Okay. The whole family went to Washington. Two weeks ago we took a road trip to DC, figuring it was not very American that our kids had visited Canada's capitol (Ottawa) before the US capitol, it was about time. And it's only a ten hour drive from Montreal. Danielle was also accepted into an week-long International Relations program at Georgetown so we had to get her to DC.
We were excited that Paul's brother Dan could join us for the weekend. We had a great time and his iPhone came in handy when we had questions about monuments and history as we walked and walked and walked around the great city.
Two and a half days is not nearly enough time to see everything.
Whenever we venture south to "the States" we have a deeper appreciation for the US. We love living in Canada, but there are little things we notice more these days. We definitely pay more attention to the history between the two countries. Did we miss that class in school? Did we study much about Canada? Who's the Prime Minister of Canada? (we know that one). When in the US we're quick to point out anything Canadian.
The monuments and museums were nice and all, but it was also great to pay US prices for meals and beverages. We had a lovely evening with Kish's cousin Colleen Fauerbach who now lives in DC and works for an advertising agency. She knows all the great hot spots in the city and suggested a fantastic restaurant (Founding Farmers) with great food...and even better beverages. Thanks Colleen for giving Danielle all those "how to get away with a curfew as a teenager" tips! Incidentally, Kish spent quite a bit of time at Colleen's house in Madison when Colleen was younger and Kish was in college at Marquette. Colleen's dad Neil would make the drive to Milwaukee or a pick up at the bus station so Kish could escape the dorm and enjoy a real house for a weekend or holiday. Years later, Kish was visiting Madison when Colleen and her sister Erin were teenagers and recalls Neil and Maryann getting so excited with the invention and installation of caller id at their home. "It's so easy to keep track of them now!" they would say with smiles on their faces, staring at this box by the phone whenever it rang. Now with a teenager in our house, we get that. Back then all Kish could think about was how much caller id would have
Starting to see a family resemblance...
Back to politics....Louis remembered Abraham Lincoln from his Illinois history. He was excited to see the monuments and all things Lincoln. When we would venture back to the hotel he wanted to make sure we walked by the White House and constantly asked, "Where is President Obama?" He knows Obama is a White Sox fan. And he knew the White Sox were playing that weekend at a game in Chicago and it had to be on television and for sure in the White House. He could not understand why we could not knock on the White House door and go watch the game with the President. He was serious. We were explaining about Secret Service, security, and the dudes on top of the house with guns. He didn't care. We did. He's a loyal Sox fan you know.
Our only disappointment was that we did not see more protesters! We were hoping to crash a Tea Party. Kish had a red Sharpie in her purse ready to edit signs and correct spelling.
After the weekend we dropped Danielle off at Georgetown...more about that in another posting.
Danielle is proud of her birth state!
We visited the Capitol on Saturday. Unfortunately there wasn't much going on. Incidentally, we found out that it's easier for us to get in to see the House in session because we don't have a US address...next time we can present our Visas after security and we don't have to go through our local legislator, because we don't have one.
Uncle Dan strikes a lawyer pose in front of the Supreme Court
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