A Weekend with My Parents
This past weekend, my parents flew to Washington, D.C. from Kansas to visit Zach and me. We had a great time sightseeing in the nation’s capital.
After taking the metro train from DCA to our home near Chevy Chase, we waited for Zach to return home from Rockville, where he works for an environmental law firm. Once he got home, warm greetings were exchanged and I started cooking dinner, a creamy bell pepper soup with baked shrimp and buttery rolls on the side. Over dinner, we talked about the most interesting exotic pets, such as the peacock mantis shrimp. It kills its prey by giving it a fast punch.
On Day 2 of my parent’s visit, we explored the National Mall and China Town. We viewed the spectacular dresses each of the first ladies wore at inaugurations at the American History Museum. Right before the museum closed, we were able to watch a short documentary about the kids of all the US presidents. The presidents try to raise them to have a normal upbringing and keep their lives as private as possible. In China Town, we ate at the China Town Garden, a wonderful Asian restaurant where they serve steaming plates with savory Chinese fare.
On the final day of my parent’s trip, we went hiking in Rock Creek Park to view the orange and yellow Fall foliage. I showed my parents the beautiful bridge where Zach proposed and we discussed the history of another bridge in the park with the “human-sized” rocks- the original construction plans for the bridge said to make it out of hand-sized rocks. The word “hand” got smudged, and the contractor thought it said “human-sized” and made the bridge out of huge rocks. Another interesting tidbit about this bridge: Theodore Roosevelt would hike in Rock Creek Park with the French ambassador. One day, as he was standing on this bridge, he dropped his gold ring, a family heirloom, and it fell into the creek below. It was never found.
After our hike, we ate at the Italian Pizza Kitchen, where we enjoyed chicken parmesan, lasagna, chicken wings, and a shrimp caprese salad. Being on the restaurant’s charming outdoor terrace was enjoyable. Surrounded by ceramic pots with pink flowers while sitting at bistro tables with red and white checkered tablecloths, we spoke about how much we enjoyed our hike. After our nice dinner, we bought baklava at Shemali’s Market.
To end our fun day, we attended a National Symphony Orchestra performance at the Kennedy Center. A cellist performed with the orchestra and, after intermission, a Prokofiev symphony was played. During my childhood, my dad always enjoyed watching videos of performances at the Kennedy Center, so I think he enjoyed being there in person for the first time.
