Vivian Goes To Washington

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The family trip to Rhode Island actually started a few days earlier in the week, when Tory and 4 month-old baby Vivian left to Washington D.C. a few days earlier leaving the Monday after Mother’s Day (May 13^th). Vivian thought it would be fun to see where her Mommy Tory spent her college and work years before coming back to California. Steve, Nathan, and Rosie helped take them to the airport but first had to make a stop at the “Bruder” Factory nearby the airport. At the Factory, the kids can “test” the different trucks out and play in a ball pit. All of Nathan’s favorite trucks from home are Bruder trucks so getting “test” as many trucks as he wants, particularly the ones he doesn’t have at home. Who wouldn’t want to be a tester at a toy factory?

Unfortunately, that same morning Rosie was covered in a rash. After taking her to the doctor that morning, we learned that she was having delayed reaction to a medication, she was still in a happy mood but was beginning to look more and more like a spotted cat. After playing at the Bruder factory, Tory and Vivian were dropped at LAX to depart. Vivian was happy on the flight and Tory was looking forward to seeing her friends in D.C. for a few days before meeting up with everyone else in Rhode Island.

This was Vivian’s first flight and Tory was a bit worried about how she would do…but Vivian amazed everyone around her, including her mama. She had no problem with takeoff and fell asleep not long after getting in the air. The direct flight to DC was only 4 ½ hours and Viv napped for almost 2 hours. Vivian already makes friends easily everywhere she goes. There was a very kind man sitting next to Tory and Vivian who was happy to help by holding Vivian when Tory needed a bathroom break. He gushed about Viv and said holding her made his week! Viv and Tory arrived around 9:30 Monday evening and were picked up by Tory’s friend Megan. Megan said the DC skyline has changed dramatically since Tory’s last trip to D.C. which was 7 years ago but Tory was too busy talking to really take it all in at night. Tory and Viv arrived at Meg’s house, said hi to Floyd and settled in. Just before going to bed they checked in with Steve and got the great news that he was offered a new job at The Cheesecake Factory! Sweet Viv slept well that night and didn’t stir until 6:45.

That morning, Tory and Viv met Meg’s boys Jake (7) and Max (4) for the first time. Tory unpacked and showered and eventually they went to lunch at Gordon Biersch. Later that afternoon they did some shopping and got pedicures. Tory had a court appearance by phone that afternoon. That night they had a delicious lasagna dinner at Meg and Floyd's and watched Jimmy Fallon after all the kids were in bed.

On Wednesday Tory, Meg, and Viv again enjoyed another slow start to the morning around Meg’s house. It was so nice having some extra hands to help with Viv. They went for an early lunch to downtown Annapolis at an amazing place called the Iron Rooster. This place serves homemade poptarts that are so amazing! They really enjoyed the lemon! After lunch, they did some shopping around the Annapolis boutiques to help Meg look for a dress for an event in early June. On the way home, they picked up Max from preschool and then went back to Meg’s house to pack up to head into DC for dinner.

That night Meg, Tory and Viv met Ashley and Marlene at Guapos, Tory’s favorite restaurant in the world! The steak fajitas were as good as Tory remembered. It was a fun night of catching up all around. Tory and Viv headed back to Ashley’s house where Marlene stayed too for the night. They stayed up talking more.

That morning Tory had planned to head into DC to visit her friend Lesley at the SEC. She hoped to get an early start but it’s not easy to move quickly when you have a 4-month-old baby and nowhere other than a car seat to put her down. Eventually, Tory got herself out of the house and started walking down Connecticut Ave towards DC. She was hoping to walk to the MD/ DC line but the heat and hunger got to her and she called a Lyft that drove them down to the Archives/Navy Memorial. It was all so familiar from when Tory worked down there. Tory was hoping to have a chance to walk around the National Mall but before she knew it was time to meet Lesley so she started walking up D Street towards Union Station. Lesley met her near the flags at Columbus Circle and they walked back to the Commission.

Tory and Viv visited with a few old co-workers and stopped by her old office. Most people were teleworking that day but it was still fun to be in the building and visit with Lesley. They stayed there for a couple hours and then got on the metro and went to Marlene’s house. Tory got to see her newly remodeled kitchen and meet her dogs before they drove back to Ashley house for dinner. Ashley grilled steak dinner which they ate around 8:30 that night. After dinner they watched Netflix until Tory fell asleep on the couch.

Friday morning Tory got she and Viv packed up and got a Lyft to meet Uncle Wayne from Wisconsin who just happened to by visiting DC with his friend Alan. They had a great breakfast catching up and then Tory grabbed a Lyft to DCA to catch her flight to meet Steve, Nathan, and RoRo in Providence.

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