Capital Fun

I took my family for a brief road trip to Washington, DC from New York over the recent winter break. It’s always nice to go to another place and experience a change of scenery. Going to the nation’s capital is special.

We did predictable tourist things – going to the White House (well, standing at a gate a block away), walking by the Washington Monument, browsing history at several museums, and taking a tour of the Capitol Building. I suspect the thing my kids (soon to be 8 and 5) liked the most was going to the hotel’s swimming pool and hot tub. Second place was the breakfast buffet where they ate Fruit Loops. But I suspect something rubbed off on them as we tried to inculcate them with culture.

Perhaps the best lesson learned on this trip happened on the way to the city. Our drive down I-95 should have been four or four and a half hours, but it ended up taking eight hours because a deadly accident caused a complete shutdown of the highway. A truck crashed into a car, killing three people. We were reminded life is precious and every day is a gift. For my kids, they did not need to see where the corrupt Congress fails to conduct business. For them, munching on cookies while watching a DVD past their normal bedtime was adventure enough.

For me, being down at the city where world-changing policies are set, was inspiring and sparked my curiosity censors. Though the American experiment with democracy has not always proven to be as virtuous and productive as the Founding Fathers had envisioned, there is something awe-inspiring about being in the neighborhood of 200-year-old buildings and monuments.

I hope one day my kids contribute something to our nation’s history, but for now, sipping on chocolate milk in the museum’s cafeteria is accomplishment enough. I am just thankful we are alive, healthy, and filled with promise.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2012 ©