Day 9 - Nice Puppy

Today started out early as we had to be at the White House to meet Ari Isaacman, Drew's relative, at 9:45 for our 10:00 appointment.  Knowing that we are typically late for things, we made sure we left plenty of time to get there, so we had the kids up and ready and left the hotel arouind 9:15.  It was only a 15 minute walk, so we were actually on time.  A little before 10:00 Ari met us at the gate and got us through security.  We weren't really sure what to expect, and were surprised to learn that the tour is self-guided, so Ari went back to work while we went through a few more security checks and then entered the White House.

In one of the first areas, there we a lot of presidential portraits and as we were making our way around the corner one of the residents of the White House came running by.  Was it the president?  Nope.  The First Lady?  Nope.  The kids?  Again, nope.  It was Bo, the Obamas' dog.  He seemed to know where he was going and just ran by on his way wherever he was headed.  After that brush with greatness, we continued to view a bunch of the rooms - Vermeil Room, China Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room, Jungle Room (oops, sorry, that one was at Graceland).  On the tour you basically walk by the entrance of the room and peek in.  There are secret service agents in each room that serve as tour guides and they can pretty much answer any questions.  We went up one flight of stairs and saw the state dining room, and then we were pretty much done.  The upper floors where the president and his family live is off limits.  We were told that once the tours are done, typically in the early afternoon, they take down the ropes and the family has free reign of the place.

We left the White House, took some pictures outside (not allowed to take photos inside) and headed back to the hotel.  We had to go back because we were not allowed to bring any sort of bags to the White House, so Debbie didn't have her pocketbook and I didn't have the camera or backpack I usually bring during the day.

The rest of the day pretty much revolved around how Ethan felt.  Based on the level of his moaning and groaning, and how he felt chilled despite not having a fever and it being hot outside, we came to the conclusion that he must have the Bubonic Plague.  It's the only explanation for the way he looked and acted throughout the day.  To try and alleviate the symptoms of the Plague, we tried to get him to take some more Tylenol in a fruity drink.  There is a Starbucks across the street from the hotel (I know, I was stunned also), so we went in and got him some sort of mango drink that he said he liked.  Debbie had already crushed up a few pills, by now an expert on the pill crushing technique, and she mixed it into the drink.  Evidently, mixing crushed up Tylenol into a Starbucks mango drink turns the drink into something horrible, because he had trouble drinking it this time.  I won't get into too much detail on what happened next, but let's just say that whatever Tylenol he was able to drink didn't stay down long enough to take effect.  'Nuff said.

After this wonderful experience, he said he felt a little better, so we ventured towards Ford's Theater to check out where Lincoln was shot.  The good news with this place was that the tickets were free.  The bad news was that the theater itself was closed for renovations, so we couldn't see the actual spot where he was shot.  However, the museum was quite interesting, and most of the family took a keen interest in Honest Abe.  Amanda liked it so much that she bought a book on Lincoln to serve as the biography book she needs to read before school starts.


Only Lincoln enjoyed his time in Ford's Theater less than Ethan did

 

After Ford's Theater, we headed towards the International Spy Museum, which was pretty close by.  It was after 1:00, so we looked for someplace to eat, and kind of by default we just chose to eat at the cafe connected to the Spy Museum.  Nothing worth mentioning regarding the food at lunch.

At the Spy Museum they have a whole bunch of exhibits about the spy world, and they also have an interactive activity where you assume the role of a spy and act out a mission.  That sounded cool, until they described it as unsuitable for children under 12 (followed by tears from Amanda) and also something that contained motion simulators (would have invoked tears from Debbie had she tried it).  So we opted to just do the exhibits, which turned out fine.  When you enter they ask you to review a bunch of aliases, with background info, and the goal is to remember your alias for later in the museum where there were kiosks to test you.  Suffice it to say that I would not be a good spy and would have blown my cover after someone asked me about 3 questions.  The rest of the family would make excellent spies, which made me a little nervous.  We spent a good amount of time in the Spy Museum, and I think most of us found it interesting (I will let you decide based on what I have already written today who wasn't all that interested).  We wrapped up the Spy Museum with some purchases at the gift shop, and by then it was around 4:30. 

Master of Disguises

"Hey, I'm a Spy!  Put me in solitary where I can get some sleep!"

 We conferred with Patient Zero to see if he could walk someplace else or go to another museum and he said no.  So we walked back to the hotel to get the car with the idea of driving to or by some monuments then heading to Georgetown for dinner.  We were able to drive by the Washington Monument, but there was no place to park and it was starting to rain, so the photo op will have to wait for another day.  From there I started headed towards Georgetown by driving through George Washington University to see if I could spot where I lived when I interned here in 1987 for Sen. Mitchell.  I think I found the general area, but I wasn't sure and no one else in the car really cared, so I headed towards Georgetown.

The first stop in Georgetown was Georgetown Cupcake, the store that is the focus of a show on TLC.  We expected the place to be mobbed, but it wasn't and I was able to find a spot right next door.  Ethan stayed in the car while the rest of us went in to see what we wanted.  Debbie was thrilled to see that they had a gluten free chocolate cupcake so she got one of those (and a regular chocolate ganache one, just in case).  Brian and I opted for the chocolate coconut, while Amanda went for cookies and cream.  We got a chocolate one for Ethan, should he ever recover. 

This sign resulted in a happy customer

Happy customer #2

We decided to save them for dessert and then went to figure out where to eat.  I texted the Tuckers, my go-to source for all that is DC, and were given a few recommendations in Georgetown.  One of them, Clyde's, was only two blocks away, so we decided to go there.  This Tucker recommendation was a big step above the one in Bethesda, as Debbie and I shared crab cakes and a pasta dish, Brian had two appetizers (French onion soup and wings), Amanda had a burger for a change, and Ethan ordered soup.  I say ordered soup, as he had about 2 spoonfuls before he put his head on the table to rest.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel so the local Hazmat team could check out Ethan, while Debbie did some laundry and we tried to get some work done (although as I type this we are having problems with the printer, which will likely get fixed much later this evening making what could have been an early night a late one).  Oh, and we also ate the cupcakes.  While tasty, I am not sure they were so outstanding that they justify a whole TV show.  They were basically regular cupcakes with gobs of flavored frosting.

MMMMMMMMMMMMM

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Not really sure what we will do tomorrow.  A lot of it will depend on how Ethan feels (he just woke up and has a 101 temp, ugh).  The goal will be to hit a few more museums (Newseum, Air & Space maybe) and hopefully get to the monuments and memorials.