A Capitol Fourth

Another exciting thing we got to participate in this summer was A Capitol Fourth--the big annual concert and fireworks display held on the west lawn.

When Margie was growing up, the Fourth of July was her favorite holiday of the year.  Everyone would go down to the lake, and we'd have a picnic with Lion's Club chicken (the best ever) and Mom's yummy potato salad.  Margie and her brother John would get to pick one piece of candy from the concession stand, and Margie would always pick a watermelon flavored Jolly Rancher (back in the days when you got one big slab, rather than the little pocket sized ones you get today).  We always brought our swimming suit, hoping to go swimming in the lake, but it was never hot enough that early in the summer.

When it got dark, we'd watch the fireworks put on by the Lion's Club (up close and reflected in the water--there was nothing like it!).  Then we'd go home, have hot chocolate, and light sparklers on the back porch.  It was a great time and a great tradition, and it was always the one day of the year Margie got homesick when she moved away.

Fast forward many, many years, and when Margie first moved to Virginia, she thought it would be fun to participate in the celebrations around town.  After all, it's our Nation's Capitol!  This should be the best show in the country!  But she soon learned that July 4th in Virginia is nothing like Oregon.  Rather than being cool (and maybe even a little chilly), it was hot and sticky and gross!  After a few years, she gave up celebrating Independence Day and preferred to stay indoors in the air conditioning.  It always made her a little sad that her children did not grow up with a wonderful tradition like she had on this important day.

Well, this year we were fortunate enough to participate in something that hopefully made a lasting impression on the kids.  We actually got to be in the show!  Here's how it went down.

As usual, we had nothing planned for the Fourth, so when a theatre friend posted on Facebook that they were looking for a few extras to roll out a giant flag at the concert (in celebration of the 125th anniversary of The Star Spangled Banner), Margie readily volunteered.  She started to ask if, in return, the whole family could get reserved seats at the concert, when the thought occurred to her--  Heck, the kids are pretty old now. Why can't we all do it?  She asked, and they said YES!

The morning of July 3, before heading out on her daily bike ride, Margie went into the city to pick up everyone's credentials--a lanyard and badge we were required to wear, a parking pass, and instructions. It seemed impossible to find a parking space anywhere close to the event trailer, when she realized--"Hey, I have my bike on the back of my car!" So she parked a few blocks away and rode in.  Easy peasy.

That afternoon, we all drove into the city for rehearsal.  Luckily, since Margie had been there in the morning, we knew pretty much where to go.  Except it wasn't quite clear where the parking lot was.  We had left early enough, though, that our getting slightly lost didn't make us late.

From our parking spot, we had to walk a couple of blocks to get to the event trailer.  And it was hot.  And sticky.  And yucky.  But we persevered in the name of adventure!

The entire area was sectioned off with crowd control tape, and there were police officers everywhere.  At one point Margie stopped to ask a policeman how to get from here to there.  He said, "This area is not open to the public."  She said, "But I need to get to the event trailer."  He said, more sternly, "This area is not open to the public."  Margie waved her badge and said, "But I'm not public!!" At that point Dan gently pointed her in a different direction and said, "Just keep walking. We'll find another way."  Good thing Dan is always around to calm her down!  LOL

Eventually we made it to where we needed to be--flashing our badges as necessary to get through the tape.  We, along with several other volunteers, waited outside the trailer in the heat for our coordinator, Lamont. The minute he walked outside and saw us he said, "Oh, this won't do.  We need to get you someplace more comfortable."  And that was the beginning of our royal treatment!  We were so impressed with how well we were treated and looked out for by all the staff over the next two days.  It was amazing!!!

Lamont led us to the Food Tent, which was the only shaded area big enough for all of us (they were hoping for 30--I think they had 18 that first day).  Lunch was still set out, and at first we thought it wasn't for us, but Lamont told us to eat, drink, and make ourselves comfortable.  They would call us for rehearsal when they were ready.

Dan chilling out in the Food Tent.

Eventually they led us to where we would be doing the unrolling--on a large landing on the steps of the Capitol.  We were introduced to a guy from Kivett Productions, which are exclusively in the business of renting giant flags.  Who knew?!  Anyway, he trained us on how to unroll it, how to hold it, and how to fold it back up--being very careful not to touch the ground.

After our training, Lamont announced that, unfortunately, the kids would not be able to participate (our were not the only ones there).  They simply were not strong enough to keep the flag from falling down.  The kids were disappointed, but agreed that it was a tough job.  After the actual performance, Dan and Margie realized that yes, the kids definitely could not have done it.  We had to hold that thing for a really long time!!  But more on that in a minute.

Anyway, the plan was, after we practiced a couple times and learned the technique, to do it officially during the dress rehearsal later that night.

One of the other volunteers took this picture of her friend (in the middle) while we were practicing, and Margie asked if she could have a copy, too.  Margie is on the right in the white hat.

Unfortunately, the weather turned and it started to rain.  At first, they had us wait out the storm in the U.S. Botanical Gardens--an actual building that would keep us safer from the lightning than the tents (the wind was blowing the rain sideways into the tents anyway).  The lightning passed, but the rain did not.  They were able to carry on with the dress rehearsal, but not our part, since they did not want to get the flag wet.

Before we got sent home, however, we got to eat dinner, and it was amazing.  All you can eat, restaurant quality food, with lots and lots of vegetarian options.  Quite a difference from the mediocre food and service that Dan and Margie had endured at Bike Virginia! 

The next day, we headed into the District for the real deal.  This time, we knew exactly where we were going, and when we got to the VIP gate, the security officer gave us "the nod" and let us in even before the VIP guests.  It was pretty exciting!

We headed to the event tent, and this time, while we were waiting for Lamont, the staff offered us ice cream.  Again we were amazed at how well we were treated!

Lamont handed out the matching T-shirts we would be wearing for the performance (we were also supposed to wear caps, but there was objection, since we would be holding the flag during the National Anthem), and we again headed to the Food Tent.  There we learned that the performance had been changed due to the camera angles.  We would not be unrolling it on camera, we would not be angling it as we had practiced, and the flag would be facing a different direction than it was during rehearsal.  Also, because the flag was so heavy, and they had taken out several kids, there were not enough people to hold it, so they asked for volunteers from the audience to help out.  Margie was slightly miffed that the family had put so much time and effort into the performance, and the audience volunteers just had to show up, but then she remembered that THEY had be receiving the royal, VIP treatment for two days, and the audience volunteers didn't!

Anyway, we ate another fabulous, amazing, restaurant quality meal, and then the kids went to sit in the concert viewing area with our renter, Braxton, and his girlfriend, Dani.  One of the benefits of performing was we got VIP seating with an actual chair for the concert, along with members of Congress and other special guests (including OUR guests!).  Then Dan and Margie headed up to the steps of the Capitol to await the performance!

Waiting for the concert to begin!

This would probably be a good place to mention that the weather was AMAZING.  I doubt if there has been another Virginia 4th of July like it.  Not too hot, and zero humidity!!!

Anyway, we unfurled the flag as the concert began, holding it taut through all the opening announcements and the entire National Anthem.  It was about 8 minutes total, and it HURT!  Our hands were sore and cramped by the time we were done.  From where Margie was standing, she had a direct view of the JumboTron, and she was able to see that our hard work was on TV for about a millisecond!!!  Argh!!  All that work for practically nothing.  I guess that's TV for you!  When we got home, we watched it on TV, and we were able to pause it at just the right moment to get his picture:

The final presentation.

Not too much fame, but it was totally worth it!!!  We had a super great time.

When we were done, Margie and Dan joined the kids in the VIP seating area for the concert, including Frankie Vallie, Patti LaBelle, Philip Phillips, and more.

We took a snapshot to prove how close were were to the stage!

Then, of course, came the fireworks.  We were not as close as thought we would be, as they were fired from the Washington Monument, but it was still a great show, with great music.  The kids, and John especially, LOVED them.  It occurred to Margie that these were perhaps the first fireworks display they had every really seen, and she again felt that pang of guilt for having abandoned celebrating all those years ago.

Well, at least now the kids have some great memories.  Perhaps we will have a chance to make more before they leave home.

Happy Fourth!

BONUS:

Margie used to blast this song on the stereo and sing at the top of her lungs every year on the 4th of July, replacing Hannibal, Mooooo-ssouri with Lake Oswegooooo--Oregon!  The holiday is just not the same without it.  :o)

Dan and Margie's Big Trip

Well, summer is almost over and school is right around the corner, so I better get working on my backlog of updates!  First up, all about Dan and Margie's big trip...

To start with a little background, you may remember that ever since she turned 40, Margie has gone on some big adventure every year around her birthday.  It started with a triathlon and has since grown to include shaving her head, completing a century (100 mile) bike ride, and more.  For years, she has wanted to participate in Bike Virginia, which is a multi-day biking and camping tour held in a different location in the state each year.

This year, Margie finally convinced Dan to join her.

Also, Margie's dad and his wife visited this past fall, and while they were here they spent a weekend at the Marl Inn, a quaint bed and breakfast in Yorktown.  They loved it so much that for Christmas, they gifted Dan and Margie a 2-night stay there.

As it happens, this year's Bike Virginia was held just about an hour away from Yorktown, so we decided to combine the two and go on a little get away vacation, part rustic and part luxury.

Bike Virginia started Friday, June 20, which was the last day of school, so we figured we would just send the kids off to relatives for a few days and that would be that.

There was only one problem:  SNOW.

It snowed so much this year that the school board added three days to the end of the calendar, which meant that the kids had to stay home.  With our vacation already bought and paid for, however, we had no choice but to rally the troops for help in keeping an eye on them and making sure the kids got where they needed to be.

We sent an email to all of our local friends and relatives, and from the responses we received we put together a plan.  They aren't kidding when they say, "It takes a village to rase a child"!

So below are the details of our adventure--both Dan and Margie's on the road, and John and Lyn's here at home.  Enjoy!

Friday, June 20

The kids left for school, and Margie had an early morning appointment, so we couldn't leave until the early afternoon.  Lyn was scheduled to go over to a friend's house for a sleepover birthday party after school, but she wasn't allowed to bring a backpack or any personal items to school (even though there were three days left of school, they had cleaned out the lockers and didn't need any books).  So on our way out of town, we dropped off Lyn's gear and the birthday present at her friend's house.

It turned out it was a good thing we did that, because it put us on the other side of town, causing us to take a different route down south than we had planned.  The original route was wall-to-wall traffic, so by going this other way, we were able to avoid most of that.

It took us about three hours, and we arrived at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, Virginia, parked, attended the required orientation, and checked in.  There was a transport vehicle to haul our gear to the campsite, and we hopped on our bikes to ride into the park.  Only there was a problem.  Margie's rear hub was frozen!! This meant that the chain immediately fell off as soon as she stopped pedaling (I know it seems like the solution would be to just keep pedaling, but you quickly find out that it is impossible to do when you need to slow down.)

One of the other bikers saw her situation and said there was a mechanic in vendor row, just inside the park, so Margie walked her bike over there, while Dan went on ahead and set up camp.  The thought crossed our minds that this was going to be a very short bike trip!

Luckily, the mechanic knew exactly what was wrong and fixed it right up.  Whew!

Once we were all settled in, we headed over to the food tent.  Dinner was good, but more expensive than it was worth. We called it a night, sweaty and tired.  It was so hot and humid, and we wondered whether we'd sleep.

Meanwhile back at home, Lyn went to her party, and John came home, got himself some dinner, and went to bed.  It's hard to believe he's grown up enough to do this!  Luckily, he wasn't all alone in the house.  We had two adult renters in the house at the time, and they were able to keep an eye on him, and, most importantly, make sure he turned off the stove!

Saturday, June 21

After a rough night of pouring rain, Dan and Margie hit the road under cloudy skies at about 7:15am. I don't know if it was the lack of sleep, the lasagne they fed us the night before, or the extraordinarily thick humidity, but it was the hardest 34 miles Margie had ever ridden--and this was someone who had successfully completed a 100 mile ride!!!  Both of us were nearly done in. Still, it was a lovely ride through the rolling hills (perhaps another reason it was so hard?), with just a light sprinkle of rain, and clear skies by the time we made it back to camp. After lunch (much better than dinner had been), we headed to the pool, where we spent the afternoon relaxing and cooling off. Then it was back to camp for dinner (another disappointment) and a relaxing evening. It was a hard day, but we had a great time!

Our little piece of tent city.

Meanwhile, back at home, John's piano teacher was scheduled to come in the morning to work with him.  Unfortunately, he overslept and didn't hear her when she knocked.  Argh!  We felt terrible that she had driven all that way, early on a Saturday, for nothing.

Lyn went yard saling with her friend on the way back to the house, and that evening, Katie Fewkes, a friend of Margie's from church brought the kids dinner, and then at some point they got themselves to bed.

 Sunday, June 22

For Dan and Margie, Saturday night was much better without the rain. We broke camp around 8am,  undertook the somewhat arduous task of transporting everything back to our car, and then they hit the road! We stopped in Williamburg at a lovely little restaurant for brunch (called Victoria's--if you're ever in the area, we highly recommend it!), then made their way to the B&B in Yorktown. After a much needed shower (clean bodies!), and an equally needed nap (clean sheets!), we headed to the grocery store. After a delicious, homemade dinner, we walked down to the riverfront. Who knew they had sandy beaches there? It was absolutely delightful.

Heading down to the waterfront.

By the angle of light, Margie predicted it was going to be a beautiful place to catch the sunrise, so she resolved to do so before she left.

Meanwhile, back at home, one of our renters, La'Vonne, (made sure they were up and) brought the kids to and from church.  That evening, more friends of ours from church, the Rosenberg's, came to pick up the kids and take them to a party for a mutual friend who was moving away.  They also picked up John's camping gear, as he was leaving for boy scout camp (Camp Rodney) early the next morning, and they agreed to let him stay at their house that night.

After the party, our neighbor, Tran, brought Lyn home, and she managed to get herself to bed.

Monday, June 23

Monday morning, Dan and Margie started the day with a leisurely bike ride through the battlefields of Yorktown. It was lovely! Then Dan made us some brunch back at the B&B. Afterwards, we drove out to Jamestown to ride the ferry. Margie was thrilled to get actually get Dan on a boat!  It was so beautiful. 

Dan actually got on a boat!

After a short nap, we headed to Williamsburg for dinner at Food For Thought, one of the top rated vegetarian-friendly restaurants in all of Virginia.  The food, service and atmosphere were amazing. When we got back, Margie turned in early so she could catch the sunrise before heading home.

Meanwhile, John, having stayed the night at the Rosenberg's, left early in the morning for Boy Scout camp, and Lyn got herself to and from school.  That evening a friend of ours from the theater, Jennifer Lyman, took Lyn out for a girls night out.  They went to a mediterranean place for dinner and then saw the movie, Belle.  Lyn had a great time!

Tuesday, June 24

On our last day, Margie got up pre-dawn (sans hubby, who is not a morning person) to catch the sunrise on the river. It was worth it!! 

Can I spend every morning here?

She waded in the sandy beach, biked around the park and parts of historic Yorktown that we hadn't seen. It was a glorious way to end our time there. She got back to the B&B to clean up, eat, and pack up. On the way out of town, we stopped at Duck Donuts, which we had heard so much about.

We had a tough time taking this selfie and getting us, the donuts, and the sign!

We were somewhat disappointed, though, as we thought it was going to be more like the famed Voodoo Donuts in Portland.

Meanwhile, Lyn again got herself to and from school, and, later, Dan and Margie arrived safely back at home.

What an awesome trip!