Washington DC, Part 2 and a Meet Up!

My friends, welcome to the final day of my travelogue. I figure, since the trip only took five days to actually take, it shouldn't take more than five days to retell!

I give you - our second, and final, day in Washington DC.

It started off harmlessly enough - we got to the train station at just the right time, and were able to score parking spots right away. We bought our all-day passes and set off on the train.

When we disembarked in DC, and came up the escalators, we passed by a man sitting on a fence. Not too odd, considering it was 10:30 in the morning and already rather hot. What was weird was that when SukGung4 sneezed as we walked past the man, the man then pretended to sneeze back, call SukGung some names, and laugh. Umm...hi. Are we in first grade again?! SukGung4 didn't take it well - he had his daughters and his wife and most of his extended family with him, and didn't feel like being laughed at. He yelled a few things at the man...and the rest of us just kept on walking, hoping the (rather larger) man wasn't going to follow us.

Luckily, he didn't. Welcome to DC, y'all.

We went The Other Way on Thursday. We saw the Arlington National Cemetery. BBJ was not impressed. She threw fits, and screamed...and I was embarrassed. Finally, I showed her the rows and rows of gravestones, and told her that was where the soldiers were "sleeping" and if she screamed, she'd wake them up.

She was quiet after that. Heh.

As we were leaving, we saw A Group coming down the road. It was at least a dozen motorcycles, with flags of all types. They were part of a funeral procession, and this little group of Harley Baddies were committed to seeing their fellow serviceman off in style. I loved it!

After that, it was time for a quick lunch, and then it was off to meet the Senator of Utah...or at least one of his aides. Lo Gung's family had arranged a tour of the capitol, free if you contact your senator's office. It was pretty spiffy!

We got sweet little name tags...

....and got to ride on a private, underground little tram.

We saw the statue "Justice", or a replica of her. (The real one is 19' tall and gold and lives on top of the Capitol Building.)

We got to see the old part of the capitol. This chandelier, as the story goes, was several thousand dollars when purchased, and is now worth millions. It is jokingly called the Best Investment the government ever made. Heh.

Here's...someone. Each state is represented by two statues in the Capitol Building. This guy represents Washington State. WOOT. (He was some sort of pioneer doctor.)

Any guesses as to which state Brigham Young represents?

By the time our tour was over, we had missed the hottest part of the day (thank goodness!) and it was time to head to Ben's Chili Bowl. We had previously arranged to meet up with some friends there, at the suggestion of some other friends who let us crash in their basement while we were in DC. (Can I just get a WAHOO for friends who haven't seen you in 7 years, NEVER met your wife or kids, but are willing to turn over their ENTIRE basement to you so that your toddler actually gets a good night sleep?! Thanks a MILLION, guys!)

First off, Ben's Chili Bowl is sort of an Institution in the DC area. It was the ONLY restaurant to remain open on the street during the riots after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. It survived the building of the subway underneath it. Bill Cosby eats free there, he's been so many times. Bill held the monopoly on that honor...until this past Winter when President Obama stopped in for a quick lunch and asked, "What's a half smoke?" (BTW, if you ever go to Ben's Chili Bowl...you want the Half Smoke. Trust me. It's a grilled breakfast sausage, covered in chili. OM NOM NOM.)

How do I know all of this? Our group of 15 could only fit into the back room...which happened to be already reserved for a group of student missionaries who had a whole historical PRESENTATION lined up, complete with a video. We got to learn a lot about the history of Ben's Chili Bowl.

(Chili Cheese Fries. Om-worthy!)

Now, who did we meet? Oh, you might have heard of her - just Tonggu Momma, Tonggu Daddy, and the illustrious Tongginator, herself! She even wrote about our encounter, here.

(The Tonggu clan is conveniently hidden behind a Whole Lotta LoLo's)

(Just to prove they were there...well, you'll have to trust me that it's them. I blurred the faces out to protect their anonymity. Wouldn't want TongguMomma to be mobbed on the streets, y'all!)

I had a GREAT time meeting the Tonggu Clan. I made a promise to Tonggu Momma, when I first found her blog, that if I ever met her...I would promise to like her more than Tonggu Daddy. (Her post that day stated that this wasn't usually the case.) I can proudly say...Tonggu Momma, I prefer your company. (If only because Mr. Energizer Bunny History Dude wouldn't let us get a word in edgewise. Guess we'll have to have another meet up soon where we can actually talk!)

After dinner, we all headed off to the train station, as we all had at least an hour to go until we could get our toddlers to bed. As we waited for our trains, going opposite directions, we had a little impromptu Dance Party, right there on the platform. You see, Miss T and Miss BBJ were both wearing dresses...so it really couldn't be helped.

The competition was a draw.

(TM, thanks again for meeting up with us! It was really lovely to finally meet you...and I have MAJOR bragging rights with lots of other friends right now. BWAHAHAHAHA.)

As we left the next morning, we stopped off at the Washington DC LDS Temple Visitor's Center. I was lucky to find a sister missionary who knew my brother (who is currently serving in the Washington DC North Mission) and I was able to leave a note for him, complete with "drawings" from his niece.

It was a FANTASTIC trip. The kids were as good as could be expected, and Siu Jeun was better than expected. We got to spend time with a side of the family that hasn't seen us since BBJ was 9 months old, and we all just had a blast!