Day 4-Washington DC / Holocaust Museum

Monday July 3, 2017

We had been planning our trip to the Holocaust Museum for a long time. Avery was very interested in it since studying it in her "APUSH" classes at GBHS.  I figured we'd give it a shot this year. I bought tickets in advance, but not in advance enough to get the coveted 10AM opening slot. We had to settle for the 2:30 slot, which in retrospect was a good thing because GT woke up with a horrible earache this morning. After the griping and groaning, Jen and I decided it would be best to get him to a CVS minute clinic to see what was wrong with him.  Came to find out that the problem he was having a good ol swimmers ear.  We got some drops, and had him on his merry way.  

We decided to take the train from Carollton Station to DC to avoid traffic, parking fees, and other delights that come with the big city.  For about $40 bucks we avoided the aggravation of traffic, parking, and that whole mess, and got off right at the stop by the Smithsonians.  Total win!  I was able to get up with our best friends, that we grew up with (John and Kelly) who were in the city at the same time. Even though it was only for a little while in the Dept of Ag cafeteria, we were able to catch up somewhat since our visit to Austin last month.  It was great to see them again, but the visit was short as we had to get to the museum for the time indicated on the ticket.  

I'm not sure if it was because it was July 3 or what, but the lines for this place were INSANE!  We arrived at 2:15PM and the line went the length of the building.  We were told by the guides to step out of line and enjoy the other exhibits as they were currently not letting anyone in the exhibit at the moment. I was kinda pissed, especially if our whole trip to DC was based on this museum and, to not get in would have been ridiculous.  We were all grumpy by now with the situation, so we viewed a couple of exhibits downstairs for about 30 minutes.  By the time 3:15 rolled around, we tried again.  No line. What?  We got right in and toured the somber museum. 

Our kids don't care too much for museums anymore, and Avery was a little disappointed in the Holocaust museum because there weren't as many 'touchable concrete' things there, mostly stories, movies and other items.  I don't know what happened to my kids and lack of attention to actually read anymore.  

We had about 45 minutes left before all the museums closed, so we decided to walk about 10 miles errrrrrrrr blocks to the Air and space museum for a quick look around. This was a much happier museum for everyone but GT who just wanted to go back to Jon and Sheba's house. For the record, I kept us there (with Jen's approval of course) just to make him pout more.  It's what I do now when he decides to go into his moods--keep him there longer, since neither kid is happy at the same time anyway :)

Everyones mood changed once we got back, after a stop at a local sports bar for some nachos and sandwiches.  We also picked up a wax earplug kit for GT so he could swim, and a couple of presents for our hosts (bourbon and wine) and left it in the fridge. I found out that Sheba had and Alexa, so I had the Yawpers on volume 6 while the kids frolicked in the pool. 

We found out Sheba and Jon were getting home soon so we were happy when they arrived.  We caught up, learned about their trip to Toronto and Niagara, and 'tested' multiple bourbons that Jon had in his liquor cabinet.  The $70 dollar bottle of Scotch Whiskey made me want to lick the carpet to rid the taste from my mouth.  It was a lot of fun.  We only tried about a half shot each, so didn't get hammered, but nonetheless, must have tried about 10 different varieties of bourbon, each with a different finish and taste. I like the bourbon, and Jon liked his present, which was a win in my book. 

 Also got to try my first toilet seat warmer complete with bidet and remote control at their house.  How do people not live without these things?  Jon said his brother said simply:  "If you have shit on your face, would you want to rub it with a piece of toilet paper, or use nice warm water to rinse it off?"  Ha! I was sold on this as you use it on a daily basis.  Sold until I saw the cost of the seat.  Guess I'll stick with the cold toilet seat!  It was a good day overall.  We were up until almost 1AM, but it's always good hanging with the Richters!  I hadn't laughed that hard in a WHILE.