Back to the Start

I am not going to delete the last couple posts, I am just going to start blogging our adventure from the start! On the 12th of October we went to Virginia! Grandma was going to retire, for good this time. We had to be there for that. We arrived late on Thursday.
Lon was a joy on the airplane! He seemed to enjoy having his own seat. He is not at the age where he needs his own seat but companion fares are a great thing.
He liked to play with Mom's pocketbook. That was fun, inside Mama packed things like a couple trucks, some snacks. Lon was impressed.

Friday was Grandma's Birthday. It started out with a pink flamingo in the yard. Everyone knew it was her birthday! What a fun thing to do for a friend! We all went into DC with Mom to share her last day at the Capital. Grandmother spent the day at my sisters. Lon and I went all over the place with Grandma. There is a ton of paperwork involved in retirement.

Lon enjoys himself where ever he is! It helps that most everyone likes him. The nice ladies took time to entertain him while Grandma filled out reams of paperwork.

Lon reads the Hill.

Grandma has a birthday cake, and best of all, it was chocolate.

Lon learns about collating. He is not yet good at it.

Time to leave the office for the last time. Let's get this retirement thing started! WOOHOO!

Later on that evening, Lon had his first baby sitter. Oh my. I was feeling rather guilt ridden about it. Lon did very well. I think it was that he had some other children with him along with his new friends. The family went to Teatro Goldonis. The most wonderful restaurant in DC. We did not want to order, so my sister arranged to have a tour of the menu for us. The best food! I am sure I am going to spell some of these incorrectly I will fix it as soon as I find out it is wrong.

The menu tour started out with Frita Mista, a mixed platter of fried food. Scallops, calamari, shrimp, red pepper, and zucchini. Not a hint of grease, light crisp breading, with two different dipping sauces, a spicy red sauce and a garlic aoli.

Our next course, a perfect pan seared scallop, with a spicy ginger sauce. Next, came Fettucini Bolagnese. Following that was a ricotta gnocchi in a tomato basil sauce. The picture is of the next course, a beef purse with mushroom sauce, it is called a faboti. There is more! My brother in law's favorite came next, lobster risotto, with a sliced black truffle. We followed that with more fish, a swordfish with polenta that was so buttery it melted on the tongue. Not only the polenta but the fish too. Swordfish is so yummy. I had never had it before. Our last course before dessert was the bistecca. Beef, with potatoes and mushrooms. Dessert was amazing. It came to the table in a total of seven plates. Two tiers of three dishes and one large dish for the center of the table. Each dish had a different dessert. We all shared. A flourless chocolate cake, a cassatta, fruit and zabigolni, gelatos, (coffee, mango, lemon, raspberry, mint), a tiramisu and pistachio biscotti. We ended with coffee and lemoncello. Michelle, my mother's neighbor and friend wanted me make sure I blogged that she cleaned all of her plates. The meal was amazing. We even got a tour of the kitchen. It is such a tiny place for the amount of wonderful food they consistently make. Every time I go there I am so thankful that I was able to enjoy such wonderful food. Teatro Goldoni is on K street, Washington DC. I slept very well that night. Lon was happy to see me I think, even if he wasn't really all that awake when I came back.