Dancing in the Rain: Eastward HO!

Summer 2011 @ Lake Cumberland

Several months ago, as I wrote on my blog, I had the pleasure of taking, essentially, all my friends to my cabin at Lake Cumberland. One of those trips involved Lauren, Paul, Beckey, Sarah and Emily. Emily Shope is one of my dearest and closest friends, one who has been so kind to both me and my family over the years and like my other two best friends, she also went to grade and high school with me. She has on so many occasions come home to visit her family and of course me, in and out of the hospital for that matter. She has the distinct privilege of being the only memory I have from being intubated and sedated - a mental snapshot of her standing over me, crying... what a memory right?

The White House

In any event, Emily Shope, or Shope as I'll be calling her, has made countless trips to Ohio since she has relocated her life to Washington D.C. which has been at least 8 years ago. She and I have talked on the phone, emailed, facebooked, visited in person when she was in town and vacationed regularly together. We've never lost touch, and she's definitely been one of those people I can really, truly count on. While she may be a crazy republican, she and I are so very similar in our thoughts, our morals and values and our opinions. She's a person I could not agree with on a political issue, but have an adult discussion about my opinion and we can agree to disagree but leave gaining a knowledge and appreciation of 'what the other side thinks, and why they think it'. Empty opinions are not something she is capable of having.

Most importantly, out of all the people I've had the privilege to meet in my life, and have in my life she is one of a very select few who not only do I respect, but I admire.

Capitol Tour w/ headset

So with that said, I asked her earlier in the summer if she wanted to come to this lake trip since she had not been down to the cabin in a great long while, to which, as is her way, she impulsively said "of course" . Within a matter of a day or two she had booked her ticket and made it to Kentucky and we all shared a fantastic long weekend. When Shope left to go back to D.C. I kept getting this constant feeling of guilt that I just couldn't shake, and Im glad I couldn't. I felt guilty because here she is, making trip after trip after trip to Ohio to visit her family and friends and I'd never once been to her home in D.C. though I'd been telling her I wanted to come for a long time. This made me feel like an awful friend, especially given the fact she has made special trips to see me in the hospital even if to just spend a few minutes with me and give me a reassuring hug. Because of all this - I said to her on a follow up phone call that I knew I had been a bad friend for not visiting, but it was about to change. I told her to pick the best weekend for her as soon as she wanted and I would be there - regardless. So, after a little calendar flipping, she decided that Presidents day would be the weekend I came. So I went and got the plane ticket and made it happen!

WWII Memorial

My trip to D.C. was so much fun. It was filled with a lot of walking folks, lets not get that confused for one second, but thats for a little later. Emily is the consummate tour guide, knowing all the hottest spots. We toured in no particular order - The American History Museum, National Air and Space Museum (which, btw, doesn't hold a candle to the Dayton museum), WWII memorial, (looked at) Washington Memorial, Library of Congress, National Archive, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Holocaust Museum, National Arboretum, Pentagon Memorial, MLK Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Mt. Vernon, Rosevelt Memorial, The White House, and The Capitol to name a few. We also visited Dupont Circle, and Eastern Market and other parts of town you don't typically see on a sightseeing tour. She humored me and we went to Kings Island, and thanks to Megans Platinum Pass, Shope didn't have to pay to get in. I also got to hear her community band practice which was really nice too since I hadn't seen her play in a long time.

Pentagon Memorial

With everything we saw, and all the time walking to 99% of the locations, we walked, according to my pedometer, the entire time I was there, 112,697 steps totaling 52.245 miles, and keep in mind most of that walking was done over the course of 4 days. Holy Moly were my legs hurting by the end of the week! But it was so worth it! Washington is beautiful this time of year, it really is, and the weather is just perfect, because there is no way I could handle the scorching heat of summer with my dainty lungs.

So taking into account everything we did, places, people, things...

What was the best part of the trip?

...Shope was...

Arlington National Cemetery

She was telling me, the day before I left, that she was starting to get her "end of vacation depression" and I laughed with her and told her to brush it off, that it would fade away soon! Truthfully though, I didn't want to admit it at the time, but apparently am about to now, I was having a cornucopia of feelings all week, especially at the end, because I knew saying goodbye again was on the horizon. I admire her, and I respect her and I often question why she doesn't give herself more credit for her success, as I often wish to be as successful as she. I know she loves D.C., loves her friends, the opportunities D.C. presents and has to offer, she's got a boyfriend whom she cares about immensely - her life is there now... And for purely selfish reasons I hate that she is far away from me. I hate that I can't pick up the phone and say 'wanna go have a drink', or 'wanna go see a movie tonight'. I hate that she can't come over and lay out, under 50 layers of sunscreen, at the pool and drink beers all day with me and chit chat about whats going on in life. I hate that I can't just give her a hug anytime I want. With that said, I wouldn't trade the relationship we have now for anything, I'm lucky to be able to Facebook her, or email her or even archaically call her. But that doesn't change the fact that I miss her.

Mt Vernon

A friend asked me when I got back how the trip was, and I told them how fantastic it was and how wonderful it was to see everything and meet her friends that I'd heard so much about. This friend said 'that city has so much to do obviously you couldn't see anything, do you regret not seeing something' and I said in response 'my only regret, is that I didn't make this trip happen a long time ago'. And it is so true, I don't have an explanation as to why I didn't go, but I just didn't and I regret it. I can tell you that I will be back to visit, sooner rather than later and I know I'll enjoy the next trip just as much as this first trip. Maybe next time I can go to the Naval Academy and land me a hottie patottie sailor - after all Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone so - "come out, come out wherever you are boys"... I jest.

What I know for sure is this... I am lucky to have Shope be one of my closest friends and confidants, and because I know her I am a better person.