And Coming Up On Our Left...

Last night we met long-time family friends from when I grew up for dinner.  They were in town for 2 nights, 3 days to show their 10 year old daughter Washington, D.C.   We arranged to meet at Old Ebbitt Grill so they would be within walking distance of their hotel.  Plus, as a bonus, it was super easy for Jeff to metro and meet us after work.  I grabbed the kids and headed into the big city to get to the restaurant.

In the Spring of this past year, Ian's first grade class went to D.C. and hit all the major monuments.  It was actually quite impressive how many landmarks they made it to within a 4 hour trip.  Sam fell asleep in the car as I was crossing the 14th Street Bridge, so I started pointing out various buildings to Ian and saying what their significance was.  I pointed out the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  I pointed out the Holocaust Museum.  As we were crossing over Constitution Ave., Ian excitedly exclaims, "Oh! I remember that tree!!  That's where the bus dropped us off."

It was so funny!  I then quickly realized, it's all relative on what Ian finds to be noteworthy and I what I do.

Dinner went swimmingly well and a good time was had by all.  I was very proud of the kids and even though this was a "grown-up" restaurant (read: no balloons!), we didn't cause a scene and can easily show our faces again. 

On the drive home, Sam, now completely awake, is taking in her surroundings and asks how tall the Washington Monument is.  Actually, her question was, "How tall is that brick building?".  Jeff says, "I think its like 150 feet.".  Ian then corrects Jeff and says, "No, its really 555 feet."   A little stunned that Ian had such an exact answer said with such confidence, I picked up my iPhone and asked Siri how tall she thought the Washington Monument was.  Wouldn't you know, Ian was correct!   This was something Ian learned during his field trip (5 months ago).  Way to go Ian!

Stay tuned for why there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Old Ebbitt Grill.