Doug and I are very patriotic people and awhile back I mentioned that I've never seen the fireworks over the National Mall. We decided to head up for the Fourth of July and take it all in. Initially we were going to book a room but Heidi, Doug's sister, said we could stay with her (very nice of her!).
We drove up Saturday evening but I had to do the driving because Doug is still in a sling from shoulder surgery. In Gainsville, we stopped in Wegman's to buy some cook out supplies. Once inside we saw Mary Beth (Heidi's sister-in-law), which was odd since we were so far from Heidi's house. After talking to her for a few, we gathered up our supplies and got outta there.
When we finally arrived at Heidi's, Heidi was getting Erin ready for bed. We went up to see them but Erin became upset and started crying. I exited stage left rather quickly! :) For the rest of the evening, we hung out and watched John Adams (appropriate for the Fourth!).
We finally called it a day and went to bed. Heidi was kind enough to give up her bed to us. She has a huge king size bed and WAY too big! I felt like Doug was sleeping in another room! King size beds are luxurious but I don't like them. I enjoy being snuggled up with Doug so it will always be a queen size for us! I started calling their house the O'Brien Resort because her bedroom and bathroom feel are so large and lovely that it feels like a fancy hotel! The one downside to Heidi's room are the lack of black out curtains which Doug has in his room and to which I've become addicted.
The next day we had the house to ourselves. Heidi, Ann, and Erin had left for Ohio and Michael had taken Lucy and Gretchen to New York. It was the first time I've been there with it so quiet. It was strange. I think a big house like that definitely needs the sounds of children running around. Nonetheless,we had fun chillin' out watching True Blood, John Adams, and grilling out. Around 3:30PM we finally packed up and headed downtown to the mall. Traffic wasn't that bad and we made it down there much faster than I thought we would. After we parked, we started walking towards the mall. Along the way we encountered a Dutch family and Doug started talking to them. Recently, I discovered that Doug as a "First Sergeant" voice that he uses when talking to his military peeps. Interestingly enough, he also has a "foreigner" voice. When he was talking to them, I had to look down to avoid laughing aloud. He suddenly developed this strange accent and spoke slowly. I couldn't tell if he was trying to become Dutch or what?! HAHAHA! The best part is that he KNEW he did it! We talked about it and died laughing about it!!!
We finally made it down to the mall and passed by a Krishna festival before finding a spot just behind the Washington Monument. I remember thinking that only in America could there be a Krishna festival just a few yards from the largest Independence Day celebration in the country! When we first got there, there were very few people on the grass but as time passed, the place became flooded with people. We picked a perfect spot! Doug and I relaxed in the sun, eating grapes, hotdogs and chicken, and enjoying some very expensive bottles of coke! Ha! It was a perfect place to people watch too.
As the sun went down, you could sense the excitement in people. The area became very crowded with all types of people. A group of Italian students sat in front of us, an Indian family behind us, a black family beside us, and an Asian family across from us. The Capitol Building glowed! Finally, the fireworks began and it was AMAZING! I've seen lots of good fireworks shows but really, there just isn't anything like seeing them against the backdrop of Washington D.C. They erupted just behind the Washington Monument and it was beautiful! The most interesting part was how quiet the crowd got during the show. As the fireworks lit up the sky, I couldn't help but look around and take note of the people around us. Such a hodge-podge of people...Indians, Italians, Asians, Blacks, Whites...but all enjoying the American experience! As John Cougar Mellencamp says, "Ain't that America?!". I felt very patriotic and very proud to be an American.
After the show, we loaded up our stuff and headed back to the car. Along the way, Doug took a pit-stop in a port-a-john just beyond the Krishna party. The Krishnas were gettin' down too! They were playing some funky music and we were dying laughing because the music got stuck in our heads and we sang it all the way back to the car. Doug cracked me up when he said he was having a flashback to some of his war experiences whilst in the john. He said the combination between the heat (it was a HOT day), the smell of the port-a-john, and the crazy Krishna music was reminding him of places he had been (I die laughing as I type this...haha). Funny guy!
We finally made it back to the truck and took off in the post fireworks traffic. To my credit, I expertly navigated through the swell and got us back to Heidi's in one piece. I don't mind traffic that much. I suppose all those years in Philly got me used to it. Although, I will say that driving his truck was a little weird. It's just so big!!!! (that's what she said!)
The next morning we packed up and took off to Annapolis. I've never been there and said that I'd like to stop by. One of my favorite things about Doug is his willingness to take off and do things like that. He never requires much convincing and is eager to make me happy (I love that about him! haha). Our trip in Annapolis was short but I do believe the two hours we spent was sufficient. I can't imagine there was much more to see than what we were able to take in. Annapolis is a lovely little town. It's very quaint and colonial. It was blazing hot that day so we didn't waste a lot of time walking around. We were also quite hungry and decided that when in MD one must eat crab! We ate at a place called Buddy's Crab and Ribs and ordered a bunch of blue crap and some shrimp. We joked about whether or not the shrimp was "Chesapeake Shrimp" (we heard a Red Lobster ad boasting that and got a kick out of it as the Chesapeake is not really known for the shrimp but I guess anything sounds good so long as it's not from the Gulf.) After we filled our bellies with crab, we left town and headed for Philly.
I have to admit that I had some reservations about going to Philly. I have some good memories and good friends there but I also associate it with a bad time in my life and a place where a series of unfortunate events took place. Nonetheless, Doug wanted to see all my old haunts and I also wanted to associate some good memories with the place. Before going to the hotel, I took Doug on a short Rhonda tour and showed him a few places I used to live. After check in, we headed down to Center City and I showed him my old ghetto apartment. I think he thought he was back in a third world country!
Once we arrived in Center City, we took a walk through Old City to check out some restaurants. Radicchio was closed so we settled on Cuba Libre. We ordered the tasting menu. They initially brought out an appetizer for yucca leaves, banana leaves, and some different types of dips. The smoked marlin dip was exceptional. Then they brought out another course. I told Doug that I thought this was the main course but he insisted it wasn't. I thought for sure he was wrong and even went so far as to ask the waiter fora copy of the menu to prove Doug wrong. When I got the menu, the record skipped and crickets began to chirp. *insert awkward silence* I was wrong. There was STILL a main course and I was already full from the ribs, the empananda, the ceviche, etc. Yikes. In the end, it was a delicious meal! Vive Cuba!
We went back to the room and crashed. The next morning we got up and headed into the city. I had a pit stop I had to make but afterwards we went down the Reading Terminal Market and then down to South Street to get a cheesesteak. We went to Jim's on South Street. I think they have the best steaks. Geno's and Pat's suck in my opinion. I'm not a huge cheesesteak fan but if I have to eat one, I want a good one. Doug ordered his with provolone. I stuck with the Philly tradition and ordered mine with whiz. Doug tasted mine and I think he agreed that the whiz is probably better on a cheesesteak. Ordinarily I'd never go near cheeze whiz but it just seems to make sense on a cheesesteak. Afterwards, we headed down to Penn's Landing before stopping into my old haunt The Dark Horse. The Dark Horse is an Irish pub in Society Hill area. I used to go there from time to time and always enjoyed it. We hung out there for a bit to get out of the heat and then headed down to Love Park to stick our feet in the fountain and get our pic taken beneath the sign. Once we cooled our heels (literally), we took off down the parkway on foot to see the Art Museum. It was a scorcher that day. I believe the official temp was 102 degrees! Just before we got to the museum steps, I started to feel dizzy and sick. Doug bought us a bottle of water just in the nick of time!
After we rested a moment, Doug had his photo taken at the Rocky Statue before doing the Philly tradition and running up the steps like Rocky! I filmed it and died laughing the whole time. After snapping off a few pics at the top, we took a cab back to get the truck. We were hot, sweaty, and exhausted so we headed back to the room to rest up before going to dinner with my friends!
After cleaning up, we headed to Tony's to have dinner with my old Churchville friends. The crew was all there when we arrived. We had a great time at dinner and Lauren amused us all by getting smashed on a martini and a cosmo! The highlight of the evening was when they were all telling Doug just how smart they think I am and a very inebriated Lauren turned to Doug and said, "Doug, are you smart?". HAHAHA!
The rest of the evening was a hoot even if we had to speak slowly for Lauren! My friends all liked Doug too!
The next morning we packed our things and headed home. Along the way we stopped to visit some of Doug's friends. Doug has known John since high school. John's wife, Heidi (a different Heidi) couldn't stay as she was on her way out but I was able to hang out with John and their children Conner and Laura. It was a fun time as John and I picked on Doug and Doug got into a gladiator-esque sword fight with Connor. After an hour or so we left and drove back to Charlottesville. It was a very good little road trip but nothing is as good as home!
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