DC Trip Day: 7

Well I am typing this as we are on the way home. We left DC around 10:30am and stopped in Gettysburg for a gander. Hard to get into it when you got a battlefield and then a KFC. Hopefully we will be home in the next 5 or 6 hours. Once I get behind the wheel we should make up sometime.

-Well we made it home about 8:30pm. Long trip. Just finished dinner which I will blog about tomorrow. I hopefully got two rude girls fired tonight. Thanks for reading.

DC Trip Day: 6

Today was the rainy day. We headed over the Tysons Corner Mall and walked around ate lunch. We found a nice Japanese Bistro that we planned on having our Anniversary dinner. After lunch we headed to the Metro Station an headed back to the Capitol. Today we went to the House of Representatives. We stayed there for about 2 hours watching them waste our tax money debating about immigration measures. Republicans wanted to pass a bill to build a 700 mile wall in the south while the Democrats wanted a more comprehensive plan then just sticking up a wall and being done with it. I guess from the proceedings it was stated that a bill had already been passed in the HoR and the Senate that included this wall, more patrol, more detention centers, etc, but it was stuck in committee. So it was all a moot point and a waste of time, but cool to watch the process and see two votes happen.

Then we headed over to the National Musuem of Art and walked around for an hour looking at paintings from Cezanne, Degas, Monet, Renoir, and Van Gogh.

After that Liz wanted to o to her favorite little store of Presidential memorabilia. After walking about 45 minutes she found it. Pretty cool store. Lots of old campaign stickers, buttons, and posters, Real White House stuff fro staff members that sell it to the store. From there we headed to the Federal Triangle M Station and headed back home.

We hung out a bit. We were pretty tired from all the walking we have done the last 6 days. I took a shower and then we headed over to the mall to eat dinner. We ate at Pauli Moto'’s Bistro. I guess it is a new restaurant from Iron chef Morimoto. It was really good. For drinks, Liz had Asian Pear Sake and I had a couple glasses of Hoegarrden. We had he crab and cream cheese spring rolls for an appetizer. For dinner I had Moto's Spicy Chicken and Liz had Angry Lobster Pad Thai .Both dishes were excellent. I really hope they bring one of these to the Detroit Area. It would give PF Changs a run for it'’s money and I donÂ’t like many of Royal Oaks Chinese restaurants.

DC Trip Day: 5

We got up and headed to the Metro station and took the M to Capitol South. We got to the Capitol and headed to the Senate Gallery. That was a cool experience. Saw many big names like Kennedy, Lieberman, McCain, Clinton, Kerry, Boxer, Lott, Stabenow, and such. They just got finished voting on something and most cleared the room and then a new issue was brought forward. Sen. Clinton yielded 2 minutes to Kerry as he demanded that civility be brought back to the Senate after some deplorable comments made the day before. When he was done Sen. Clinton talked of getting aid to those sick from the 9/11 aftermath due to poor conditions. Made sense to me. Sen. Harris from Maine argued that it was not fair only to aid people from NY but also the people who helped during the aftermath of the Pentagon. Sen. Clinton agreed but said that the Pentagon crews were all given respirators and garb that protected them while the EPA told NY they didn'’t need any of that as it was safe. But that if people that worked on the Pentagon were also effected then by all means deserved the same aid. Sen. Boxer also talked on behalf of helping these people saying that we need to do something to say thank you and we are sorry. I gotta agree.

We headed out for lunch and saw another Motorcade. This one was he Korean PM.

After that we left and headed to Chantilly, VA to the Air and Space museum. This is a different A&S Museum from the one in DC as it holds the planes that are too big. Here we say an SR71 Blackbird, the Enola Gay (dropped the bomb), and the Space Shuttle Enterprise. We didn't have but an hour and half to go through but it was worth it. Lots of cool planes to see and to see how large the Shuttle actually is was great. Once we got kicked out of there we headed back to DC to eat dinner at the Austin Grill and then head back to the Hotel.

DC Trip Day: 4

Today we woke up and headed out to DC to check out the National Archives. Here we saw many cool things like the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta. Pretty cool place but very small and not that much to look at. Just 3 small exhibits.

When we got outside we both saw that we had a missed call from my mom, who should be on a plane to Detroit. She left a message on LizÂ’s phone that said they got as far as Dulles. They left out of Reagan. I guess about 10 minutes into their flight the captain told them to prepare for an emergency landing. When landing the runway was full of firetruckss and ambulances. After sitting on the runway for sometimes they finally got to taxi to a gate and they were left to find new flights to their destination. From what she understands, one of the planes engines caught fire. She got home later in the day but it took awhile.

From the Archives we headed over to the Capitol to see when the tours were. On our way there we saw the Motorcade. Pretty scary thing actually. About 8 police motorcycles, then a few patrol cars, two limo's, and then a bunch of Secret Service vehicles and SUV's with the rear windows down with SS men with assault rifles pointed out the windows.

We got the info and then headed back to our car to move it closer and to fill up a another meter. We got a new spot and headed over to the Capitol again and then jumped into the next tour. You start the tour by going through an intensive search and then you get taln on a walk to the back entrance into the Rotunda. Very cool place as you can see in the pictures. The we headed to the Statue room where many famous people in history used to have desks. Like Andrew Johnson and Abraham Lincoln. From there we went to another room and then sent on out way. We headed to some Police officers and asked for passes to the Senate and House of Representatives and we got 2 of each. We decided to see them tomorrow as we had probably had our car towed by now. We got the the car to fond it was still there but there was a $100 parking ticket attached to the wiper. Bah!

We shrugged it off and then headed to the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR Memorial. Both were amazing and beautiful. After that we were tired and just headed back to the hotel and ordered Pizza and watched House.

DC Trip Day: 3

Today was the last day my Mom and grandmother were in town and so we had a lot to see before the sun went down. We started out by heading out to Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington. Eh, nothing all the great. Some houses and his mansion. The tour was completely lackluster and done very poorly. We took a walk to his crypt and then headed off.

Next stop was the National Zoo to see the Pandas. Only one Panda was out but it was exciting for my mom since every time she has gone to see a Panda it was never there. I was sad to see that the Kangaroo I saw last year had passed away. He was quite old last year and he was gone. I was pretty bummed about that. Saw lots of cool animals and got some great video.

Liz and I are celebrating our 4th year anniversary on Thursday (day 4) so my mom and grandmother wanted to take us out to dinner. We headed off to Austin Grill. We loved this place last year and was very happy to finally find it on Day 3, even though we were looking for it since we got to DC. Had a good dinner there and then headed to see the White House at night. We go a parking spot near the back of the WH and headed over to view it. Then were promptly kicked out at as he was starting his stupid speech. Guess he worries of hecklers who are about 600 yards away from the window at night. Whatever. Glad I missed the speech as I heard it was same old same old GW.

After that we dropped them off and headed back to our hotel for a good nights rest to prepare for the busy upcoming days.

DC Trip Day: 2

Liz and Mickey got up and got ready while I lay in bed content not to be going to work. They headed off to breakfast while I sat and watched TV on our rooms large flat panel wall mounted TV. Once they got back we called my mom and headed over to pick them up. The main reason for our trip was to get my grandmother to the WW2 Memorial. My grandfather died a year and a half ago and never got see it. He was in North Africa during the war and this Memorial was very important to him. My grandmother promised him that she would go see it. We headed straight to the WW2 Memorial located between the National Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Liz and I visited the site last year but it was still cool to see it. It is a beautiful Memorial and located in the most perfect spot on the National Mall. One direction is the Monument and turn around and you have the large reflecting pond with the Lincoln Memorial at the end.

After seeing the WW2 Memorial we headed down the reflecting pond to the Lincoln Memorial and took some pictures. Then my mom wanted to see the Vietnam War Memorial. She lost many friends growing up in Nam and never got to see the wall till this day. They have books located all around where you can look up names and find out which section of the wall and what line they are located on. She looked up Jack Zoomsa? He was born 1 week before her and she went to Kindergarten through HS with him and he as the first person in her class to die. He is located in section W13 line 25.

We headed to the car which was quite the walk. Both my mom and grandmother had hip surgery and they were having problems getting around. But both did really well. My moms knee hurt more since her hip problems caused her to walk wrong for years before she had the hip fixed. But if she tried to do this a little over a year ago before the surgery she never would have done 1% of what she did.

It was lunch time and we decided to take everyone to the Hotel Washington. We ate there last year and figured everyone would enjoy it. After searching for a while we finally found it and headed up to the top floor outdoor restaurant. From there you can see the city and direct to our left was the White House. You are close enough to see the snipers stationed on top of the WH. During lunch we heard a helicopter coming by and there it was , the President coming back from NY after laying wreaths at Ground Zero. That was pretty cool to see regardless of my undying hatred for that schmuck.

Liz took off to take Mickey to the Bus Station so she could head back to Philly. It was cool having Mickey there. She is cool and funny as hell. Too bad we couldn'tÂ’t see her more.

Liz picked us up in front of the Hotel and headed out to the National Cathedral. Luckily Liz's father gave her a Garmin (navigation system) for Xmas or her Bday and it was the best thing we had on this trip. We never got lost once. The church is amazing. I am not a church goer but I might consider it if I was to get to go there every Sunday. It was also important to Liz and my Mom because it was the site of the West Wing episode "“Two Cathedrals".

From there we headed back to Crystal City where my Mom and Grandmother were staying. We dropped them off and headed back to our hotel is Falls Church. We ordered up room service for dinner and watched the Manning Brothers play.

Trip to D.C. Day 1

We planned on leaving at 6am but that would be hard to do when you don’t set the alarm and wake up at 6:30. Luckily we pretty uch went to bad fully packed so it was freshen up and head out. As I type this we are on the Ohio Turnpike. That is about the extent of the trip so far.

We are meeting my mother and grandma in DC and a friend of ours from Philly. My mom and GM flew and were departing Grand Rapids at noon. Everyone said that the drive would take around 10 hours. Some said longer, some said 9 and one person said he made it in 8 hours. My goal was to beat that time. The trip was pretty much uneventful as we got there is 7hrs and 48min. We beat my mom and GM who flew by 1hr and 30 minutes.

Once my mom and GM got to their place we headed over to pick them up and just go hang out downtown. We drove over the Washington Monument and the WW2 memorial which is why my Mom and GM are here. We headed over to the Capitol and hung out in front of that till around the time we needed to go pick up our friend Mickey at the bus station. We found her and picked her up and headed out to find some dinner.

Liz and I ate at a place last year that we loved but of course we couldn’t remember where it was and what it was called and after a half hour of searching we decided to just give up. Sadly we went to a place called Harry’s. Remember that name. If you are ever in DC never ever stop to eat at this rat-hole.

The menu is sparse. 1 Burger, 4 salads, some sandwich’s and spaghetti. That’s pretty much it. The service is even more impressive. When we go to order drinks my GM tells her that her and my mom will be on one check and us three on the other. The woman said fine and took our drink orders. 1 Sprite, 1 Beer, 1 Water, 2 Coffees. We were brought 4 Sprites, 1 Water, 1 Beer. No biggie but should have been a sign of what’s to come.

Food was okay I guess. Had a Turkey Club which was dry and flavorless. The spaghetti my wife got looked horrible. She said it was okay but it looked like noodles, meatballs, and raw steamed tomatoes for the sauce. Anyway, the bill comes and it is all one bill. My GM is a little upset and decides to take the bill back to her and ask her to split it like she was asked. 20 minutes goes by and we still have no bill. My GM gets up and finds her still trying to do the math…yes, math. Somehow they figure out their part of the bill and my GM pays her and comes back. Okay, but where is out half of the bill. 5 minutes later the waitress comes back with a napkin in which she wrote $53.40 on and walks away.

A Napkin? My bill is an amount written on a napkin. I’m sorry that is completely unacceptable. Not only has the service been bad, the food suspect, and then this? I lost it. I got up and headed after her. She got to the bar where I said out loud, “Excuse me, this is not a bill, this is a napkin with an amount on it. I want to see exactly how you came up with this number.” She said nothing. The bartender asked me what my problem was and I said “we are 2 parties, the older woman in the other party asked her to split up the bill as we are paying separately…” This is the part where she goes on the defensive and tells me and the bartender that noone asked such a thing and was lying. That prompted me to turn around and get in her face and ask explain to her that she is confused as my GM did tell her that. She called me a liar and had this shit eating grin on her face. The bartender tried to get my attention and explain to him what y problem was. I explained that we asked for this to be done at the start and she didn’t do it and it has been 25 minutes of her trying to learn math to get us separate bills. She took care of my GM but still took 5 minutes to get us our bill which turned out to be a napkin with an amount on it and I find that completely unacceptable. I refuse to pay a bill that is written on a napkin. He explains he can get me a receipt if I need one that bad and I tell him I don’t want a receipt, I want a legitimate bill. He tells me to go back and he will take care of everything.

I get back there and the waitress is trying to explain why she is a complete moron and I tell her the mamager will be taking care of this and that I want her away from the table. Everyone at the table looks at me like what is my problem and I tell them that the waitress says we are all liars that we never asked for separate bills. The fat round ass of a manager comes over and starts getting in my face. He tells me it was a misunderstanding and I need to relax and that I should have gotten his attention earlier to avoid this situation. What? Are you stupid? I have a problem and we have gotten your attention. I didn’t know that this was going to happen…how would I expect a napkin with a total. How do I know what the total really is. The bill could be $43.40 and she is going to pocket $10 cause she is well aware she lost her tip long ago from us. She calls me a liar twice and it’s just ludicrous. He says I need to calm down. Realize that I have been sitting in my seat the whole time we talked and I never even swore once. But I needed to calm down or he was calling the cops. Okay fat ass. Fine. JUST GIVE ME A REAL BILL SO I CAN GET OUT OF YOUR STUPID CRAP HOLE.

I don’t know how it all ended and I don’t care to know. My wife took care of the rest cause I was too violent I guess. Heh. So, Harry’s in downtown DC. Stay away, very far away.

So that was pretty much it. We dropped them off at their hotel and we all went back and prepared for day 2.