My dad flew from Denver to Baltimore on Monday and I flew in from Long Island. We met at the airport's baggage claim, rented a car, and headed for our hotel, Courtyard by Marriott, in Fairfax. Although we arrived after 5 pm, the traffic was not too bad and we had a lot of time to drive before it became dark.
After settling in to the hotel, we drove to a restaurant called Silver Diner and had a wonderful meal together. I was so glad to see my dad eat so well since he had just had surgery.
The next morning, we picked Joel up at his hotel, which was almost walking distance from our hotel and we drove to the dentist. Before Joel had left home, he had visited the dentist and needed to get some cavities filled. I had asked about dentists on Facebook, and someone named John McClanahan, a former ice show skater, had highly recommended a dentist named Jeffrey Klioze in Fairfax, so there we were at a dentist in a strange city getting Joel's teeth taken care of!
After leaving the dentist, we went to lunch at Bob Evans with my dad.
It was actually very relaxing driving to Washington DC, but parking near The Smithsonian was not easy. It took us so long to park that by the time we did park, we did not really have time to go inside the museums, so we went to the visitors center and walked around a bit and took photos. It was raining hard, so our time there was cut short.
1988 Olympic Figure Skating Champion Brian Boitano's skates were in the Smithsonian!
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| Brian Boitano's Skates! |
I headed for the hotel's indoor pool while Joel went to Wendy's and got some take out food for us. We decided we would take the Metro the next day back to Washington DC in the morning with specific plans to go to the Air and Space Museum.
Morning came before we knew it and after breakfast in the hotel, Joel and I got in the rental car, drove to the Vienna Metro station, paid for parking, and got on the Orange Line Metro Train headed towards the Smithsonian and Washington DC.
We arrived at the Smithsonian station a little before 10 am, but found out we should have gone on to one more station since we had to walk in the rain about 1/2 mile to get to the Air and Space Museum. When we got inside,, the place was full of activity and we couldn't believe there was no charge.
We saw so many great things including a Wright Brothers exhibit, airplane exhibit, and spaceships!
We left the Air and Space Museum around noon and walked a short distance to the L'Efant Plaza Metro Station and headed back to the Vienna station on a very empty train. The ride was really nice, and on the train, I did a practice interview of Joel about his job with the ice show.
We got back to our Fairfax hotel at around 2 pm and Joel did some visiting with my dad and then he headed back to his hotel so he could catch the bus that would take him and the cast to the Patriot Center at 3:00 pm.
We first ate at Silver Diner and had a great time together.
After the show, we returned to the hotel and enjoyed Starbucks together. Joel joined us later and it was great fun to talk about the show with Joel!
The next day, Thursday, Joel and I went to an ice rink called Skatequest in Reston, Virginia. I skated the public session with my friend Liz Baker Horner, from college. Liz and I went to Colorado College together and also were Gamma Phi Beta sorority sisters. (She tells me that in about 1978 I taught her how to do a three-turn and how to do crossovers without toe pushes and also, she bought Harlick skates at the Broadmoor from my former ice dance partner Richard Griffin!)
Afterward we skated together, Joel got to play pick up hockey! Liz had borrowed gear from a friend just for Joel and brought it to the rink! We had an awesome time! Thank you Liz!
We went back to the hotel after hockey and then headed to a restaurant called Chutzpah with my dad and after lunch we got Joel's haircut and did some quick shopping at Safeway. Joel did not have to be on the bus that took the cast to the show until 5:30 pm, so we had plenty of time together that day.
Thursday was our last leisurely day with Joel since on Friday he began a three show day which would be followed by three shows on Saturday, three on Sunday, and two on Monday.
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| This is the bus that took the cast to the venue on Friday morning... |
After saying our good-byes to Joel at the Patriot Center, my dad and I headed back to the hotel to get some much needed rest. (I had been awake since 5 am and had done Joel's laundry at 6:30 am!)
We had dinner plans with my friend Liz and her daughter Jessica. They came to our hotel and picked us up and we went to the Silver Diner and enjoyed spending time with them so much! Jessica recently won the National Solo Juvenile Dance Combined title and was a delight to visit with and we all enjoyed talking about skating! In fact, Jessica's synchronized skating team had plans to go to see the Disney On Ice: Frozen show on Sunday 10-26-2014!
After the Friday night show, Joel spent the night at my hotel Friday night and we visited together until we fell asleep. It felt great to feel like a family and be together!
Saturday morning was our last time with Joel. He slept as long as he could at my hotel, showered and dressed, and then said good-bye to my dad. We then drove the rental car to his hotel, and Joel picked up some breakfast and then he drove the rental car to the Patriot Center. I gave him a big hug and we said our good-byes. I am so very proud of my son!
After that, I returned to the hotel and my dad and I ate breakfast there, packed our bags, loaded the rental car, and drove to the Baltimore Airport and headed back to Colorado. What a great week it had been!
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