for looking back

We recently made a quick trip to Washington DC. We were looking for a drivable destination, and the city currently has a lower covid transmission rate than Columbus, plus a mask mandate. The boys walked nearly ten miles each day and yet we headed home without seeing every single thing we hoped, but also having stumbled into a few things we hadn't planned. The weather was perfect, and we were able to eat every meal outside. The boys' unanimous favorite was The Well-Dressed Burrito - nondescript and accessed via an alley, an accidental find, it bested We the Pizza, Shake Shack and even our traditional vacation Trader Joe's picnic. 

While they agreed on best food, Tucker, Tolliver and Hank each liked different parts of sight-seeing and museums, from the gems to the war monuments to the secret hidden doors. We visited the National Cathedral and Beauvior playground, but they'll likely remember the rat we saw there, and the Darth Vader gargoyle we could not find. We spent time at the National Air & Space Museum and the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, the National Museum of American History and the US Botanic Garden. We found Rock Creek one morning before touring the O Mansion, and enjoyed the Spy Museum followed by the Washington Monument and several memorials along the Mall at dusk. We finished the trip with a few hours at the National Museum of Natural History. 

Part of the thrill of a new place may be feeling unbound to the rhythms of home. 

Much of the thrill of a new place may come from projecting myself into the future when I will not be there and instead will be looking back.