Part of the problem

The only downside of living in a city that is a popular tourist destination is having to compete with tourists. Once spring break arrives, whole herds of teenagers or senior citizens wearing matching T-shirts graze the food court at Union Station, where until now I've enjoyed a peaceful lunchtime most Fridays. I take some consolation in the fact that the stellar Indian food at Aditi is always overlooked in favor of pizza and chicken wings, so my wait in line isn't any longer than usual, but it's getting harder to find a seat. Last week I found a two-top next to three women at an adjacent table, and when I asked if anyone was sitting there, one responded "You are!" I didn't have to ask if they were from the Midwest. After a few minutes, though, others from their group started to gather, and before you know it I'm ceding the opposite side of my table, drafting food court treaty provisions in my head, hoping to finish my curry before everyone forgets I had a legitimate claim.

Being rather new to the area, there's still plenty we'd like to see ourselves, too. Fall and Winter were great times to catch up on a lot of stuff we hadn't seen in a while and explore the sights that were always too far down the priority list to cut the mustard when we were just visitors. Like the Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial. Didn't know there was a Theodore Roosevelt Memorial? Let alone an island? Yeah, neither did we. It holds up a commuter freeway, and since 9/11 airport traffic has passed directly overhead, so it's not exactly the remote wilderness Teddy may have wanted. If you like mosquitoes and goofy statues, though, do put it on your list.

For Mother's Day we had grand plans of visiting Great Falls Park, making an afternoon of nature's majesty just ten miles from home. So did everyone else, apparently, because a police car was blocking the entrance when we arrived, and most of the cars passing by could be seen turning around with disappointment on their faces. We were among them, but at least we could tell the kids we'd just come back another time - no big deal. So we resorted to Plan B: