Is Trump really an ass?

After Richmond we joined old acquaintance of Bobs, Daniel Shanks, and his lovely wife Linda at their home in Alexandria. Daniel worked with Bob at Domaine Chandon in Napa as the General Manager of the restaurant.

One day he got a call from the White House to offer him a job managing the affairs there, most importently, the food and wine service, and to bring it up to par with the concept of fine dining. His title would be usher, and the job would be far more encompassing than the title might suggest. He worked there through 4 presidents- Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump. We tried to pump him for dirt, but to no avail. He said he liked all of them for different reasons, no politics there, it was his job, and he did it without prejudice.

They took us in like old friends, and we had a great time with the perfect tour guides. During the day Cindi and I took the Metro into DC to see all the Smithsonian stuff, which was fantastic of course. At night they showed us the Town, including a night-time version of our Capital all lit up. Truely impressive except for all the detours and construction going on. This particular week was the memorial for Lindsey Graham so it made it even more problematic with all the security for the dignitaries there. We saw a glowing Washington Monument, the Martin Luther King Memorial,the Lincoln Memorial, and various 3 story banners of our President draped at selected buildings next to banners of Washington and Ben Franklin to name a few. We also saw the still-draped Kennedy Center signage, and various newly gilded monstracities throughout. The reflecting pool was all fenced in, though it was strategically lit to bust all the vandals that were lurking in the shadows… They also took us to a place called Gravelly Point in Arlington where we watched planes land…about 100 yards above our heads!

They showed us around the surrounding neighborhoods and we dined in Georgetown and also beside the Potomac.

On the last day we took a ride through the countryside to visit Harpers Ferry, and stop at a wonderful winery for a bite and a few tastes. A short visit turned into three days where we renewed friendships, made new ones, and just had a blast.