Day 15 Washington...well really Maryland!

Well I have finally had to slow down. No 10,000 steps for me today. I moved so little I didn’t even bother to wear the Fit Bit! My back was still in full spasm this morning and David wisely insisted that I take a day to rest. Following our ride home from the subway last night, I lay awake worrying that we would have to cut our vacation short and head for home. That was immediately followed by the dread of being confined to the truck for that long with this pain. Based on all of that, I was ready to take David’s advice.

The worst part of all of this is the unknown! If I knew for sure that following a day or two of rest I would be fine, if I knew for sure that the pain was indeed a simple muscle spasm, if I knew for sure that the rotation of heat and cold was what was best...this might all be easier! An abrupt halt to all the fun and adventure we have been enjoying is a bitter pill to swallow in any case.

While I sat and lay around alternating heat and ice on my back, David puttered and did the chores. In fact, we embarked upon the most dangerous and daring of everything we have done since we left – David did the laundry! David is great and will do anything. Most things he will do with great skill. David does NOT do laundry. We learned a long time ago that his brilliance does not extend to sorting, washing, drying and folding clothes. The fact that this even happened will give you a good idea of what rough shape I’m in!

With not much left to do I was grateful for the great Wi-Fi here. As I travel I keep a list of things to “look up when I get home”. It’s a list of things we discover or notice that we can’t get a full explanation for and we know that Google can help. One thing I happened upon today that I will keep in mind for our next visit (Anna Marie take note!), the Washington Post publishes a weekly list of what happening in the city. It is quite extensive and offers many suggestions of things we had no idea about, like free concerts and talks in venues all around Washington! Next time for sure!

As the day wore on, though I was afraid to get too excited I did think my back was starting to loosen up. We had made plans to meet up with our friends Marianne and Victor for dinner and I really hoped that I would be able to keep that date.

Marianne and Victor lived at the end of our street when our kids were all little. They had come from South Africa and although not quite so far, at the time all our family was also out of province. Victor and David were engineers, Marianne and I were both stay-at-home moms, we each had four kids who all went to the same schools and we all attended the same parish. Many years ago Victor was transferred to California and we had lost track of one another. Early in this past school year one of my FDK students, Anthony came up to me to tell me that his Grandma was my friend. I thought that was cute but assured him that wasn’t the case. He assured me I was wrong and we were friends. I asked who is Grandma was and he told me Marianne Hendrickse!! Speaking with his Mom at the end of the day I learned Marianne was a Facebook fan and thus the friendship renewed! We had been sending messages back and forth and discovered that this campground is about 20 minutes from where they live! I REALLY didn’t want to miss this date for a back pain!!! It was the only thing I did all day for heaven sake!

David and I set out and found their beautiful new home without a problem. We had a short visit with Marianne while Victor finished his work day and then met him at a favourite Indian restaurant of theirs, The Royal Taj, for dinner. The host came out of the restaurant when he saw us coming and greeted Victor with a hug – no wonder this is a favourite spot. We shared a delicious meal, reminisced about the old times, caught up on children and grandchildren and were brought up-to-date on what’s been happening in each other’s lives.

They followed us back to our trailer to continue the conversation and by the time they left us my back was feeling considerably better. I have always said, nothing like time spent with old friends to cure what ails you! Such a wonderful evening and not at all a wasted day as it happens!

Wonderful dinner with wonderful company!