Our sweet little dog Duchess turned three years old on Halloween 2014!
Friday, October 31, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Visit to See Joel in Fairfax, Virginia - Monday October 20 to Saturday October 25, 2014
I combined a trip to New York City for About.com's Expert Event with a trip to Fairfax, Virginia to see Joel. He's been traveling with Disney On Ice since early September. (He joined the show on July 21.) My dad and I visited him in Orlando, Florida for the opening of the show in early September, but it was time to be a mom and see my son again.
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.
After lunch, we returned to the hotel and shortly after that, we got in the car and Joel drove to Washington DC! (Before lunch we stopped at Enterprise Car Rental and added Joel as a driver to the car.)
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!
We left the Smithsonian and Washington DC around 6 pm, and had no idea we would run into a huge amount of traffic. Joel drove, and from my point of view, I felt like I was a passenger in a video game as I navigated the car through rush hour. The traffic was really bad and it was also raining hard. We must have arrived back at our hotel in Fairfax around 7:30 or 8 pm.
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.
My dad and rested just a bit and then waited for my friends Lynn and Wayman McCoy to arrive at our hotel. We were all going to meet for dinner and then go to see Joel perform in Disney On Ice: Frozen!
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.
At the Chutzpah restaurant, I had a great whitefish salad on a bagel, Joel had fries and a waffle , and my dad had kreplach soup with chicken. My dad liked the
restaurant so much, he wanted to go back for a corned beef sandwich in
the evening, but the traffic was so bad that we stayed at the hotel and
just ate dinner after I went swimming.
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.
I decided to make the most of the last day with Joel, so we
stayed with him for breakfast at his hotel and then picked him up at
lunch time between shows so we could spend time together.
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!
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!
 |
| 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.
 |
| 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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About Me
- JO ANN Schneider Farris
- Jo Ann Schneider Farris has participated in skating for most of her life as a competitor, coach, and author.