My mom was coming to the states this fall and I was a bit worried that she would have issues with the border control coming into the country. The thing is although she has a Green Card, she hadn't been to the US for over a year because of Covid. She was due to fly out here on March 19th, 2020, but clearly she never made it out of the country. So then only in October of 2021 she was able to come back. Well, because I was afraid she would run into problems, I suggested she flew to DC and I would pick her up in DC and we would spend a couple of days visiting the city.
My suspicions were correct...I was waiting for my mom at the airport for over an hour when I got the phone call from an immigration officer about my mom. Basically, she had to apply for an extension for her stay that was good for two years, but also cost $600. She had to pay the money and that was not cool. No convictions of why she couldn't come back into the country on time and all that mattered. So we paid the fee and they let her into the country. It was very stressful for my mom...I absolutely hate all sorts of immigration issues, kind of a PTSD after all the papers and forms we had to fill out to get the the US citizenship for me a decade ago.
Once that part was all figured out, we were able to rest at our nice hotel in Falls Church. I like that place as it has parking for free and is located close to a park and ride (riding on the metro). So we took the metro into the city in the morning--very easy, by the way--and then walked all the way from Foggy Bottom to the Lincoln Memorial to start our day of exploring.
This was my first time meeting Mr. Einstein.
We spent some time by Lincoln Memorial.
It was really neat to be showing my mom this part of US history and see her be excited about everything.
And I felt like grinning the whole time because these famous places are just iconic in my min.
The view from so many movies!
The reflection pool behind us.
The Korean Memorial.
We walked over pass Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and to the Roosevelt Memorial. First time here...
I absolutely loved all the quotes embossed on the walls.
So much wisdom from history.
I shared a few of them with Alex as I was quite touched.
Beautiful views from our walks on the trail going around the basin.
And here is Martin Luther King Jr.
My mom could probably start an Instagram page to post her traveling pictures to famous places.
At the WWII memorial.
Gorgeous Saturday morning in the middle of October!
We kept walking and walking till we got to the Capitol, which was all fenced off because Biden was actually speaking there that day! In fact, he was speaking there at the moment we were walking by. We are not sure what sort of meeting they were having, but it was kind of cool to be present, regardless of our political opinions.
We made it to the Library of Congress.
And then to the Supreme Justice Court. Snapped this picture just in time before a very crazy storm started! Look at the sky!
Well, nothing was going to stop us--we had two umbrellas and ability to walk long distances-haha.
We headed out on a looong and wet walk thinking that sooner or later the pouring rain would stop. It did not-hahaha. We had fish floating in our shoes, soaked and wet.
Actually, we were okayish, but our pants and shoes were not.
We finished our day around 4:30 pm when we headed back to the hotel, to change and get dinner.
What a day!!! Thousands and thousands of steps and so many memories!
The following morning, on the way home, we drove to Arlington Cemetery.
Mama at the Kennedies' grave.
RBG's fresh grave.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
We had to wait for some time but we didn't mind.
It's always a special moment to witness the change of guard here.
After seeing the ceremony, we headed home, a 4.5 hour drive.
I am glad we had my mom fly to DC. It created a great excuse to show her around and for me to visit, plus gave her a bit more comfort that I was nearby when she had to go through all the immigration controls.
Hope we get to go back to DC as a family again! Lots to see and explore there still.
Lyana.
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