Rita and I decided to fly to
Washington, DC, since we would not be able to get together with our girls this
Thanksgiving, Sophie-Claire’s birthday, or Christmas. We flew from Austin on November 5 via
Charlotte, NC, and arrived early evening in DC.
We took a taxi to our reserved hotel, the Marriott Courtyard near
Gretchen and Chris’ condo. Chris stopped
by on his way home to pick us up as there is a Metro stop adjacent to the
hotel. Sophie-Claire was already asleep
but we peeked in at her before Gretchen served us a nice dinner.
Wednesday we had breakfast at
our hotel where four Ethiopian Orthodox Church leaders were having their
breakfast along with their entourage and group of visitors. They were dressed in their robes, turbans,
and massive gold crosses like some of today’s rap stars have.
After breakfast we took the
Metro to the US State Department offices where I needed to get a form signed to
renew my expiring retiree badge. That
office was in the same building where Sophie-Claire goes to a State Department
pre-school called Diplotots. We asked
our escort if she could take us to the school and she obliged. The school vetted us and allowed us to go in
and see Sophie-Claire who recognized us and came to us with hugs and
kisses. Obviously she remembered us and
that made us happy.
In another building I went
through the process to get my new badge after finger printing and then we had
lunch in the State Department cafeteria.
Gretchen came down from her office and talked a while. We took the Metro back to our hotel and
rested a bit in the afternoon. Gretchen
and Sophie-Claire came to get us about 5:30.
We gave Sophie-Claire a bag full of clothes we brought her. Most of it was Minnie Mouse themed and was a
big hit, especially the Minnie Mouse slippers.
Once more Gretchen fed us a delicious dinner.
Thursday, November 7, was my
71st birthday. Rita and I had
breakfast at Au Bon Pain where Gretchen, who took off work the next two days,
met us with Sophie-Claire who skipped school.
We walked to Harris-Teeter grocery store where Sophie-Claire and I ran
up and down the aisles to her mother’s dismay.
We spent the day playing with Sophie-Claire and watched her while
Gretchen ran errands. That evening
Rachel called to wish me a happy birthday and Gretchen cooked a delicious meal
featuring coq au vin and a chocolate birthday cake. It was a good birthday.
Friday Gretchen and
Sophie-Claire met us at Starbucks, where Rita and I had breakfast. Then we all took the Metro to the National
Museum of Natural Science with the main objective of seeing the dinosaurs. Sophie-Claire loved the T-rex exhibit. After lunch there we took the Metro back home
for Sophie-Claire to nap. During that
time Rita and I walked to the Union Market which has several upscale food
stores.
In the evening we all walked
to TDB Burgers, a restaurant with gourmet burgers and pizzas plus several craft
beers. My distant cousin, Lydia Beyoud
and her husband, Kwan, met us there for a pleasant evening of food and
talk. It was the first time for Gretchen
and Chris to meet Lydia and Kwan. My
older brother, David, was supposed to meet us there but he called earlier to
say he felt bad and wouldn’t make it.
Saturday we drove into the
Virginia countryside to the Stribling Orchards in Markham, Virginia, near Front
Royal. It was the last day they were
open for apple picking and we picked a variety of different apples off trees
using long poles that looked like lacrosse sticks. Sophie-Claire had a short pole and with a bit
of help she managed to get some apples off the low branches. Rachel Love and her dog, Lola, came as well
to join in the fun. My brother, David,
met us too as he didn’t live far away in Winchester.
After apple picking we all
drove to nearby Naked Mountain winery and had a snack platter with a bottle of
their red wine. Sophie-Claire had plenty
of energy and could barely slow down to sit.
After a while we said good byes to David and Rachel Love and drove back
to DC. Rita and I went to our hotel and
rested.
In the evening Rita and I
went to their home and we all, along with Sophie-Claire, walked to a nice
neighborhood restaurant with gourmet food – the Red Hen. Rita and I had crostini spread with a soft
cheese and honey for starters. For my
main dish I had seared scallops on greens with roasted Brussels sprouts. I had pecan pie with ice cream followed by
espresso for a delicious meal.
Sunday morning we all walked
to a nearby farmer’s market where Gretchen bought produce while Chris and I
took Sophie-Claire to an adjacent playground.
She loves swings and slides and running with other children. We returned to their home but Chris and I
took Sophie-Claire to a new neighborhood playground while Gretchen made apple
sauce and chili and Rita made an apple pie.
While Sophie-Claire napped Rita and I worked the Washington Post
crossword puzzle. When Sophie-Claire
woke up Gretchen and I took her back to the new neighborhood playground as
Gretchen hadn’t seen it yet.
In the evening Rachel Love
and Peter came over as well as Kelly Newton.
We had fun playing with Sophie-Claire and then eating a nice meal of
chili, corn bread, and salad followed by apple pie and ice cream. It was a pleasant evening.
Monday was a holiday,
Veterans Day, and the weather turned much colder. Rita and I slept in late and brought our
breakfast up to our room. Mid morning we
went to Gretchen and Chris’ home. We all
drove to Lincoln Park near the Capital Building where Sophie-Claire ran and
played on slides once more. She also saw
a school mate there to play with. Rita
and I kept watch over Sophie-Claire while Gretchen and Chris went to a
movie. In the evening Chris grilled nice
steaks for dinner. We finally had to say
our good-byes as the next day Gretchen and Chris had to go back to work and
Sophie-Claire to school.
We returned home Tuesday
after a big breakfast in our hotel and a late checkout for our afternoon flight
home via Philadelphia. Everything was
fine at home and certainly much quieter and calmer without a little one. But we missed her dearly as well as her
parents.
