Nicholas and his crew of 6th graders were the youngest grant recipients of an almost 100K grant three years ago. They then used it in 7th grade to install solar panels. Along the way they were getting lots of local and regional press as well. In 8th grade, their school also refurbished their greenhouse, set up extensive recycling programs and then those remaining (4 classmates) won the Presidential Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) from the EPA. The EPA sent emails, they let us know bare minimum details, like what location and time to show up. We registered our ID's and SSN's in advance for the background checks and we all contemplated what it might be like to meet the President. After all he's a known science geek and it is the Presidential Award.
And then we didn't. So it was a let down of sorts to be in DC, at the White House and to "only" get to meet the Secretary of Education, the Assistant Director of the EPA and the White House's Science Advisor. Two of the three took questions. So while we can now say "we had lunch at the White House", it was really catered by Panera. Nicholas did get a marvelous plaque. There were two winners from each of 10 EPA districts, and let me tell you, there are some smart youth out there who are out to literally save the planet.
My daughter with her two year old was able to drive down to meet us. This enabled us to drive to Baltimore and hook up with Richard's cousin for breakfast, see the National Aquarium, and drive to Philly to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, all in the same day. Our trip to DC happened during the hottest days of the year with heat indexes of over 115 on some days, so we skipped all but the Lincoln Memorial and chose to focus on the air conditioned museums. We saw one National Gallery, the Museum of African American Art, the Smithsonian Air and Space and the Smithsonian Natural History museums during our stay.
Our second day we arrived to collect my husband's step dad Ben for a planned lunch, but he didn't feel like going out in the heat so we ended up spending an hour visiting in their home instead. I'm glad he appears to be in good health again after a lengthy rehab stay earlier in the year.
We had lovely meals! Great Thai food, Gadsby's Tavern, with terrific Colonial food, and Washington used to eat there. They dress in Colonial clothes as well. An old family friend took us there and then took the hubs and stepson on a private night tour of the monuments at night. We kept to our goal of public transit for the most part but on that searing hot day, we used cabs and Ûber to get around. The Metro stations are oddly like concrete bunkers. Nothing really pretty about them. And the trains themselves are really old. But they are Air Conditioned so no complaints!
We were also blessed to get a great hotel in DC thanks to our friend Jennifer Coken's recommendation. Our AirBNB choice that looked good on the inside had actually been in the very highest violent crime neighborhood of DC, so she urged us to reconsider. Avenue Suites was a great choice, and it was across the street from Trader Joe's and had a full kitchen. We met up with Jennifer for Sunday brunch at Acadania Restaurant, which was a Cajun love affair. Live Jazz as well! Plus we got her to autograph her new, funny but sad book about her mother's journey with ovarian cancer, "When I Die, Take my Panties". Available on Amazon kindle later this week, paperback is available now. Then we visited Joe Malone's for some perfume and Longchamps for window shopping.
Nicholas couldn't find the bow tie he wanted to wear, so we had agreed to get one for him in DC, and we found a delightful one at the Library of Congress, with red and blue books all over it. Very patriotic. We also were able to attend a tour of the Capital Building, which was chock full of interesting facts, but the Rotunda is still behind plywood for the next couple of weeks for repairs. We definitely enjoyed DC and would love to go back to see all of the memorials, but next time, we'll choose the time. Spring or Fall please:)
