back in d.c.

got a call yesterday (thursday) from our dispatcher. one of our coaches (the same one i take the team on road trips in) had blown the turbo and they wanted to know if i would take our newest coach up to washington and when the repairs are made on the other one, bring it home. i had my son with me at the time so i had to call his mother and make sure it was ok. we packed and headed out the door and within a few hours we were on our way.

this was my 4^th trip to washington this year. in earlier posts, i have mentioned my love for the washington area. it was and still is, my dream to take all of my children (4) up there for a week and show them the area. i was excited as was my son. i had told him many times before how badly i wanted to take them and he was as excited as i have seen any kid. only problem was as soon as the repairs were made we were to head back home. after several phone calls, the owner told me i had to take my son to d.c. for a day so he could see it. When your boss tells you something like this, you do it. i am very thankful to be working for a very family oriented boss.

with blessings from the boss, all i needed was the coach as by now the other driver had picked up the one i came up in. mid afternoon friday, the shop called and said the coach had been repaired and ready to be picked up. i called a cab, picked up the coach and we were headed to d.c.!!!

let me back up. we stayed in manassas, va. which is about 30 minutes from d.c. the whole trip from manassas to d.c. was “wide eyed wonder” and i was so happy to be able to do this. we started off with the white house, went to the capital, jefferson memorial, washington monument, and drove by countless others. we were trying to figure out what to do about dinner so we ended up at union station. we stayed in dc about 4 hours decided we would have to come back tomorrow and do it again.

the next day, there was some special event on the mall so we went to the lincoln, drove around some more and finally ended up at Arlington National Cemetery. we walked around for a while and went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. we got there about 10 minutes before the changing of the guard and we decided to stay for that. watching to changing is very impressive and i could tell my son was too. as we were leaving, he attempted his best “heel clicks” like they do and i felt a warmth rush thru me. it was a moment in time that you know will be remembered for a lifetime. i knew this trip left had impressions on a young mind.

after this, we both knew it was time to go home. i was sad and began to feel my eyes “sweat”. Arlington always does that to me. i am so grateful for what these men and women did for me and this great country. as we walked, for the most part it was silence. in the words of a series of commercials, this moment was “priceless”.

until next time…