The summer has dwindled away to only a few short weeks. Is September really just around the corner? Did I just see that Back-to-School display set up at the Duane Reade? What happened? Well, I guess I’ll just start babbling where I left off, just before the Pineda July 4th Weekend, and move forward until the post traumatic stress from camp kicks in and I start having fox hole flashbacks.
This July 4th, instead of getting drunk and passing out in the back yard as per usual, we decided to take a mini-vacation to Washington DC. Oh, wait. Let me backtrack a bit. We actually started our holiday weekend “In the Heights.” As a birthday/Anniversary gift for Juan and Val, Trish and I got tickets to the show. Val, of course, cried in all the right places. And even though we were exhausted from the opening weeks of Pineda Summer Conservatory, (forthwith to be referred to as “camp”) the salsa and meringue-infused score kept our blood pumping and eyes open. Unfortunately, it didn’t carry through to our planned all night drive to DC. By 4 am the mini-van was swerving and fishtailing all over I-95. We wisely decided to take a mandatory sleep break at a cheap hotel in Maryland and continued on later that morning.
The hotel, The Omni Shoreham, was movie-set gorgeous with white-gloved bellmen swarming the van as we pulled in. It was a total cliché but we were loving it. I only wish I had had a camera handy to capture their expressions as we popped the trunk. Instead of Luis Vuitton or Coach, these kind gentlemen were greeted by piles of music, discarded fast food containers and garbage bags full of clothes. With no time to pack, Trish had literally thrown her clean laundry directly from the dryer into garbage bags and into the trunk - luggage a la Hefty. Oh well, at least they’ll have a good story for the locker room.
This July 4th, instead of getting drunk and passing out in the back yard as per usual, we decided to take a mini-vacation to Washington DC. Oh, wait. Let me backtrack a bit. We actually started our holiday weekend “In the Heights.” As a birthday/Anniversary gift for Juan and Val, Trish and I got tickets to the show. Val, of course, cried in all the right places. And even though we were exhausted from the opening weeks of Pineda Summer Conservatory, (forthwith to be referred to as “camp”) the salsa and meringue-infused score kept our blood pumping and eyes open. Unfortunately, it didn’t carry through to our planned all night drive to DC. By 4 am the mini-van was swerving and fishtailing all over I-95. We wisely decided to take a mandatory sleep break at a cheap hotel in Maryland and continued on later that morning.
The hotel, The Omni Shoreham, was movie-set gorgeous with white-gloved bellmen swarming the van as we pulled in. It was a total cliché but we were loving it. I only wish I had had a camera handy to capture their expressions as we popped the trunk. Instead of Luis Vuitton or Coach, these kind gentlemen were greeted by piles of music, discarded fast food containers and garbage bags full of clothes. With no time to pack, Trish had literally thrown her clean laundry directly from the dryer into garbage bags and into the trunk - luggage a la Hefty. Oh well, at least they’ll have a good story for the locker room.
The Omni Shoreham
The heat outside was almost unbearable for most of the weekend, but we did manage to hit several of the Smithsonian museums, pose outside the White House, laze around the pool, order excessive room service and get severely sunburned. So what did we learn from our little excursion to our nation’s capitol? Well, I’m glad you asked.
1. Museum holiday schedules do not make sense. On the weekend we celebrate the adoption of our Declaration of Independence, you are unable to view this venerable document because the National Archives is closed for the holiday.
2. People from Minnesota still refer to Asian-Americans as “Orientals.” After making friends with a group of band parents waiting for their kids to march down the parade route, one parent, obviously trying very hard to impress us with her worldliness said, “Our school is very diverse. We have a lot of different Orientals in our group - Filipinos, Chinese, and Koreans.” I’ll give her an “A” for effort.
3. Do not attend all-you-can-eat buffets the night of a Holiday. We were so excited for the hotel’s barbeque buffet. Who doesn’t love all-you-can-eat Kobe beef sliders and hot dogs, chicken, ribs, and mac n’ cheese? But it was clear the kitchen and front of house were severely understaffed due to the holidays. So after holding our reservation for nearly 45 minutes and then literally running out of food, we skipped out and headed to a local hang out for Sangria and middle eastern food.
4. Always complain nicely and graciously tip your server. Thanks to our calm and polite complaint to the manager (see #3), not only did he comp our meal, but he gave us vouchers for free buffet breakfast. Yum!
1. Museum holiday schedules do not make sense. On the weekend we celebrate the adoption of our Declaration of Independence, you are unable to view this venerable document because the National Archives is closed for the holiday.2. People from Minnesota still refer to Asian-Americans as “Orientals.” After making friends with a group of band parents waiting for their kids to march down the parade route, one parent, obviously trying very hard to impress us with her worldliness said, “Our school is very diverse. We have a lot of different Orientals in our group - Filipinos, Chinese, and Koreans.” I’ll give her an “A” for effort.
3. Do not attend all-you-can-eat buffets the night of a Holiday. We were so excited for the hotel’s barbeque buffet. Who doesn’t love all-you-can-eat Kobe beef sliders and hot dogs, chicken, ribs, and mac n’ cheese? But it was clear the kitchen and front of house were severely understaffed due to the holidays. So after holding our reservation for nearly 45 minutes and then literally running out of food, we skipped out and headed to a local hang out for Sangria and middle eastern food.
4. Always complain nicely and graciously tip your server. Thanks to our calm and polite complaint to the manager (see #3), not only did he comp our meal, but he gave us vouchers for free buffet breakfast. Yum!
Breakfast in bed
5. Wear comfortable shoes because maps are totally misleading. Sure, a quarter inch doesn’t seem like much on a teensy-weensy map, but my how those inches add up. Because of the crowds and security fences blocking off most of the access into and out of the Great Mall, we hiked miles (literally) to find an open subway station. I estimated we walked approximately 6.5 miles in 90-plus degree heat.
6. Always carry lots of dollar bills. Sure, a life of luxury sure is fun, until you realize you have to pay for it. I haven’t passed out this many dollar bills since Cats closed - and I don’t mean the Broadway show. Oh, and if you have to ask, then you don’t need to know. Wink, wink.
And now more pictures!
Trish and I in front of Obama's crib
Me surprised at the port-o-potty's cleanliness
Me and Abe hangin'
Having fun by the reflecting pool
Glaring sun at the Lincoln Memorial
Coming up next, our second summer at the CDC…
2 comments:
I wanna go back to the Shoreham. Now.
At least the Minnesota woman correctly identified you as Asian, instead of say, Mexican.
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