"leaving on a jet plane" is not the title of this post

[pauraque_bk]

Tomorrow we're leaving on vacation to Washington DC for a week -- yay! The trip was planned before I started having this health issue, and after discussing it we decided to still go, with adjusted expectations of course. DC is a very walky place to visit so I might not be able to do everything, but whatever I can do should be fun.

It's been a long time since I was there last. It was actually in December of 2001, so some things were closed for security reasons. It was part of a trip I took with my then-girlfriend to visit some fandom-related places (the DC part being associated with The West Wing) allegedly for fic research purposes. As an extremely cynical and proudly unpatriotic 19 year old, I was a lot more impressed with the capital and all its monuments than I expected to be, and it pushed me in a direction of being more interested in American history, as well as being less of a little shit in various ways.

I'm excited to go back. I'm such a different person at 32 than I was at 19 (well, you'd hope so, wouldn't you?) and it'll be cool to revisit a place that, in retrospect, marked a real turning point in my turning from a dumb kid into a less-dumb adult.

Also, it'll be my birthday on Wednesday! Whee! :D

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

Comments

[writcraft]

That sounds like great fun! I hope you have a wonderful time, and happy birthday in advance in case I forget to say so on Wednesday.

[pauraque]

Thank you!

[torino10154]

Oh, have fun! The weather's pretty nice right now considering it's DC in August. LOL

And happy early birthday!

[pauraque]

It wasn't too bad! Monday was extremely hot (as you may recall) which made the rest of the week seem decent by comparison.

And thank you!

[melodyssister]

Ooh, what fun! As you know, I've just come back to Israel after a year in the suburbs of DC. My LJ has lots of descriptions of visits to museums, and maybe some of them will be helpful to you. Unfortunately I don't have a tag for DC, I should probably go back and add that, but not today :-)

My only advice for difficulties walking is to go slowly and take breaks, which I'm sure you've already thought of); the National Gallery of Art has a very nice restaurant, and a number of places where you can sit and look at the art.

[pauraque]

Unfortunately the Gallery of Art was one of the things we wanted to do but just ran out of time. DC is so packed full of interesting destinations that you'd need much more time than we had to see them all!

[thimble-kiss.livejournal.com]

Oh, what fun! Even though you can't do as much as you'd planned, just getting away to such an interesting place should be a lovely treat, and make for a different and memorable birthday celebration too!

By the way, I need to add that 'a little shit' is not how I remember you at that age, but maybe that was right after you'd been humbled by historical significance. ;)

I have a half-finished (or at least started) email to you in my drafts. I had my cousin visiting for a week the last time we emailed and... well, I just suck. Anyway, have a lovely, lovely week away, all of you. :)

[pauraque]

I think when we met it was after that trip, but not too long after. You can thank President Lincoln for reforming me slightly so that I'd be presentable enough for my XF de-lurking. :)

Aw, you don't suck. The fact is that even if you'd emailed me before this, I probably wouldn't have answered by this time anyway, given how behind I've been on everything. Though of course I look forward to hearing from you whenever you do have the time!

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

This post resonates with me so much. The last time I was in DC, I was 19, too, and didn't give a damn about DC until I found myself standing slack-jawed in front of the Lincoln monument, thinking, "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!"

I hope you have a fantastic time. Be safe!

[pauraque]

until I found myself standing slack-jawed in front of the Lincoln monument, thinking, "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!"

This describes my exact experience at 19! It really is an extraordinary monument to an exceptional person. When we were there the other day, I saw people wiping away tears.

[akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday a few days early! I hope you find the trip just as interesting this time around and that the health business doesn't curtail you too much. Regardless, this is probably just what the three of you need after the summer you've had. Enjoy!

[pauraque]

Thanks, we had a great time!