Disaster Averted!

On Sunday, I ran the MCM 10k (6.2 miles. Woo-hoo!).  This was part of the much bigger Marine Corps Marathon.  The expo to go pick up your bib number and goody bag was available the two days before the race, on Friday and Saturday.  My friend Amy had registered for the 10k run as well and we had decided a few weeks in advance to go on Friday afternoon to pick up our race stuff.  Saturday was booked solid with activities and not an option to go.

Amy and I were going to make this an adventure.  After her child and mine got out of school, we'd meet up at a central location, take all 4 kids on the metro, hit the expo (located at the Washington Convention Center in N.W. D.C.), have dinner, and then make our way back home.  Sounds like a fun time, right?

It took my husband's brains and foresight when he heard this plan, just the evening before, to reason with me and decide this was a disaster in the making.  For one thing, we would need to switch trains on the metro.  Plus, there are no kid friendly restaurants near the Washington Convention Center.  And to top it off, we are doing all of this during the height of rush hour in the Washington, D.C. Metro area. 

Now, I consider myself somewhat fearless when it comes to taking the kids places.  Like I've mentioned many times before, I will try everything once and then decide if it was a success to be repeated or not.  However, this just wasn't me attempting this field trip, it was Amy and her two kids too.  And, Amy wasn't even going to be able to run on Sunday. She has some knee issues that she is dealing with and has been sidelined from any races.

I heard what Jeff was saying and in a rare moment of clarity (on my part), agreed with him and said we needed a new plan.

PLAN B:

Drop Ian off at kindergarten at 11:40am.  Sam and I would drive to the Washington Convention Center, run in, get the stuff and then make our way back to Burke to get Ian from school.  The two things going against us on this plan was, A. Sam wouldn't get a nap, and B. Everyone who works in the area would be going on their lunch hour and creating a mad rush.

Back to the drawing board....meanwhile, Jeff keeps asking, "And why do you need to go do this?  Just to get your race bib?  Really?"  He so didn't understand, but was ready to provide assistance wherever possible.

PLAN C:

Take both kids in the morning before Ian needed to be at kindergarten.  Get to the Washington Convention Center when they opened the Expo at 9:00am and avoid the major lunch or after-work crowds.  A major benefit to this plan was having both kids with me.  This meant that we could take HOV-3 on 395 and fly into the city.  It was brilliant.

On Friday morning, I packed the kids up, hit the road and arrived at the Washington Convention Center at 9:25am.  We got a bit of a later start than I wanted, but I still got to take advantage of HOV and miss sitting in traffic.  Nice!  I pulled up in front the of convention center and found a metered spot right outside.  Nice!  The kids and I made our way inside and discovered new sights and sounds that delighted the kids.  Among the many vendors set-up, we listened to a marching band play music, almost ran smack dab into a guy wearing a Dog mascot uniform, with a man dressed like a warrior right behind him.  Many of the vendors came over, talked to the kids and give them their giveaways. 

There was plenty of room to walk and move around. It was the perfect time to go.  We stayed for about 45 minutes and decided we needed to get back home so Ian could get ready for school.  On our way out of the Expo, we passed a Marine Corps booth with a Harley Davidson motorcycle spinning around on a turnstile next to it.  This motorcycle was roped off from the public, but that didn't stop Sam from wanting to get on it. "Me on it.  Me on it."  I told Sam that it wasn't a toy and she couldn't sit on it.  The head guy looked at me and said, "I'll let anyone this tall or shorter sit on it." and pointed to Ian's height.  Oh boy!  Did this make the kid's visit complete.  Good thing I always bring my camera.

These marines really took a liking to Ian and Sam.  I told them in a few years if Ian ever came to me and said he wanted to join the Marines, I would think back to this experience and remember how nice these guys were.  Then I would still say, "No way.  You could get hurt."

We got back in the car, hit no traffic on the way home, and walked in our front door by 11:00am.

What a pleasant turn of events.  Good thing I always listen to Jeff.