Journey into the Green

Yesterday I re-learned a lesson in Latina timeliness or I should say lack thereof and that this trait can be passed on between generations.  I was not aware of this because my own daughter (half Latina herself) is almost as time conscious as I, which is borderline psychotic about timeliness(just ask my wife).  My wife’s friend’s husband and teenaged daughter (half Latina) were accompanying me on the trip to Virginia.  We discussed the night before and agreed we would get up at 6 and leave by 7am.

My Great Co-Pilot and His Daughter

Everybody got up at 6 but at 7 the daughter was firmly entrenched in the bathroom and it seemed like nothing short of a nuclear strike would dislodge her.  Her father would head upstairs about every five minutes in a vain attempt to hurry her up.  She seemed immune to all pleas.  Two middle aged men were no match for a determined seventeen year old.

We finally got on the road around 8:30 and made fantastic time.  I really liked having a co-pilot and he kept up a lively conversation at a rate rivaling my usual co-pilot’s (wife) pace – an impressive achievement.

Flowers!  A Field of Daffodils in Maryland

We noticed as we descended out of the mountains of Pennsylvania that the temperature was rising dramatically.  We left the forties of New England, reached the seventies in Southern Pennsylvania, the eighties in Maryland, and an unbelievable 91 degrees in Virginia.  It was almost like watching time elapse camera work as the trees first had very apparent buds and as we traveled further south leaves and flowers started to appear.  As we had both spent the very long New England winter (snowing again today up there) this was a truly welcome sight.

We arrived at the Capitol Beltway ahead of schedule but this was where the 1.5 hour delay killed us because we hit right at rush hour.  I re-learned why I could never live in this area.  A distance of 14 miles took us over an hour and a half to travel.  To say I was less than happy would be a gross understatement.  We passed no less than four different accident scenes which contributed to the snail’s pace. 

My Wife in Our Hotel Room

I dropped off my passengers in Centerville and then headed out to link up with my wife in Old Town Alexandria.  I spoke with her on the phone and because I was not in the best of moods (see the above 14 miles in an hour and a half) I was less than receptive when she offered me some advice on how to get there.  Because I’d seen what the highways were like I decided to take some of the back roads I was familiar with.

I drove down the length of Braddock Road which was like travelling back in time through my own life.  I passed the place I last lived in Virginia in 2005 and the high school where my son graduated from.  I passed the school my wife worked in and finally the turn off for the first place we lived way back in 1984.  It was truly nostalgic and the traffic was moving, so win. 

I made very good time until I reached Old Town and forgot a very simple lesson probably due to fatigue.  I traveled the length of the town using King Street which was really dumb because every block has a traffic light.  I went this way because the GPS told me to but I knew if I had gone a couple blocks to the east I could have had stop signs instead of having to wait for lights – dumb.

I finally arrived at the home where my wife was assisting with wedding cake preparation and ran into the mother of the tardy teenager.  She said the only way she ever got her daughter to move was to threaten to leave her and that is what I should have done.  I’m not sure that was one of my options at the time but I filed it away for future reference.

Our Hotel

It was so good to see my wife again and we left to check into the hotel which was only a few blessed blocks away.  The Hotel Monaco is located right in the heart of Old Town and right across the street from where Ireland’s Own used to be.  That was my favorite hangout back in the 1980s but it is sadly an abandoned store front now – time marches, as it were.

The hotel was very cool and the room awesome.  It also seems to be a very dog friendly hotel as they were having a wine happy hour attended by a bunch of people accompanied by their dogs.  There was also an outdoor café at the hotel where a couple of other dogs were dining with their families – extraordinarily cool.  When my wife and I returned late at night after dinner a guy was checking in with a very frisky black lab that reminded me, rendingly so, of Buddy the Wonder Pooch. 

Buddy's Relative Checking In

I heartily recommend Old Town as a destination because everything is so walkable and there are a million small shops and attractions, and a few bars (but I digress).  Given the hotel location we were able to walk easily to the Overwood restaurant where we met up with some of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Panamanian Mafia.  All of the day’s frustrations and fatigue fell away when we were surrounded by these great people.  There really is something medicinal about the camaraderie of old friends.  We ended up closing the place and my wife and I walked hand in hand back to the hotel through the still vibrant streets.

The Overwood - Great Place

 

Dinner With Friends

A tough day, at least a couple soul sucking hours of it qualified as such, were totally redeemed by the blessing of spending time with friends. 

Very Best Part of the Day

The Walk Back to the Hotel - Christmas Lights Year Round

Picture of Me Because My Wife Said I Was Taking Too Many of Her