DRIVING MISS DAISY

One day in December I thought what better way to spend some time with my daughter and Ray then to drive into Washington, D.C. to take part in an old tradition of seeing the National Christmas Tree.  Well, old tradition meaning that we have been driving in or taking the subway to view the tree since 1985 or so when my Northern Virginia friends introduce me to this event.  And while in Washington DC, I wanted to try out a historic restaurant called Ben's Chili Bowl (www.benschilibowl.com).  And another bit of fun would be to go to the National Zoo to see "Zoolights".  Fortunately, the two of them went along with my idea so we set out yesterday late in the afternoon for the drive into D.C.  It is 42 miles from Stafford, VA to Washington, D.C.  We decided Ray would drive us into the city rather than take the subway.

While hoping and praying that we would have a simple drive without any incidences which is not normal on a Saturday afternoon, I also thought about my parents and growing up in this area.  When I was little, I lived in Woodbridge, VA which is less than 20 miles from DC.  My dad worked in the Forrestal Building for the Department of Defense.  "Back in the day", it was nicknamed the "Little Pentagon".  My mom was a stay-at- home mom with two children born sixteen months apart.  I remember staying busy with dance, swimming and baton lessons.  I remember taking day trips to Baltimore, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, and Williamsburg.  I remember visiting Washington, D.C. when my cousins would visit us from California and Pennsylvania.  We traveled to New Jersey often to visit my grandparents and great grandparents.  What we didn't do was drive into DC often.  I never toured the White House, didn't go to the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn, walk up the steps of the Washington Monument, walk around the Capitol or the Lincoln Memorial or drive in to see the National Christmas Tree.  Everything was in our back yard twenty miles away, but now that I am older I realize why my dad never wanted to get into the car on the weekends after sixty plus hour work weeks.  This was all in his backyard when he went to work.  He and my mom had been to the White House before.  Heck, they lived in DC when they were first married.  They had no desire to tour the museums.  We could go to those on field trips with school. Once I grew up and had my own family, I could get tickets to the White House through my Congresswoman and take my daughter (and the two of them!) myself.  I could go to the Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn with friends that were in the military and only in VA for a few years to experience that event.  I even took my nephew along for the fun.  Ray and I would take Carly to the Smithsonian Museum of American History to see pop culture that included seeing The Fonz's leather jacket, the ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz or Archie Bunkers chair. I didn't spend time in the city day in and day out, which made me want to see more of it.

It wasn't until I graduated college and had friends that lived closer in to the city that I experienced the subway.  I learned a lot about DC because that's where we went dancing on the weekends :)  I had never seen the National Christmas Tree until I was with these friends, and we all walked up the steps of the Monument. Georgetown and M Street were the streets to get to know as a twenty-something year old.  And then my daughter learned about DC and the memorials once in school.  She gave me some fun facts about the Lincoln Memorial (General Robert E. Lee's face is carved into the back of his head or his fingers on one hand form an "A" and on the other form an "L", and that there is a typo in the script on the back wall).  She also explained the newer memorials (WWII and Korean Veterans War Memorial) to me.

 So this past Saturday, I was determined to have a visit with DC.  Drive through the city.  Walk the grounds to see the National Christmas Tree.  See the gorillas again at the zoo.  And while I understand why my dad didn't want to drive into the city one more day with two small children, I am happy that I have Ray to drive me around taking me to places on my list of "have to get to before Panama" even when he sits in traffic fifteen hours of the week!  And I know once in Panama, we will explore east to west and north to south.  Ray will be happy driving Miss Daisy no matter where we are.

Ben's Chili Bowl Restaurant U Street in Washington, D.C.

Cute little Golden Tamarinds grooming each other

My favorite was this anteater eating the red ants coming down the hill.

Have to have a panda represented in lights

Momma and baby

Dad didn't seem to want to be a part of anything.

Too many holiday cookies

I did love the Toucan, too!

We found the tree.

White House was undecorated.

National Christmas Tree

The Virginia tree with Washington Monument in background