4/25/2015
Crystal had anticipated the monuments of Washington D.C. for weeks. The plan was to take in as many museums and monuments as possible. Constitution Ave. carried the scent of a large city. Massive monuments were everywhere as were tourists and runners. Our top priority was to see the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The dark clouds in the skies held the threat of rain so it was good that our day would be indoors. Kids swarmed into structure with wide eyes. We spent a few hours looking at biological and anthropological exhibits before our hunger attacked. We walked outside in search of something that would calm our stomachs. Like any big city with tourist attractions, the laws of economics were practiced to the fullest extent. I was charged three dollars for a cold veggie egg roll and Crystal had a microwave pizza for the same price. We both agreed to tighten our stomachs after the overpriced meals.
Round two in the Smithsonian was all about the gems. The Hope diamond was impressive but I enjoyed the all the other minerals much more. Bright brilliant colors sparkled and shined as the lights from above hit the stones. Again we spent several hours taking in the exhibit.
We looked forward to meeting our new friend Alicia and her family. Through the power of modern technology and social media, we were connected by a mutual friend. Alicia and generously offered us a place to park our trailer and wash our laundry. She had also arranged for us to speak at her son Robert’s school. We headed over after leaving the Museum and grabbing a bite to eat.
When we reached Alicia’s house we were greeted with open arms by everyone except for the dogs. Of course after we talked for a bit, and the atmosphere calmed, the dogs came around. Exhaustion set in as we relaxed. It was a good thing our events were not planned for daybreak.
Our miniature heater kept us comfy through the cold evening. My eyes managed to stay closed until it was time to head to the Summit School for our first event of the day.
Alicia took a day off of work to shuttle us to her son’s school. It was a scenic drive through Maryland. We passed beautiful wooded land and lots of large estate homes. We drove to the top of a hill and discovered the school was once a home with a barn. Of course the grounds were manicured and the barn had been renovated. The event came and went pretty quickly. The seventh grade class was small enough for me to answer everyone’s questions. I signed and donated a set of books as usual then we made our way back.
Our host took very good care of us and took us out to lunch. The meal provided me with enough calories to run all day but more sleep was on the agenda. At least it was before we headed back, to D.C., to work with the kids at the Playtime Project Homeless Shelter.
We navigated through the pothole filled streets of the city and found ourselves at a high rise that housed many families. Security initially stopped us from entering but when they heard about what we were there to do they were more than happy to get us upstairs. I admit the event was not on course momentarily. But when Morgan arrived with snacks for the kids, the mood began to settle. The group of elementary aged children became very attentive. Once I went into my reading of “The Tenth Floor”, I had their full attention. The event ran longer than planned but it was worth it. I felt that I contributed a bit to the kids’ appreciation of the written word. From there we returned to the monuments for an hour. The weather was colder on this spring night than it had been over my entire winter. It was strange but we were fortunate that Alicia was happy to let us park for multiple nights.
She had been too good to us. We couldn’t thank her enough. Before we left she even left us a generous donation. The following day we headed back to the area where we had stopped running. We had a hotel reservation at the Residence Inn in Arlington. Of course we hadn’t anticipated the congested parking areas. We decided not to take in more sights when we couldn’t find a spot for our oversized vehicle. My rest days were more about sleep anyway. A large bed, a hot bubble bath, and some fresh fruits were what I desired. The Residence Inn provided it all.
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