Baby O Goes to Washington

{Sunday, June 15th--Father's Day}

Papa Tex: Sweetie, I've been meaning to ask you something
Me: expression = waiting for what comes next
Papa Tex: I was thinking about going to Washington DC next weekend. Will you look into tickets for me--you are good at things like that.
Me: Whaaaaaaaat? {keep in mind that a trip to Dallas is a pretty big deal for Papa Tex}
Papa Tex: Yeah, I have a Marine Corps Reunion there this weekend...I've booked the hotel, but haven't decided whether to go.
Me: Of course I will look into it, and maybe Baby O and I will go with you!

{fast forward 5 days}

Baby O waiting on his first plane--this baby is Baltimore Bound!

Papa Tex, Baby O, and I set out for a big weekend adventure! Baby O started the trip off with lots of attention grabbing--this turned out to be his ammo the whole trip. He smiles oh so sweetly to grab the attention of strangers. Then, once they glance his way, he goes to batting his eyes and smiling bigger. This goes on until stranger {new friend of Baby O} feels obligated to look away as they feel funny staring at a stranger's baby. Not for long...Baby O works his magic to get the attention back. Then, we have a new plane/restaurant/hotel/tourist friend!

Baby O checking out the fellow passengers...

Baby O luvin' pears and cereal.

This whole meal was "commentated" by fellow passenger. I kid you not...ask Papa Tex. She was so into Baby O and she commentated every bite and expression he had. He was in attention-grabbing heaven and she was lovin' this baby! The next pic is of Ladies Man making sure she was still there and watching him...she was.

This shot Papa Tex just couldn't resist. He thinks it is hilarious that Baby O sucks his middle two fingers leaving his hand in the "Hook 'Em" gesture. What's even funnier to Papa Tex? This Aggie came to sit next to us, when Baby O "Hooked 'Em" Papa Tex couldn't resist the irony of the photo!

Here we are about to board the flight! Baby O and Papa Tex getting ready for "first on flight" boarding!

Baby O, me, and the pilot! After Papa Tex snapped this photo, the pilot looked up and said "I stayed at a Holiday Inn Select last night," then, he boarded the plane. Too, funny!

Take off!

The flight was uneventful. Baby O slept for an hour and then played for a couple. After we made it to the hotel, he was tuckered out. Baby O took a nap while Papa Tex "reunioned."

Then, we went for dinner. Papa Tex and I wanted a bit of an adventure. So, we played "GPS Restaurant Roulette"--we selected "Restaurant" on the GPS, then chose "Italian" and let the GPS lady-robot take us to the 6th one on the list! When we got there, we looked across the street at this awesome looking grill and went there instead. And that, folks, is how we ended up at Whitlows on Wilson ("WoW"). It was a fun spot!

After dinner, we drove around for an after-dark tour of the monuments. It was fun...but, there aren't any good photos! We toured as a "tour mobile"! What does that mean? It means, we deemed ourselves a tour mobile and took their special roads that pass right in front of the monuments. What a laugh.

{Saturday--dubbed one of the Best Saturdays of Papa Tex's Life}

First, we drove out to Virginia so that Papa Tex could meet a man that he has been doing "catalog" business with for years and see the shop in person. Turns out they are both "jarheads" and he also has a strong Texas connection. Dad was in collector heaven. Here he is standing outside the shop with the sword he purchased. Look at that ear-to-ear grin.

I get bored with swords (hey, that rhymes), so I set out with Baby O in the stroller to check out this cute little town we ended up in! Baby O and I found a fantastic independent book shop (an absolute oasis for me). We bought him a couple of books to memorialize his first trip to Washington 1) So You Want to be President, and 2) United Tweets of America! And, another because its a really neat story about two animals that have become inseperable since meeting after the Tsunami caused the baby hippo to lose his mom, Owen & Mzee.

After the shopping, we headed back. We played Restaurant Roulette again, and picked Anita's New Mexican Restaurant. Twice this game has worked out for us. Funny thing was that we had Mexican food on Thursday night thinking we wouldn't have any this weekend--little did we know. Anita's held a surprise for Papa Tex--these refried beans on his spoon, below, are --are you ready for this folks--the best refried beans Papa Tex has ever eaten! I took a taste to see if this declaration had merit--they were pretty tasty!!

Baby O sat in his highchair and kept us company...look at those eyelashes on this fellow!

Then, I went to pose for a photo with my little man at Anita's. I was going to hold the glass in front of us as a "point of reference" for the blog, and little man grabbed it from me to take a sip. He looks pretty happy with himself for amusing me so much!

After Atita's, we went back to the hotel and Papa Tex did some more "reunioning". After that, we set out for The White House! Here is Baby O checking out Obama's new pad!

For dinner, we had {get this} Mexican food with my cousin Trav! It was so much fun to see him! I loved hearing about his job and life in D.C. I think he enjoyed meeting his first cousin once removed! Trav took us to a fun area for dinner and then we got a tour of his university--if it hadn't been such a long day for O we would have hung out longer. Hopefully, he will make it to the beach and we can spent more time together!

Papa Tex did more "reunioning" while Baby O and I sawed some logs (Papa Tex, that use of slang is for you)!

{Sunday}

Drove to the airport...the GPS lady took us a different route. Dad and I decided to check the paper map to be sure she was taking us the right way. He tried to do it where she couldn't see us, but we think he failed, 'cause she didn't speak for about 10 miles after that. We were, in fact, headed in a different, but correct, direction.

Got to the airport much faster than anticipated due to the new route. So, we just hung out and waited on the flight, then took the flight (this is Baby O playing on board below), and then landed home!

What a fun weekend! Hope you had a great trip, Papa Tex. Next stop--Boston!