as we walked up to the lincoln memorial, selkie looked up and saw bats flitting in and out of the light. milo confirmed the sighting, and the four of us practically swooned with excitement. forget that one of the most famous statues in our country was steps away from us. forget that there were hundreds of people from all walks of life enjoying said monument.
we were rejoicing the bats.
i love bats. truly. love, love, love them. i am in awe of them. i am in mourning for them, for their decline in numbers throughout the northeast. we used to be able to stand on my parents' back deck at dusk and watch them chase mosquitoes over our heads. we'd lay down on the pool chairs and watch "bat tv" for a while.
we haven't been able to do that for a few years. they've all disappeared.
but last night, there was a small contingent of bats near the lincoln memorial, wisely taking up space by the lights, eating all sorts of moths and bugs, swooping in delight.
it was wonderful.
now we're in virginia, and alex is driving while i write this. both kids are moaning about how hungry they are, even though we'll be in roanoke in 45 minutes. they are whining, complaining; i want to turn around and let loose on them. i want to throw something at them. something with substance.
instead, i just turned around and told them that i didn't want to hear their voices for a while.
we quarter-assed the air and space museum in dc today. we showed up in time for lunch, walked a few blocks to avoid the crap in the museum itself, then headed back to the smithsonian. in the meantime, milo's stomach began to hurt because he ate too fast, selkie complained about her feet hurting, and alex had to run back to the car to feed the meter.
we ended up spending about 30 minutes in the museum, then 30 minutes in the goddamned gift shop, which, i have to admit, was pretty cool. but still. did we really deserve to go into the gift shop? was that an earned treat? probably not. but sometimes, you just have to enter the fray, and spend 60 bucks on a book about the elements (for me), a soft, disgusting, gel-filled wiggly worm with planets in it (for selkie), a ridiculously expensive plasma ball (for milo), and an aerobie (for alex). plus a postcard of amelia earheart for good measure.
we tried to see the mlk, jr. monument this morning, but it is under construction. the chinese artist is trying to fix the quote that people have been up in arms about, and the whole thing was covered with giant tarps. which was a giant bummer.
anyway, that was our day today. we're going to take a chance on a local restaurant in roanoke, and hope that our darling children manage to make it through the meal without complaining of stomachache, lack of hunger, or boredom.
"when are we gonna be there?" selkie just said.
about seven more days, kid. hang in there.
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