When Mike first told me that after his R&R here they wanted him to go to DC for a few days, I got excited and hopeful that I would be able to join him. I'm so glad that we made it work out! Not only was I excited to see friends, it would be nice to have some more time with Mike before he headed back overseas. I was happy that we were even able to get me booked on the same flight as him :)
When we got there we picked up our rental car, they gave us a free upgrade which is always nice, and we headed to our hotel. We went out to dinner at a place called Afghan Restaurant. I was a little nervous, but my dinner was actually super delicious, I didn't take a picture of it and I don't even remember what it was, but it was really good. The service was great too!
After dinner we headed to Waldorf. We went to the Volks house because they were having book club that night and discussing The Fault in Our Stars, which I finished on the plane ride. It was fun to show up and feel right at home. Mike visited with Duane while we had book club.
Karen and I at book club :)
The next day Mike had meetings so I decided to be brave and ride the metro into the city and see some of the sites. I was particularly interested in seeing things I hadn't seen before. I started at The Holocaust Museum, I don't know if I can say I enjoyed it, considering the subject matter, but I'm really glad I went. They had an exhibit called They Were Friends, or something close to that. It was interesting to listen to the different stories. They had other exhibits that were not directly about the Holocaust, but related in that similar things had happened to people in other countries in a more recent time...I'm trying to remember, but I think it was a video reel from Somalia that I watched. Anyway, everything was very well done and I was deeply touched by the stories of those who put their lives in danger to help others.
Next I went to the Botanical Gardens. I loved looking at all the beautiful (and sometimes strange) flowers and plants.
I walked around the mall a little bit too, just enjoying the beautiful day and looking around.
I've always loved the Smithsonian castle.
While I was walking around I purchased a super overpriced ice cream from a vendor truck. It was yummy, but I hated knowing that I could by a whole box of them at the store for what I paid for one there...oh well. Anyway, I was a little bummed that I came just a little too late to see the cherry blossoms, (they were in full bloom and gorgeous the week before we came) but I did get to see some pretty flowering trees on the mall.
Then I headed back to the hotel and relaxed for a little bit waiting for Mike to return. We walked to a little restaurant next to our hotel for dinner. I loved this place. The atmosphere was great, it was so nicely decorated and had a live jazz band playing. My dinner was so good. I was kind of boring and ordered a filet, but it was delicious, so I don't care :) We came back to the hotel and I got ready to go spend the night at my friend LeeAnn's house. Mike had another meeting first though, so I watched some tv while he was gone. After his meeting he drove me to LeeAnn's and then headed back to the hotel. LeeAnn and I sat up for quite a while just talking and enjoying each others company, but finally we went to bed.
The next day we had a girls day. I really needed that :) Nanette even drove down from New Jersey to join us, so our group was me, LeeAnn, Tina, Nanette and Karen. We did mani/pedis (I could not believe it was LeeAnn's first pedicure!...since then I hear she has become hooked)
On Saturday we just took our time getting going, enjoyed the breakfast at the hotel and then drove to Waldorf. We went by the nail place to get my toenails fixed because a couple of them had gotten messed up. Then we went and visited with our friends the Beals, and then we drove around a little. We went and saw our old house, it felt kind of weird and totally not like home there anymore, which I guess is good since we don't live there. Then we met up with some friends (Volks, Vances, Stevens, Sparks and Thompsons) and went to dinner at Bollywood Marsala, one of Mike's favorite Indian restaurants. We had such a good time and even though I don't love Indian food, I had a great time (except for when Mike Vance had me taste his dish...it was way spicy hot! But I guess my reaction was funny to everyone...) I did love the naan though, so yummy...and the mango drink that I had was so so good too. After dinner we went to Sweet Frog for some delicious fro-yo.
Loved hanging out with wonderful friends!
The next day was Easter Sunday. We got to go to our old ward and see more friends.
Our kids were so bummed that they didn't get to go so I took some little videos on my phone of people saying hi to them. Anyway, we only got to stay for Sacrament meeting because we both had planes to catch, mine back to Utah and Mike to Miami (he will be there for a few days, he has some meetings there too, and then he'll go back to Qatar.) It was kind of sad when he dropped me off for my flight before turning in the rental car (his flight was later than mine) I guess that's when it hit me that he wasn't coming home with me. Anyway, the flight home was good, I read pretty much the whole way. I read a book called Wonder that my book club friends recommended. I finished it on the flight and loved it so much.
My mom and Noah picked me up from the airport and we went back to Marcy's where all the other kids were, they had all had Easter dinner together. I'm thankful that my family pitched in and helped with my kids so that I could have this little trip.
Thanks Duane and LeeAnn for being amazing hosts while we were in Waldorf! You guys are the best!
Well, it was so great to have Mike here with us for a little while. I think now that we can make it until Aug/September when he will be home for good.
