We get an early start the next day, since we discover, being the tourist-friendly city it is, many places are closed on the weekends and only open weekdays till 5. We ride to the top of the Washington Monument, visit Union Station, the Capitol, the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court, where a group of young people are standing on the steps with duct tape on their mouths. I’m not sure what they’re protesting. Maybe nothing. Traveling with three teens myself, it could just be a case of some parents who’ve had enough of the whining. I totally understand.
Consider that many of the "tourist attractions" you're visiting are actually people's places of employment - Congress, for example. And those kids with duct tape are pro-lifers, I used to glare at them every day on my way to work. They're prominently featured in the scary, scary documentary "Jesus Camp."
We stop to buy souvenir T-shirts from a street vendor with marginal English. Five for ten bucks, making me realize once again, is this a great country or what?
...
While the kids pop in at the Hard Rock Cafe, I look at trinkets, like a White House Christmas ornament and a miniature Washington Monument, all made in China. Is it just me, or is that just wrong?
Ah, the irony. Do you think your T-shirts were so cheap because they were made in North Carolina by adult workers making a living wage?
By day three the kids are navigating the subway and city streets like old pros. My daughter though, is puzzled by the fact that everyone walks on moving escalators up and down the subways, whereas we treat them more like amusement park rides.
Clearly they are not. And yes, we walk on escalators, we're trying to get to work. So please walk or get out of the way. How would you like it if I treated your minivan like a go-kart?
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