Having firmly established my introverted nature, it should come as no surprise that the insane schedule we've been keeping has caught up with me. And it should come as no further surprise that this finally happened in Washington D.C., one of the richest areas in our country in terms of museums and attractions. If I thought my legs and feet were tired after Disneyworld, D.C. has had a wonderful time showing me how wrong I was. At least at Disney you get to sit down occasionally for a ride or a snack or a show...or another snack. In D.C., we walk and then we wait in line to get into a museum. Then we walk through the museum, often standing in more lines. Occasionally, there are mini-movies about a topic that you can sit down and watch. Guess how often I pass those by. D.C. might also be one of the noisiest cities we have been in, just for it's sheer size, if not for the rowdy groups of kids trying to be cool on the subway. My inner voice is quietly begging for silence. "Please, a break. Please, no museums today."
It also doesn't help that I'm the sort of person that needs to read every single placard and tidbit in every museum we enter. At the Holocaust museum, for example, we were told that it takes about 90 minutes to walk through. It took us 4 hours. I think the only way to get through that museum in 90 minutes is to read maybe every 10th piece of information given and to watch none of the mini movies. Granted, we are homeschooling as well, so museums take on more importance. They are our field trips, and we try to take advantage of them.
So, once again, I find myself in this precarious position of complaining about something that most people would be happy to do. I feel the need to repeatedly proclaim my sense of gratitude. I do recognize how lucky I am to be able to homeschool our kids and to see so much of this country. I am grateful every time I wake up without an alarm or have a meal because I'm actually hungry (instead of grabbing a bite in the car on the way to the next client).
But boy, if you told me that we could move into our house tomorrow and get off the road, I'd be hard-pressed right now to find a reason to argue. We do have plans laid out through January, so I'm determined that we honor and enjoy all of them.
I blame D.C. We need more down days. We've been trying to see as much as possible everywhere we stop, but I'm going to have to concede that our nation's Capitol is too chock-full o' history to see it all. So, despite having 400 more museums to see in the next two weeks, today is a down day. I'll agree to go to the RV park's pool, but that's it. I don't want to learn anything! My brain is full!
And my children, bless them, I suspect are feeling some of this as well. We're all getting more and more snappish with each other, quick to blame and anger. Hurt feelings are everywhere and constant. I think we all need some space and silence.
In solidarity with my cranium, I was even going to refuse to post a picture this time. But I can't help myself. D.C. is just too good. Here we are at the White House, which is surrounded by gates and security. I was informed that there are also snipers on the roof, though we couldn't see them. We were also unable to get a tour, but we'll go for that next time. We have been able to get a personal tour of the Capitol building and get to go to the Supreme Court on Wednesday. We took a bus tour through a huge portion of the city and Arlington National Cemetery, but we've barely scratched the surface.
We have also been very lucky in D.C. to meet up with a few friends. That is always one of the very best parts of full time travel. I got to see a dear friend from High School, one of Henry's college pals and a friend I've had for over 15 years but never met in person! We have also gotten to meet up with friends who happen to be traveling. That is always a terrific surprise. I want to encourage our friends and family to let us know when they're traveling. Who knows? We might be close enough to swing by! ...but not today, okay? Today, I'm going to be napping.
No comments:
Post a Comment