Happy Veteran's Day!

This past Friday was Veteran’s Day and what better way to spend Veteran’s Day than in the nation’s capital? That’s what I did!

My boyfriend lives up in northern Virginia where he attends school and I was able to visit him this weekend. Not only was it Veteran’s Day, but it was 11/11/11, so I guess you could say I was pretty lucky J

Friday morning we went on a tour of the Pentagon. My boyfriend’s dad works there so he was able to get us in. Going through security was interesting, we had to get our hands checked for chemicals and my boyfriend was accused of dating a minor by the security guards checking IDs. Maybe one day I’ll look my age.

Next we went in to get the grand tour and it was pretty spectacular. There are so many displays throughout the hallways it’s almost like a miniature museum. There were so pictures, displays, and one of the gold plated AKs Saddam Hussein would give to those loyal to him. We also got to see the executive dining rooms, which was really neat.

Right outside the Pentagon is a memorial for all those who died in the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon as well. It is on the side of the building where the plane crashed and there is a small memorial for each person. They were arranged by age and placed almost on a timeline so you could read the names and see how old they were. The youngest was about eight-years-old and the oldest was 81.

After the Pentagon that morning, we got to see Kansas play in concert that night. They were playing with the Army orchestra at Constitution Hall. Granted, I only knew two of their songs, but I still enjoyed the concert and the other songs were really good too.

Best part of the concert though? Watching all the older people jam out to the Kansas songs. Then once “Carry on My Wayward Son” came on, everyone was standing and rocking out.

It was definitely a fun weekend and a great way to celebrate Veteran’s Day!

The More the Merrier? Not quite...

This past weekend, my roommate’s family was in town and they wanted to stay in our apartment to avoid the cost of hotel fees. I had accommodated to guests before but never to the amount of people that would soon be living in our apartment from Friday to Sunday.

My roommate’s family members who were coming down were her mother, aunt, grandmother, and 11-year-old cousin. So there it was, six females in an apartment built for two… I knew this would prove to be an interesting weekend.

They arrived 1:30 that Friday afternoon and were very gracious about staying in our apartment. My roommate cautioned me that they were early to bed and early to rise, something I was not accustomed to but acknowledged none the less.

I had to work that night and would not get in until about 11:30. I quietly crept in and was welcomed to an air mattress that covered the entire living room floor. Her aunt and grandmother were on the air mattress, her cousin on the couch.

I walked back to my roommate’s room and another air mattress was on the ground covering half of the floor in her room. I mimed to my roommate, trying not to disturb her sleeping mother. She came into my room, we talked, and then she decided to get back to bed before waking up her mom.  Did I mention her family is full of light sleepers? Yes. The family members in the living room had to take our clock off the wall because it made too much noise. I don’t blame them, it is kind of annoying.

I stayed up doing various things and didn’t go to bed until I realized it was 2:00 in the morning and I then remembered that the family woke up early. I went to bed, hoping I could sleep through their morning rustling.

I didn’t. Blow driers rang through the halls at 8:00 in the morning. After the first round of hair dryers died down, I tried to go back to sleep, only to be awoken by a second round. After that, I pulled my pillows over my head and tried to go back to sleep.

Then the fire alarms went off. Remember how I wrote about our deranged fire alarms? Well they went off when the family was making breakfast. Any hopes of sleep were out the window. I figured the next morning would be similar.

Luckily, her family woke up at a relatively late 9:30 in the morning, I suppose stocking up on sleep before their car ride home. I did hear them talking throughout the apartment but with five people wandering through the halls, it was bound to happen.

The weekend was fun and her family was all very nice. I enjoyed meeting my roommate's family and I would love to see them all again... maybe just not all at the same time while sleeping in our apartment. They say three is a crowd, well, six is an even bigger crowd.