Road Trip

This past weekend, we hopped in the car for a rather spontaneous road trip to Washington, DC.  The goals; cram in some fun, get the heck out of town AND visit with my super cool cousin, Julianna—a freshman at American University.  We accomplished all of that, I’m quite pleased to say.  And when we got home, we checked off “Road Trip to DC” on our fall bucket list, leaving only one more project to tackle: BAKE COOKIES!  And we will…maybe even tonight!

 

Our trip started out less than perfectly….best laid plans, right?  I was able to wrap up my day a little earlier, thinking we’d be able to get on the road a little earlier as a result.  Not so much.  The hubs had issues with a work project, so Abby and I sat…and sat…and sat…waiting to leave, and praying that Mark wouldn’t be too irritated when we finally did leave.  Can’t blame him; some people wait until the very last minute to ask for your help, and suddenly their poor planning is your emergency.  Not cool.

 

Finally, we were on the road.  And we were happy.  Traffic was a non-issue, Abby was happily singing in the backseat, playing with her Leap Pad and reading to herself.  We made it over an hour before we got the first request for her Little Mermaid CD (score!) and, because it was dark, I was forced to just chill…no reading, no writing lists, no working…just sit in the front seat and enjoy the adventure.  I had to think about the last time that happened; it felt fantastic. 

 

We stopped for a quick dinner/bathroom break.  “Grabbing a quick bite” turned into a long wait thanks to a huge group that ordered moments before we did.  Sigh.  Fortunately, Abby got some of her pent up energy out while we waited, and when we were on the road again, there was contented silence as we all ate our dinners.  Food, drink, and, as a special treat, a movie for Abby.  Can’t go wrong with Happy Feet in the backseat, right?  Sounds like a great gameplan for a road trip to me.

 

If only there was audio to go with the visual!

Before long, those happy feet were arriving at our hotel and checking in.  Thankful to be out of the car and in a new space, Abby promptly got an uncontrollable case of the giggles.  No matter that it was over an hour beyond her bedtime, this kiddo was wound up and I was helpless (and, frankly, "wantless") to calm her down.  This was a “tears down your cheeks” kind of laugh that, when suppressed, only got more ridiculous.  The only thing that made it better was that nothing was even funny at that point!  God love Mark for putting up with our silliness.  And God love Abby for being such a happy kid.  I mean, really.  

Eventually we conked out, Abby insisting that I 'sleep' in her bed…any parent out there knows what that looks (and feels) like.  Sleep is interrupted, ribs are kicked and space becomes scarce.  No matter; holding onto her warm little body and hearing her gentle snore and occasional sighs makes it all okay (well, mostly.  There’s just something about being whacked across the forehead at 3:18am that’s less than okay). 

When she woke up on Saturday morning, Abby excitedly launched herself out of bed, declaring that “Today is 'Julianna Day'!” and set about trying to get herself dressed so we could hurry up and find her.  Knowing we had some time until Jules was free to meet up with us, we took off to Georgetown in search of breakfast.  The walk was peppered with stops to explore various shop windows, pick up leaves and get in and out of the stroller about 35 times, but we finally arrived at a chic little bistro and fueled up for the day.  As soon as we were done there, we had to (yes, had to) check out Georgetown Cupcake across the street.  Apparently the place is famous.  Not being a huge cake fan, I couldn’t tell you one way or the other, but the line out the door a mere 10 minutes after it opened for the day suggested that this place is, indeed, legendary. Two cupcakes later (in a box, I mean, it was only 10:30am for crying out loud!!), we were on our way to see monuments.  

American Ninja Warrior

We saw the Washington Monument, still undergoing repairs from an earthquake a couple years ago, the Lincoln Memorial and, from a distance, the Jefferson Memorial.  Although I’d seen them all before, they’re still so breathtaking in person.  And, being a history geek, I love the idea of all the important things and people that have been on those very steps (our snack break not being one of them!).  One of the day’s more exciting moments was meeting a real live competitor from American Ninja Warrior.  He was on the metro with us, and sweetly pulled up the video of his performance on his iPhone and showed it to Abby who was genuinely disappointed when he fell off the salmon ladder.  He graciously posed for a picture, too.  I think he may have been more amazed at Abby’s interest in the show than she was of him! 

 

Conked out, but she WAS there!

As we waited for Jules at one metro station, she surprised us, coming from another.  Abby tackled her with a huge hug, and instantly grabbed her hand, determined not to let it go.  Together, we decided (or Abby insisted...and we were only too happy to oblige!) to check out the dinosaur museum and set off in that direction, Abby and Jules skipping, hand in hand.  Our last stop before dinner was the White House.  Abby conked out about a block away from the front gates, but we’ve got proof that she was, in fact, there!  Her well-timed nap actually worked out beautifully, and she woke up just in time to have a little treat while we waited for the bus to take us to dinner at Clyde’s.  Chill out; it's decaf and totally diluted with milk. 

 

**Cousins**

Spending time with my cousin like this—don’t know that I ever have—was really special.  She’s so confident and comfortable in her new surroundings, and energized when she talks about school and the swim team.  It’s fantastic to see.  She’s a sweet girl, who clearly values family.  

Before we left on Sunday, we had brunch and then Jules gave us a tour of her school and several sincerely grateful hugs.  As we pulled out of the parking lot, waving out the window, we vowed to come back in the spring.  We’ll still walk a ton, we’ll still get cupcakes, we’ll still hit museums and we’ll still hang with Julesy…maybe this time we get on the road a little earlier, though! 

Writer's note:  Cookies were not, in fact, baked this evening.  We have a tired munchkin on our hands and she's quite happily curled up, blanket and Tallulah at her side, reading!  Can't interrupt--and wouldn't want to!--that!