The Fourth
The Fourth of July and Washington, DC. Does anything go better together? As I thought of it before, I had visions of sprawling out on a blanket in the grass, watching beautiful fireworks exploding above the Capitol or the Washington Monument. But as we talked to more seasoned Washingtonians about the fireworks display on the National Mall, we were met with looks that said, "Awww, how cute, the little Okies think they can just mosey on over to the Mall, park their car, enjoy a good old-fashioned leisurely fireworks display, and drive right on back home," followed by much head-shaking and warning of the nightmare that is downtown Washington on Independence Day.
Still, we moved to DC, and we want to experience the best it has to offer while we're here. We didn't really make up our minds whether to brave the Mall until that day. Someone had suggested to us that if we wanted to get a good spot and make the experience bearable, we'd need to go in the morning and camp out all day. We didn't think that would be a great idea with all our kids, so we spent a relaxing morning at home, kids playing in the inflatable pool, and had a late cookout for lunch complete with our traditional Sparks Fourth-of-July hot links and homemade potato salad.
After the kids rested, we headed toward Capitol Hill around 5:30. We took advantage of Harvey's parking spot in the congressional staff garage, and although it took us a couple of laps around his building to find an open entrance, we made it inside and easily found a spot.
From there we walked a few blocks to get to the entrance of the Capitol grounds, where security was set up. Once we got in, we found a cool, shady spot in the grass on the Capitol's west lawn facing the stage for the Capitol Fourth concert, which was hosted by Tom Bergeron (of Dancing with the Stars and more important, America's Funniest Home Videos, fame) and included performances by Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, and Scotty McCreery (some of our favorites!) and orchestral music from Lincoln directed by John Williams (that one is seriously cool to me). Maybe not the lineup I would choose, but I can't deny that it's always fun to sing and dance along with "Can't Smile Without You" and "Sweet Caroline." Our kids had an unofficial dance competition, with Harvey giving out scores. I think Judah won.
http://www.pbs.org/capitolfourth
The only hitch of the night was the fact that the fireworks began unannounced right in the middle of one Megan Hilty's performances. We noticed that people were getting up and rushing away from the lawn, and then we started to hear the firework booms. We looked up and realized that our view was blocked by the cluster of trees (which had so graciously provided our shade) in front of us. So we picked up our things and we headed to another spot on the lawn where there was a high clearing in the trees that provided a view of the fireworks exploding above the top of the Washington Monument. All the people left on the lawn were gathered in a rough line for that view. We watched as the orchestra played "Stars and Stripes Forever," and I relished the moment. This is what we'd come for!
Getting back to the car was pretty quick, although we had to go inside one of the house office buildings to pass through security before we could reenter the garage. Traffic was light, and we got home quickly, which was a good thing because we still had our own fireworks to do.
On our drive home, everywhere we looked people were setting off fireworks in the street. I don't know if it's legal to use them in the city or if it's illegal but unenforced (we saw plenty of police on patrol but none of them stopping to write tickets or even ask people to quit), but it was quite a sight, something we never saw in Oklahoma City or Tulsa. So we got home, made the kids some popcorn, sat them down on the porch, and lit up the fireworks Benjamin had bought with his birthday money. This was fun for me too, something our family hadn't done before and I didn't do growing up either. What is it about fire and sparkling lights that's so magical and exciting? I can't explain it, but it was.
The whole weekend was great, the perfect mix of relaxing and making fun memories. Harvey was off on Thursday and Friday, so it was essentially a four-day weekend for us. I got an afternoon to myself for shopping and Starbucks, we took the kids to a movie Friday evening, and Sunday we attended our first church picnic at Temple Hills.
Maybe the most exciting news from the weekend for me is that we now have AC! Oh, had I not mentioned that our cute little house had no air-conditioning? If not, it took a lot of discipline on my part, because for about the last four weeks, my mind (and my body) has been keenly aware of it, day and night, inescapably. We first tried fans, and that helped a little bit, for a little while. But it's hot here. And humid. Perhaps not quite as hot as Tulsa, but in Tulsa we had AC, so the heat wasn't so brutal for me there. This no-AC thing was taking me back to Africa, Mozambique heat: Cold showers feeling refreshing rather than uncomfortable. Not drinking my beloved hot coffee any other time of day than early morning. No makeup (yes, even for me)! No desire to cook because cooking just adds extra heat.
I feel like I was pretty restrained in my complaining, and I was going to stick it out without insisting on buying window units. But my gracious husband still noticed my discomfort (I said pretty restrained, not completely) and made the trip to Home Depot on Saturday. Now we have window units in Ben's room (that was the only one already in the house), Gracie and Judah's room, and the living room, which really helps cool the whole main level, including the kitchen. Such a relief!
Our bedroom is in the basement, which naturally stays a little cooler than the rest of the house, so no window unit there. Harvey is trying his own experiments on homemade air-conditioning down there, which may or may not involve a styrofoam cooler with holes cut in the lid and milk jugs of ice. We'll see how that goes. But I'm satisfied for now.
And I'm satisfied all-around with our first Fourth in DC. Just hoping Barry Manilow is back next year!
Still, we moved to DC, and we want to experience the best it has to offer while we're here. We didn't really make up our minds whether to brave the Mall until that day. Someone had suggested to us that if we wanted to get a good spot and make the experience bearable, we'd need to go in the morning and camp out all day. We didn't think that would be a great idea with all our kids, so we spent a relaxing morning at home, kids playing in the inflatable pool, and had a late cookout for lunch complete with our traditional Sparks Fourth-of-July hot links and homemade potato salad.
After the kids rested, we headed toward Capitol Hill around 5:30. We took advantage of Harvey's parking spot in the congressional staff garage, and although it took us a couple of laps around his building to find an open entrance, we made it inside and easily found a spot.
From there we walked a few blocks to get to the entrance of the Capitol grounds, where security was set up. Once we got in, we found a cool, shady spot in the grass on the Capitol's west lawn facing the stage for the Capitol Fourth concert, which was hosted by Tom Bergeron (of Dancing with the Stars and more important, America's Funniest Home Videos, fame) and included performances by Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, and Scotty McCreery (some of our favorites!) and orchestral music from Lincoln directed by John Williams (that one is seriously cool to me). Maybe not the lineup I would choose, but I can't deny that it's always fun to sing and dance along with "Can't Smile Without You" and "Sweet Caroline." Our kids had an unofficial dance competition, with Harvey giving out scores. I think Judah won.
http://www.pbs.org/capitolfourth
 |
| Our little firecrackers |
 |
| Practicing her ooohs and ahhhs |
 |
| Happy Fourth! |
 |
| Our view from the Capitol lawn, not bad! |
On our drive home, everywhere we looked people were setting off fireworks in the street. I don't know if it's legal to use them in the city or if it's illegal but unenforced (we saw plenty of police on patrol but none of them stopping to write tickets or even ask people to quit), but it was quite a sight, something we never saw in Oklahoma City or Tulsa. So we got home, made the kids some popcorn, sat them down on the porch, and lit up the fireworks Benjamin had bought with his birthday money. This was fun for me too, something our family hadn't done before and I didn't do growing up either. What is it about fire and sparkling lights that's so magical and exciting? I can't explain it, but it was.
The whole weekend was great, the perfect mix of relaxing and making fun memories. Harvey was off on Thursday and Friday, so it was essentially a four-day weekend for us. I got an afternoon to myself for shopping and Starbucks, we took the kids to a movie Friday evening, and Sunday we attended our first church picnic at Temple Hills.
Maybe the most exciting news from the weekend for me is that we now have AC! Oh, had I not mentioned that our cute little house had no air-conditioning? If not, it took a lot of discipline on my part, because for about the last four weeks, my mind (and my body) has been keenly aware of it, day and night, inescapably. We first tried fans, and that helped a little bit, for a little while. But it's hot here. And humid. Perhaps not quite as hot as Tulsa, but in Tulsa we had AC, so the heat wasn't so brutal for me there. This no-AC thing was taking me back to Africa, Mozambique heat: Cold showers feeling refreshing rather than uncomfortable. Not drinking my beloved hot coffee any other time of day than early morning. No makeup (yes, even for me)! No desire to cook because cooking just adds extra heat.
 |
| My new summer look: Bareface Chic |
Our bedroom is in the basement, which naturally stays a little cooler than the rest of the house, so no window unit there. Harvey is trying his own experiments on homemade air-conditioning down there, which may or may not involve a styrofoam cooler with holes cut in the lid and milk jugs of ice. We'll see how that goes. But I'm satisfied for now.
And I'm satisfied all-around with our first Fourth in DC. Just hoping Barry Manilow is back next year!
Comments
Post a Comment