Weekend Drive

My Wife's Tio and I at the Iwo Jima Memorial

I took another one of those “leisurely” weekend drives down to our nation’s capital and back over the weekend. This has become one of the standard features whenever one of my wife’s family members visits from Panama and I’m stupid enough to keep volunteering to do it. It’s a trip replete with nostalgia after all the time I spent in the capitol region during my military career but there are better ways to spend a weekend. It wouldn’t be an operation involving my wife if there weren’t a few curve balls thrown my way though.

Musquetera Lunch Upon Arrival in Virginia

The plan was for my wife’s uncle and I to drive down and stay in a hotel in Springfield, near some of my old stomping grounds. Late on Thursday she came to me and said she’d decided to accompany me along with her mother and that we would be staying at the Virginia Musquetera’s home. My first question was what she wanted me to do with Buddy the Wonder Pooch for the weekend then. So I spent Friday morning (which was absolute chaos at work for other reasons) canceling hotel reservations and trying to find a place to board Buddy. Both of the dog hotels we use were full and Great Aunt, a couple weeks short of knee replacement surgery, was not an option. As he is justly famous for Keene Friend stepped up for us. He volunteered to stay at our home and Buddy-sit for the weekend. He is probably the best friend the world has ever seen.

At Arlington House Overlooking DC

I still had the small matter of driving to Virginia on Saturday morning. I told my wife we needed to be on the road no later than 5am. She nodded sagely and stayed up until after midnight for still unexplained reasons, which meant I was up until that hour as well. Driving 500 miles on 4 hours sleep is not the preferred method of execution. So we left around 530am which I considered a huge win since I was dealing with no less than three Panamanians. For the trip down I used our normal Pennsylvania routing to avoid the dreaded I-95 corridor. We did well and I dropped off the ladies at the musquetera’s around 130pm.

Meanwhile at a Nearby Virginia Shopping Center

My wife’s uncle and I then set out for Arlington where we stopped at the Iwo Jima Memorial and then made a quick side trip into Fort Meyer where I stopped by my old company which I hadn’t seen in a several decades but looked to have changed, not at all. Our next stop was Arlington National Cemetery where we made the usual trek around the grounds. I did notice a huge increase in security since my last visit, just last October. I made a point of making a silly smile selfie at each of our stops because, well, why not?.

My Old Company

My Series of Selfie with Tio (Some of Him) at MLK Memorial

Lincoln Mermorial

Reflecting Pool 

WW2 Memorial

The Other Side

White House

Washington Monument

Jefferson

FDR

My wife’s uncle, north of seventy years old, was a great trooper and kept up with the walking required, which was only beginning. We took in a change of guard at the tomb of the unknowns, as well as the JFK gravesite and Arlington House before heading back to the car and snuck into DC across Memorial Bridge. I lucked into a parking spot near the tidal basin and set out on our ramble. Washington, in a huge surprise, blessed up with a New England-like summer day with none of the usual smothering humidity. It was still ninety degrees out and I definitively established docksiders are not the footwear of choice for a miles long hike through the monuments. On the upside the hot temperatures had female attire in peak season form.

I can See the Reason fro Complaints
He Does Look Chinese

We took in the MLK Memorial with their Chinese version of MLK, the Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Wall, the World War 2 Memorial and the Washington Monument before walking across the street to the White House. Here security once again raised its head. It seems each trip to DC I find the viewing further and further from the White House. This time the security cordon (maybe in reaction to our benighted leader’s popularity) was pushed fully halfway across the ellipse. I took my stalwart companion around to the front of the White House where at least something of a view was offered. Our return walk to the car included the Treasury Department, the Smithsonians, the Jefferson Memorial, and finally the FDR Memorial. In a moment sure to locked in the memory vaults as a time to “cherish” President Trump’s motorcade passed directly in front of us as we were crossing Constitution Avenue. We stopped to make a FaceTime call to the First Blog Reader from the Jefferson Memorial. She was not impressed with the locale. We were back at the car a little before 7:30pm.

Some Great Words Though

We were both a little footsore by the end of the walk but we did successfully avoid the temptation of soaking our feet in the World War 2 fountain which I count as a victory (at least for those around us). I had to buy some gas before the trip back into Virginia and I ended up stopping right across the street from my old office in Crystal City, site of a lot of great memories. The memory string continued as I took Braddock Road to get back to the Centreville home of the Musquetera. All three of the homes we occupied during our various stays in Virginia are just off this road and I made sure to point each out to my very tired uncle in law.

Arriving in New Jersey

We found the ladies in high fettle when we arrived. They had spent the entire day talking non-stop and catching each other up on everything. My mother in law truly enjoyed the gathering of Spanish speaking ladies. We all sat around the dining room table after the Musquetera’s signature lasagna and the talk and laughter were almost non-stop. Something I’ve noticed about Latin culture is the respect they afford senior citizens. All of my wife’s friends that stopped by made a point to pay respect to her mother. It may be because I’m all too rapidly approaching that status myself but I think we could learn something from the way they honor their elders.

Yep, Abuela is Really Here

The beer we arranged to have on site combined with too much lasagna put the nail in the coffin of any energy I had remaining after a long day of driving and walking especially since I had the drive back awaiting me in the morning.

Happy Girl

I decided to chance the I-95 corridor for the trip back for one reason, albeit a very, very good one. If we just happened to be traveling on the Garden State Parkway it would make all the sense in the world to stop off in Maplewood and see the New Jersey contingent. The drive was every bit as unpleasant as I remembered even with the roads twice as wide and the tolls three times what they used to be.  The traffic still chokes the roads making for a tense drive. We arrived during nap time which gave us a chance to catch up with my daughter and Wingman.

Showing her Parents how the Pool Works

The smile we received when my granddaughter woke up and realized who was there was worth all the aggravation I-95 had thrown my way. After a devastating hug I was directed outside where she showed me the new pool she’d convinced her parents to get for her. Her splashing, developed under our tutelage, has lost nothing of its energy. It was a fabulous way to break up the trip. She doesn’t seem to forget anything. When asked why I had to work her reply was, “more toys”. I’ve been spoiled by spending so much time with her lately that it pains me to think it might be until August that I see her again. That is just unacceptable.