Softball 9-8, Slurpee 7-11

Thursday's softball game got our team back on the victory train. We held a 2 run lead going into the top of the 7th. Unfortunately, we gave up 2 runs, but were able to win it in the bottom half of the inning. 

Friday was a calm day in D.C. With Congress in recess, seems like everything is a bit more relaxed. It was also Kelly's last day at the Congressman's office. She is heading over to the Committee on Science, Space and Technology. She is one step closer to being an astronaut!

Saturday we decided to put our tourist hats on and check out a few museums. Also, after 2 months of waiting, we finally got to take a tour of the White House. As we were checking in with security, we were told Ben's information did not match his driver's license. He literally had to stand in a corral area and wait for the White House to verify his last name was in fact spelled with a "v" and not a "w".

30 minutes later we were on our way into the President's mansion. We toured the East room, red room, blue room (where the Christmas tree is displayed), vermillion room, china room and the main hallway that leads to the residence. It is a beautiful house full of historic furniture, paintings and artifacts. Kelly was excited to see the red room where John and Abigail Adams used to sit and drink tea. The room displayed the actual tea set the Adams used during that time.

Looking out toward the Mall, we noticed a large water bowl near the yard.  Mo and Dex might have to go on the next tour as they would surely become fast friends with Beau Obama if they would just get invited for a play date. We also got a nice look at the rose garden before heading out to the front of the White House grounds.

After the White House, we stopped by the Renwick Gallery and Cochran Museum for a dose of culture before heading to lunch.  This magical dart throwing marlin was Ben's favorite.  He would like to acquire one for his office.  

(A closer examination of the marlin reveals lots of treasures.)

For lunch, we headed to a place a friend had recommended called Trusty's.  Trusty's was a bit of a dive, but had some interesting menu options.  Ben went with the "DC Sunrise," which was a famed DC half-smoke with a fried egg on top.  Kelly got the "Stacker," which is an amazing combination of the BLT and a grilled cheese in a triple decker sandwich.

After our tasty but incredibly unhealthy lunch, we headed over to the DMV to get D.C. driver's licenses. It was an impressive line.  For those who are a big fan of waiting, we recommend you take a trip to the DC DMV - apparently, Saturdays and Tuesdays are the longest lines.

Kelly had a little panic attack after seeing the line and overall chaos of the place. Overall, the process only took and 1 hour and 15 minutes, but it seemed like a lifetime as it was happening. It was an end of an era as we surrendered our Missouri licenses and received our new identification. We stopped by a 7-11 to treat ourselves for accomplishing this very onerous life chore and then headed home.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may be wondering if we had gotten soft and forgiven 7-11 this quickly.  Well, the answer is that 7-11 responded and made things right with the letter below.

Dear Valued Guest:

We thank you for contacting us regarding 7-Eleven’s Birthday Slurpee® promotion.  We apologize for any disappointment or inconvenience this matter may have caused you and greatly appreciate you bringing it to our attention.

7-Eleven® values each of our customers and places a strong emphasis on providing excellent service.  Feedback from our customers, whether favorable or not, is considered a valuable source of ideas for improving customer service in our stores.

As a goodwill customer service gesture we would like to send you some coupons for a free Slurpee® for you to use at participating 7-Eleven stores.  May I send you the coupons?  If so, can you provide your mailing address?

Thank you again for contacting us and expressing your concerns.

7-Eleven Guest Relations