Day 8 - He Be Illin'

 I guess as payback for spending 3 days on the beach, today (Tuesday) was yet another busy day.  The day started with us sleeping in a little in Richmond, partially to see if the extra rest helped Ethan feel better.  More on this later. 

After a quick stop to pick up a new SD card for the camera (we used up our original 4 GB card and don't really want to risk deleting the photos even though I believe they are copied to the laptop), we were on our way.  First stop - our annual pilgrimage to the American Girl Store, this time in Tyson's Corner, VA.  The boys were once again overcome with excitement, while Amanda could not have cared less.  OK, maybe I have that backwards.


Two hours after leaving Richmond we arrived at the store and Amanda and Debbie went in to see if they could get Amanda's doll's hair re-done.  Because as you all know, her doll has been complaining for months about her outdated hair style.  Luckily they were able to get right in, while the boys and I hung out at the outside tables of the American Girl Cafe. 



A new 'do for Jess

Two pretty girls

 After the new do was done, and we realized that meeting up with Uncle Eddie wasn't going to work out, we headed for lunch at Uncle Julio's Rio Grande Restaurant (no relation to Uncle Eddie) in Bethesda, MD.  This was on the recommendation of the Tucker clan, who raved about this place putting Pancho's to shame.  The meal was good, although either we didn't get the right things or the hype couldn't live up to the expectations, so while this didn't compare to Matt's dud-like experience at Lee's Hoagies last year, it wasn't quite the Earth-shattering meal of all time.  But no harm done, as we did enjoy it overall.

Fiesta time!

Shoot me now

After lunch (at this point it was nearly 4:00), we headed to Arlington National Cemetery.  The GPS took us through the streets of DC, so it took us a little while to get there.  We arrived shortly after 4:30 and headed in.  We got the map of the place from the info booth lady, who told us we could either walk the grounds or take a shuttle to and from some of the major landmarks (JFK grave, Tomb of the Unknown).  After deciding that walking would not be a great choice, we headed for the shuttle.  However, as we got to the shuttle the operator told us that we needed to buy tickets.  Might have been nice for the "info lady" to give me this piece of "info" when she told me about the shuttle.  So I ran to the main entrance to get the tickets, waited in line as a few morons, I mean other people, took a long time to pay, then ran back, only to find that the shuttle leaves every 20 minutes on the dot and we missed it.

The next shuttle left 20 minutes later (like I said, clockwork), and off to JFK's grave we rode.  Ethan wasn't in the mood to walk the 100 yards or so from where the shuttle sat (for exactly 8 minutes before it was going to leave) so we went in two shifts. 

JFK's Grave

I told them that maybe they shouldn't smile for
this picture.  So these are their "serious faces"

The first shuttle left before we were done, so we waited about 5 minutes for the next shuttle to arrive, then 8 minutes (did I mention they are quite anal about their schedule?) for them to take us to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  We got there right before the change was going to take place, so we hustled (mostly) to watch the ceremony.
 

After they were done, Ethan and I went to the bathroom while the rest of the group hung back a few extra minutes.  Ethan and I left the restroom a few minutes later and saw that the shuttle was there and likely leaving shortly.  But Debbie, Brian and Amanda weren't there yet so I called them.  The operator really wanted to leave, but that would have meant waiting another 20 minutes for the next one.  Debbie, Brian and Amanda appeared and ran (again, mostly) to the shuttle, which then took us back to the front.

Before heading to the hotel, we drove by the Iwo Jima monument to snap some pictures, then were finally off to the hotel. 

Iwo Jima Memorial

We arrived at the hotel a little after 7:00, I checked in, convinced the guy out front to let me load the cart myself to save us all time and headed up to our room.  Since we are at an Embassy Suites they have the Manager's Reception until 7:30, so Brian, Amanda and I ran down for a few snacks and drinks.  Since the group was tired and didn't really feel like venturing out, we ordered room service (which may have been the first, or maybe second, time we have ever done that on a trip).

Ethan ended up spending the day feeling lousy.  The only times he seemed to feel better was when we suggested that he should take some Tylenol.  You see, Ethan is likely the world's worst medicine taker.  He still has nightmares about the 45 minutes it took him to take some children's Advil when we were at Disney and he was little.  Say the words "we'll get you some medicine" and he pepped up.  When we got to the hotel room, we felt his head again and he did feel warm. Debbie ventured out to a nearby CVS where she talked to a very nice pharmacist who helped her decide what to do.  The decision was to get Tylenol tablets and a pill crusher and put them in some sort of fruity drink that would mask the medicine.  Debbie then found a smoothie drink and headed back to the room, where she used all of her might to mash up these pills for her little (or not so little) boy.  Evidently the combination of mashed up pills and smoothie was tolerable enough that Ethan actually drank it all, and his fever is already down a little.  We REALLY hope he gets all better soon, since DC is such a busy place where there will be lots of walking.

Anyway, regardless of how he feels, he is going to have to suck it up tomorrow morning, because at 9:45 a.m. the Volk Family is headed to the White House for a tour, thanks to Drew's cousin's daughter (not to be confused with Mike Wallace's barber - this is just a check to see if Derek is reading this).  We will have to play the rest of the day by ear depending on how he feels.  Off to get the kids to bed and do some work.