including a few good close up’s of him. After the show we tried to hit the Daughters of The American Revolution museum and of course, it was closed. With all that walking behind us, we headed home to change clothes and relax for a bit. Then went down to Alexandria for a walk down King Street and Dinner with Doc and Diz. Doc didn’t believe that I would actually have family visit me so he needed proof. We had a great dinner at the Alexandria Fish Market and then took a small (very small) walk on the water front. At around 10:30 we called it quits and went home.

Tuesday was all relaxville we woke up late, I took Gina to visit my work. She got a little creeped out by the basement and the mushrooms. And the server room was a little intimidating. We went and picked up some more gifts for the boys back home and then headed back to wait for Andrew to get home from school. Gina got the chance to see Serenity (well, most of it anyways) and then we were off to Guitar practice before taking her to the airport! After dropping her off we went back to the house and collapsed!

What a weekend!

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