Sadly, our vacation was coming to a close and this was our last night in Maryland. Of course, this family couldn't just let it end with a quiet dinner and an early night, no way! A small luxury bus was rented to corral all of us up and take us to dinner at Rosa Mexicano and then onward to see some of the beautiful monuments in D.C. What I came to discover is that every night starts at the lounge in the lobby. After a few drinks were served and we all had gathered we loaded the bus. We then went to pick up some of the cousins, who like champs, brought four bags of mixers and drinks. Then we headed to dinner at Rosa Mexicano. I know, I know, as a Texan you’re thinking “Mexican food in D.C?” I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t skeptical myself. When we arrived it was a beautiful scene; I wish I had taken pictures of the décor with elaborate lighting, beautiful chairs as well as beautiful servers. We ordered their table-side guacamole which was tasty. I just don’t think you can ever go wrong with jalapenos, tomatoes and avocado and the preparation was beautiful in and of itself. Dinner was delicioso. After dinner we went to see the sights, as this was my first time in D.C. I was a little disappointed that it was raining and we wouldn’t be able to get out and see some of the monuments, but I’ll just have to go back sometime. The bus driver was great though and even took us for an up-too-close and personal view of the Whitehouse and we were promptly stopped by the police on duty: red and blue lights swirling, tires screeching to leverage his car in front of our bus, we were kindly not shot at and went on our merry way, as directed. Whew.
None of my pictures came out of most of the sights but it was beautiful. We did get out at the Lincoln Memorial. It was quiet and moving. I feel I could have spent hours there reflecting on how far our country has come and yet how far we have to go. I thought about some of the conversations that went on, just this weekend, about how the family had changed their name from Guttentaug (sp?) to Goodwin and from Lanofski to Lane to be more “American”. These things have happened in our not so distant past and it saddens me that families felt they had to change their identities to blend in better. However, as I looked at this family, I realized that it absolutely didn’t change them at all; they are these amazing people with love and compassion that many could learn from. It was really a special moment and I look forward to visiting again. I hope to see more of D.C. next time and also to hear more about Brent’s family and their interesting heritage and to get to know them better. Good bye Washington D.C. Goodbye Goodwin family. So much love and respect for you both and I hope to see you again real soon.
1 Comment
Samantha
9/9/2009 03:13:39 am
Laura --
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