Although we were in DC last year, we didn’t really play tourist much. We spent our exploration time in our neighborhood of Petworth. This year, our friend Mary Jo and her son, Colin, came to visit so we just had to drag that poor teenager to every tourist sight we could think of.

They arrived Thursday and Colin promptly took a nap. Hard getting up early when you go to sleep on teen time. We knew he’d be hungry when he got up, so we went protein shopping at the grocery store.

Friday, MJ had arranged a sunset bike tour of the monuments, and I suggested we do something inside since it was a bit DC summery so she made Colin pick a museum. Boy was he excited! He settled on the National Museum of American History, so off we went. After an hour or so, Colin had reached his museum limit, so we ordered from one of the many food trucks that line the Mall and its surrounding streets.

It didn’t make sense to head back to Petworth, so we decided to hang out. I wouldn’t say we went on a death march after lunch, but it was pretty hot and humid, so let’s say it was death-defying enough. We walked to the Washington Monument, then viewed the WWII Memorial on the way to the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial and, finally, on to the White House. By then, it was time to head over to the bike tour meeting spot.

OK, so we had seen a bunch of the monuments already, but we added the following memorials during the bike tour: MLK, Vietnam War, Korean War, and FDR. We ended as the sun set at the Washington Monument.

Saturday, we decided to get brunch, but Colin wasn’t having any of it. Think he was tired or just tired of hanging with his mom and her friends? Whatever. We walked about a mile to Ted’s Bulletin because they make their own pop tarts. Can’t go wrong. It’s a chain, but pop tarts. The rest of the food was good, too, and MJ was nice enough to bring Colin a pop tart. Lucky kid.

What’s a summer weekend without baseball? Nada. We had tickets to the Nationals-Giants game in the evening and decided to head over after a post-brunch rest so Colin didn’t have time to start eating before we left. Who knows how long that might take? Instead, he set one foot into the stadium and ordered a smash burger. I really didn’t care who won, but I figured I would root for the home team, who came through with flying colors, and a 10-1 win. The best part was the presidents race: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and (Teddy) Roosevelt. (Lincoln won, if you care).

The worst part: Colin saved the rest of his appetite for a cheese steak and they were out of them by the time he was ready! As a consolation prize, MJ thought she was getting a Rolling Rock, but it was a Bold Rock (the can looked very similar) apple cider. Colin may have had a sip — or the can. Did you know you can get a cocktail in a bag at the stadium? Now you do.

Sunday we headed over to Alexandria to see how the upper middle class white people live. If you’ve ever been anywhere that’s considered a cute town in the U.S., you’ve been to Alexandria. As MJ put it, “Is it salt water or fresh?” We went to the Torpedo Factory Art Center on the Potomac and had a yummy brunch at the Majestic and then headed over to Mount Vernon to play a very easy round of dead person bingo. Guess who we found. George, Martha and the clan. Mount Vernon is on a beautiful and when George owned it it was 8,000 acres. (About 500 is left today.) How do you think George managed all that land? So guess who else we found. We don’t know. Why? Because although it is believed that about 150 other people are buried at Mount Vernon, their names are lost to history. Now, as they are discovered, their graves are marked with rope and memorial stones.

And now for a short lecture: As humans, it’s our responsibility to take a hard look at our history and do better. Right now, we’re failing miserably — or at least those who have power and their minions are. The founders of this nation enslaved other humans and we have still not come to terms with that horrible legacy. We all (including me) need to do better. OK, lecture over.

Colin had had more than enough of the adults and decided to take a scooter ride. It was his favorite part of the trip. He was gone for hours. We decided to eat, so we walked over to DC Corazon for authentic Mexican with ingredients I remember from CDMX, such as huitlacoche. Steven says to skip the flan, but everything else was yummy.

Monday, the visit ended and it was back to reality for Steven and me. The house is so quiet now.