Our oldest is finishing up her high school and associates degree at the local community college and is looking to continue her education at a four year university. One of the top two schools was located way back in Virginia. Not even 3 weeks after returning from Nepal, Kjiersten and I boarded a flight from PDX to Washington DC. Pro travelers by now, we packed just a carry on. The two of us could travel fast and light.. I had almost the same exact clothes that I had taken to Nepal: basics that layered well and coordinated. Lots of teal and purple. All instructions were in our first language. Alaska Airlines is my go to airline for domestic travel, so there was an easy going familiarity upon boarding. Since we were in a different month from the last trip, so there were new movies to watch. Landing in DC at 1 am local time, we quickly made our way to the rental car shuttle and signed out our prearranged rental car. Upon getting into the car, we could not find the keys. We knew they were in there. I could start the car...but I couldn’t find them. I walked back into the rental car office thinking maybe I had misunderstood. Nope... the keys are in the car. Back to the car. We searched every nook in cranny. Had this been the Amazing Race, there would have been a big red arrow flashing on the screen showing all our viewers at home just where those darn keys were. I drove up to the office and begged one of the attendants to come out to the car and show me the keys. He walked over to KJ's door & motioned her to exit the car. She had been sitting on them the whole time. Giggling with embarrassment and tiredness, we drove off. Through the dark, we navigated our way through turnpikes and highways and weirdly named roads. We arrived in the early, early morning hours at a guest house of friend's sister. It was near freezing. I was thankful for a warm bed to rest in. We rose after a few hours of sleep, chatted with our hostess over coffee cake and made the 2 minute drive to the campus. We had heard of this school for many years. The faith background was similar to our own. I looked forward to that feeling of being at home in a place I’d never been to before. But, it never came. The brass and brick and blue and white plantation decor seemed cold, out of date and unfriendly to my PNW eyes. Although the campus buildings were eco-friendly, I didn’t see that carried over into the student body. Where were all the be-stickered water bottles? Faith seemed to be an inherited hand-me down not a call to love the underprivileged. And this school was just too. far. away. A call from Nana ended with tears and a knowledge that this school wasn’t the right fit. On paper it all seemed perfect, in person it just didn’t work. Making that decision was a relief. But we still had 3 1/2 days before our flight left. So.. being the adventurers that we are, we decided to explore all that we could until the plane left the tarmac. We left a very apologetic and thankful message for our host, packed up and shook the dust of that town off our feet. Googled cheap good eats and found an podunk cafe that was filling and homecooked. Passed an Amish horse and carriage and headed out to explore Shenandoah’s beautiful mountain (um...make that hill to our NW eyes) vistas in the freezing cold.
With our folk music over the rental car sound system, we wound our way to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. With just 10 minutes to spare before the last tour of the day, we laughed at the crazy turn of our day. Before lunch, we had grabbed a bunch of brochures at a visitor center. Flipping through them, we discovered how close we were to Williamsburg. So we spent the rest of the evening driving towards the historic city as we marveled at the historic landmarks we passed. We found a chain hotel. I knew that financially maybe I could have done better, but the familiar sounded good in the unfamiliar place we found ourselves. Honestly, in some ways, Virginia seemed more foreign and unfriendly at times than Nepal did.
In the morning, we explored Williamsburg. I remembered how much I had wanted to visit this place on my two other trips to DC. Neither time had it worked out. I was so excited to see all of this. I loved the wallpaper and carpet colors. The living museum actors transported us into a different time period. Hot chocolate at the tavern delighted yet another sense.
With tired feet and grumbly tummies, we made our way back to the rental car to finish off our Trader Joe’s hummus, cheese, salami, crackers and snap peas. We determined to make it to Chinocateague Island, see the Atlantic Ocean and the wild ponies. We drove in a pouring down squall of wind and rain over & under Chesapeak Bay bridge and tunnel. It was dark and impossible to see much. I love the freedom feeling of driving through random towns and wondering what they are about. Good music. Good companion. Cherishing time with this one about to step out on her own. We travel well together. Quiet when needed. Both fairly lackadasical when it comes to making decisions. Not picky on food. But ready to see and experience and learn. The Assateague hotel was a nice break from the road. Hot shower and internet to plan the next day. Our goal was to find the wild ponies. Mostly to be able to tell the horse obsessed one back at home that we did. It was her birthday and homecoming dance. My mama guilt for being in the other side of the county during these important events was kicking in hard. That familiar feeling of being torn between my three kids started to wear thin my adventurous spirit.
We left early in the morning to greet the Atlantic Ocean. There was just a tiny sliver of sand diving quickly into the depths of the ocean. No cliffs or rugged rocky shores like we were use to. The wind was intense so we headed back to the visitor center to find out where to see the horses. We never found them. By noon we gave up and turned wheels back to Washington DC where we had secured housing at the William Penn Quaker Guest House. We drove a few miles out of the way to touch another state: Virginia, Deleware and Maryland. A wrong turn revelead the strangest sight: a single story house with the roof completely covered by 60-70 turkey vultures. I still don’t know what that was about or how people went about their daily lives with all those birds about. We listened to Hamilton in its entirety as we drove in to Washington: names and places become reality in my west coast brain. Arriving in DC just before 6pm, most everything was closing down for the day. We walked pass the Capitol on the way to dinner and were shocked at the fencing and secret service men around the perimeter. It didn’t read to me as a show of power but a show of fear. Neither of us felt the need to visit the capitol building or, in truth, even acknowledge the present government in power. Ironically when we were there in 2013 the government was in the verge of a shutdown. There were rumblings in the news of the same threat.
After dinner, we returned to the Guest House. The William Penn Guest House was a highlight of our trip. How nice to be amongst Friends. And a very large library. My introvert was happy. After the go-go-go we stayed in on our only night in DC and read and worked on a puzzle in the comfortable living room. In the morning, we visited the nearby Shakespeare Museum and the Library of Congress revelling in the beauty of the arts, not the chaos of government.
Our time was up. We had thoroughly filled our days on this unexpected time to explore. I found myself seeking rest in familiarness as we traveled through unknown territory. Like every good adventure we lived fully but were ready for our return to base camp.