End of the Line

We slept in today, and then got out for lunch at a place down the road called Taqueria Habanero. The tacos seemed pretty expensive, but I sort of miscalculated the price when I suggested we share a platter of 15 assorted tacos. They didn’t go to waste, though. It was annoying that they basically brought us a salsa bowl full of chips, but more would cost extra. The green and red sauces they brought out were amazing though. We had steak, shrimp, and al pastor tacos, which were all incredible as well. We ended up saving one of each for Eaddie, though she wouldn’t have time to eat them until much later.

After we ate, we went to the university and struggled to find any valid parking. After driving around the campus a couple times, we finally settled on a lot that was actually right next to another bus stop, which worked out great for us. We actually got on the bus before it got to the stop where the girls were waiting.

We hopped onto the Metro and rode down to Chinatown so we could tour Ford’s Theater. That took quite a while just because of how much information they packed into such a small space with so many visitors. It was neat to see the theater itself, but evidently it was all a reconstruction anyway.

After that, we walked back to the National Portrait Gallery. I don’t think it was first on anybody’s list, but the girls wanted to go. It wasn’t my thing, so Summer and I mostly sped through a bit of it and then sat down until everyone else was ready to go.

When we got back to the Metro, it was right in the middle of rush hour and the first train we saw was absolutely packed. We walked to the end of the platform and waited for the next one, which was virtually empty. As we drew close to our stop, I wanted to see if I could ride around whatever loop they had at the end. The girls all decided they would go with me, but then instead of waiting on the train, everyone got off at the last stop, insisting that someone would make us get off. There wasn’t an employee anywhere to be found, so I was really frustrated that the whole point of the experiment was ruined. Then they were annoyed at me for something they volunteered to do.

We took the bus back to the car, and then Summer and I went to the most convenient Chinese buffet I could find, literally called China Buffet. It was a small, unassuming building with fair reviews. It seemed old when we walked in, and then they had us pay when we entered. I had to ask a kid that didn’t seem to speak any English whether drinks were included, and learned that we had to serve ourselves. This would have been absolutely fine if there hadn’t been a hand-written sign on the wall on the way out that asked us to “please tip the waitresses.” We literally spoke to no one. No one brought us anything. Someone periodically bussed empty plates, but not with any sense of urgency. Utensils and napkins were all on the food bar. I think I left four bucks. The food was alright.

When we got back to the hotel, we were lucky enough to be able to charge. Then we made it to the room, where the engineers had brought us an extension cord and surge protector for the things on our TV wall. Summer was excited to be able to watch television. I bounced around a bit between distractions and trying to plan our trip home. I scheduled a third interview at the mill for next week, which made me wonder if there was any competition at all, or if I had it in the bag. I’d kind of hate to leave Two Rivers, but I don’t know how I could turn down nearly twice the pay, especially if the school doesn’t transfer the vacation days like I expected.

That’s what “homesick” means, kid.

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