Thursday, November 26, 2009

Slouching towards Thanksgiving….

Late Tuesday night we (T & I) were off to SFO to catch the red eye for Thanksgiving in Virginia (yes Christina there is a Virginia)

The extra daughter, feeder of cats and other animals, drove us, dropping us off at the appropriate gate… an hour and a half before out flight is scheduled to leave…
We were carrying half a case of wine, that needed to be checked… and had included the checked baggage when checking in… we went to the proper counter… all check in stations occupied… a short line, and a noticeable lack of any United Airlines Employees behind the counter… We had seen this before… on a previous United flight… again a busy evening… and all staff abandoned a counter with guest waiting, and waiting, and beginning to panic… After 10 minutes or so a porter tells us to go to a different counter… a general check-in counter, not the have boarding passes but needs to check bags counter… Again, all stations in use… at least there is an employee this time… Another employee sensing my frustration comes over… I believe a supervisor, and gets me served… then off to the security lines… which are quite long… We get through and get to the gate, as they are calling our boarding group…
We get seats and bin space… others don’t and have to gate check, some not receiving receipts for the bags… There has to be a better way to handle baggage and fees…

We arrive in DC about dawn, in a drippy fog… make our way across the airport… at Dulles this involves this involves shuttles that give you a second chance to experience de-boarding…

Our wine arrives without damage at the oversize item area, the daughter arrives within minutes of us going outside and off we go in to DC traffic…

Breakfast in an Alexandria cafĂ©… rendezvous with the nephew (we are staying at his condo, he is going to Michigan for Thanksgiving… ) Matt lives next to a metro station… We board the metro and go off to the Pentagon for a tour… (thanks to Jackie Spear.) The Pentagon has high security (who would have thought that?) We clear security, then go to the waiting area… then the tour… It’s a good tour, with various hall ways dedicated to military history and honoring various groups and events… the 9-11 memorial is small but powerful…

Leaving the Pentagon, we back track to the condo to pick up cameras and change… then off to DC

Metro to the Eastern Market where they have moved the food stalls back into the old brick building after the fire… In deference to Pikes they don’t throw fish here… but in one stall they were throwing turkey… not for show, but to move them from a cart to the cooler… we have Crab cake sandwiches… We look but there are no butternut squash in evidence.

From the market we walk to the Library of Congress… I need to get to upgrade my card, so we go over to the reader registration room… I get a new card and Tina gets a card… Steph already has a card… All now equipped with current cards we take Tina for a tour of the Jefferson Building… since we all have cards we can explore the Jefferson reading room, the “temple of books”

From the LOC we walk past the Capital, to the mall… then split up, I am want to spend time in a library, but they are closed… I spend a few minutes with “Jupiter” a 1876 steam locomotive I am fond of… we rendezvous at the Museum of Natural History, Then explore the Museum of American History… We last until closing, then walk over to the National Portrait Gallery, via the Navy Memorial…

From the Portrait Gallery, take Metro to Union Station for dinner at the Capital City Brewery… home via metro, then Steph and I go off in search of butter nut squash and more wine… I didn’t see a need to carry the champagne from California when it can be found here, and its always nice to have a back up bottle or two… There seems to be a shortage of butternut squash in the DC area… none found near California Maryland… only a couple of small ones at the Eastern Market in DC… and Safeway has none… couple of stops later we have both…

Now, next day, Lawton Virginia… at my niece’s house… The bird is in… the first bottle of champagne is open. There is food out on the counter… there are kids… my grand nieces and nephews under foot… its Thanksgiving as thanksgiving should be…

No comments:

Post a Comment