Kyle Hepp

April 29, 2011

I HEART Washington D.C. and Richmond, VA, already!

Alright, maybe that’s going overboard. Really, I’m just saying that because we got in our rental car and when we turned it on, country music was playing. I like country music. And I’m easily swayed.

Traveling here today was a little hectic though. We were delayed out of Grand Rapids for a couple hours, so we ended up with about 10 minutes to make our connection in Chicago. The gate was closing right as we got there and we were literally the last people on the plane. They had given our seats away so had to sit separately, which I hate! And then once we were on the plane, there was some kind of refueling problem (not what I like to hear when I’m about to take off) so we sat there on the runway for more than an hour waiting for it to be fixed.

But anyway, I’m in a good mood because we MADE IT tonight and I didn’t think we were going to! I was dreading having to deal with trying to cancel one night at the hotel and fight with the airlines to get a hotel voucher if we were stuck in Chicago overnight, and trying to change the car rental reservation, etc. etc. etc. All that would have been such a nightmare had we missed our connection. But we didn’t! I sprinted in five in heels and we made it! And yes, I know. I shouldn’t travel in five inch heels. But they’re my fancy new designer heels and there’s no way in hell I’m sending them down below in a suitcase when American has lost our luggage twice in the past four months.

As we drove out of the D.C. airport, luggage intact, we both got really pumped. Everywhere you could see famous memorials and statues and stuff. It was really cool. And every other exit would take you to one historic site or another. At one point Seba was like, “Hey! This is where we would get off if we wanted to visit the Pentagon!” And I had to tell him that I’m pretty sure you can’t just “visit” the Pentagon (Wait! I checked. There’s a guided tour. That you can book through your congressman or senate representative). We zoomed down the highway at a spot where you could see the Lincoln Memorial all beautiful lit up at night, we were so busy oohing and ahhing, that we actually missed our exit and had to turn around. My face looked like this:

We don’t have much non-work time here but are going to try to make the most of it. There’s a lot to see, even in Richmond alone.

Saturday is the wedding we’re here for and tomorrow we will get together with the bride and groom for the first time! I can’t wait! Whenever we don’t know the couple beforehand, there’s always a lot of anticipation going in to meet them.

Yesterday I was a little bit down about having to pack up and leave, again — I don’t necessarily mean I didn’t want to leave Michigan. I just didn’t want to leave anywhere, ever again. I’m sick of leaving. But today we were back on the road and now I’m re-energized. All it took was having the good luck to catch a flight that we really were THISCLOSE to missing and then peering out the car window upon arrival and seeing a recognizable monument to get me back in the game.