Day 7: More Museums and Fargo Friends

We've been in DC long enough where we're starting to figure things out. Sort of.

We can navigate the Metro with a fair level of competence. We have learned that nobody eats dinner before 7, and the liquor stores close at 10. We might try to navigate our way back to the house without GPS, with mixed results.

This morning, Evie wanted to revisit the Air and Space Museum, so she could show her brother the spaceships. He complied.

We took the Metro -Felix's favorite ride - to get pizza and milkshakes from a contestant we'd watched on Top Chef.

The legs in the above photo might imply we're eating pizza at a not-quite-family-friendly establishment; actually, Evie was photobombed by a Jimi Hendrix concert poster.

After lunch, Evie and I ventured to the National Gallery of Art. She has been wanting to go there for weeks, and she wants to be an artist when she grows up.

She was a good sport, even though she was tired. She patiently sat through a slightly bizarre film on Russian ballet.

She paused at some of the paintings, making thoughtful observations like "Up close, you can see the colors, but far away it looks like a regular picture."

But soon, she grew tired and homesick.

She asked to go home to Minnesota. She said she was having trouble remembering the feel of her cat's fur and the sound of the neighbor boys' voices. She misses the boys most of all.

Like Evie, I was good friends with my childhood neighbors. Jai, my next-door neighbor, and I played horses in her playroom and explored the woods behind my house and rode our bikes in the cul-de-sac. She now lives in Washington, DC. Tonight, we had dinner with her and her husband.

They are fun, kind, wonderful people.

I love when life puts wonderful people right next to me. It seems to be happening a lot lately.

We had 5 years of life to catch up on since our last visit, while simultaneously entertaining two little kids through a four-course dinner at a classy Italian restaurant. How did we pull it off?

Gelato:

And a little bit of outright silliness:

I've noticed something, thanks to this trip of reunions.

You can get older, you can establish a career, you can stop playing in the woods, you can move halfway across the country... But a happy childhood doesn't have to end, as long as you remember how it felt to be that kid. And, if you forget, the important people can remind you.

Day 6: The National Zoo

I am proud to say I've kept up my goal of blogging each day of vacation. Writing is like exercise: it's something I love having done, but starting can feel like a chore. The more I do it, the easier it becomes.

Speaking of exercise, our zoo outing racked up 15,000 steps and 6.78 miles. My Fitbit was impressed.

We arrived via Metro. Felix loved the train ride; don't let his cool demeanor fool you.

Day 5: Sometimes You Just Need a Nap (Washington, DC)

The kids are very happy at their second cousins' house.

There is a bounce house in the basement.

Day 4: Washington, DC

Our morning started in Lexington, about as well as a morning could. I went for a run, we ate homemade raspberry lemon muffins, and we explored Washington and Lee University with our hostess, Sam's aunt Sally, who teaches at the law school.

Evie liked learning about the history of the university and its namesakes.

Felix liked the stairs, the grassy spaces, and the construction vehicles.

Day 3: Virginia

We saw 5 states today: Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia. We started the day in Indianapolis and ended it at Sam's Aunt Sally's house in Lexington.

We are all tired.

Shortly before 7 p.m., Evie asked if she could go to bed. Felix chimed in, "I want to go to bed, too!" On normal days, we have to drag these kids to bed at 8:30.

I did not go to bed at 7 p.m., though I probably could have. Driving is hard work.

Day 2: Indianapolis

Today's word was "relaxed." After late-night merriment in Milwaukee, my plan to run along Lake Michigan was sidelined for time with friends, a leisurely breakfast, and a little bit of extra rest. Toll roads and traffic accidents slowed us down, but a low-key evening with our friends washed away any residual stress.

The scenery was pleasant if not especially dramatic: green grass, tall rows of corn, the occasional "Oasis" - a giant food court stretching over the freeway.

Sam remembered eating at one during a childhood vacation to Washington, D.C.. He recalled being fascinated by cars whizzing by below; he remembered a Hardees turkey sandwich and his toddler sister taking a bite of their father's thumb.

Day 1: Milwaukee

Today, Sam and I packed up the kids and embarked on a road trip. Our destination is Washington, D.C., but the journey is half the adventure.

The drive through Wisconsin was lovely: purple and yellow wildflowers filled the median, and billowy clouds drifted across the blue sky. We were surprised by the abundance of adult bookstores, highway patrol cars, and roadside cheese emporia. We avoided the first two but couldn't resist the pull of the third.

The worst part of the day came courtesy of a trucker with a self-satisfied obscenity painted on his cab. I was in the left lane when he abruptly merged left, forcing me off the road. Hurtling along the dirt and grass at 75 mph, I felt the panic of losing control, the fear as I merged back onto the road in a cloud of dust, and the relief when I realized we were safely back on the freeway.