Group Writing Project #4
Note: I am so sorry this segment is late. For those of you who don’t know, I live in North Carolina and while I am fine; the server I use for internet access was under water for a long time. Better late than never!!
Another note: The Lucy Radcliffe fan Trixie encounters is based on a real Trixie Board fan. See if you know who it is!
Day 1
11:45 p.m.
Holiday Inn- Old Town
Alexandria, VirginiaWith silence; Trixie, Honey and Di took their bags to their room on the 4th floor of the hotel. Despite being a "chain" hotel; this Holiday Inn was beautifully decorated in the style of Old Town Alexandria. Since the Bob-Whites would be here for a few days they had completely unpacked the station wagon.
The Bob-Whites. This was to be a fun vacation for all; but instead the last few hours were spent in silence. The elevator door closed and the three girls collectively sighed. They wouldn’t have to ride the elevator with the boys.
As the elevator climbed; Trixie tried to think what had gone wrong. When they left Mrs. Wheeler earlier in the day they were in such high spirits eagerly anticipating their summer long adventure.
"I guess it was all the togetherness," Trixie thought as the elevator climbed to the second floor. "Or maybe we all have a different sense of what this trip is about," she concluded as the elevator reached the 3rd floor.
That thought brought back memories earlier as they were traveling down I-95 en route to Washington, DC. They knew is would be a seven or eight hour drive depending on traffic, but as Trixie drove through Baltimore she didn’t think they would mind that she detoured to include a drive-by of Camden Yards. She bit her lower lip as the elevator doors opened to deposit the girls on the fourth floor. "Maybe I should have asked. But it was a drive-by, I didn’t want to stop!!" The girls stopped in front of Room 412. The boys supposedly had two adjoining rooms across the hall from the girls but there was no sign of the boys.
Honey unlocked the door and turned on the lights. The room was a beautiful suite with three beds for the girls. Mr. Wheeler had made reservation for the Bob-Whites at all the hotels so everything was taking care of. Each girl took a bed without saying a word and sat down.
It was approaching midnight when Honey broke the silence. "This is supposed to be a FUN trip??? What happened?" Then she started giggling. The laughter was infectious as Trixie and Di joined in. Wiping a tear from her eye she asked the girls, "Let’s go out and walk around?"
Trixie and Di stared at her in surprise. Honey, Honey who always followed the rules, was suggesting they go out exploring? As if reading their minds she said; "We’re high school graduates. If our parents didn’t trust us we wouldn’t be on this trip...."
"Let’s go!" said Diana as she grabbed Honey’s arm and Trixie’s arm and they left to explore Old Town.
King Street, the main street in Old Town Alexandria, was full of activity even at this late hour. The girls walked up the brick lined streets lit with authentic gas lamps and took in their surroundings. There were mellow crowds walking through the streets taking in the variety of street musicians who set the mood for the evening. It was a very sophisticated, yet historical mood. The girls walked along the street pointing out items of interest in the windows of stores they would like to visit when the stores were open for business.
"Honey what a great idea!" Trixie sighed as she took in her surroundings. This was very therapeutic after the long ride in the cramped station wagon.
"I know," Honey replied to her best friend. "I just wish we could go into one of these cafes and listen to the music. But I’m sure you have to 21 or something." She giggled. "We’re not even 19!"
What the girls hadn’t noticed was a young woman in her mid 20’s walking behind them. When she heard that comment she stopped the girls.
"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop; but you girls are interested in a cafe with music you can get into?" The woman was dark haired with a creamy white complexion and looked strangely familiar to the girls.
"Oh yes, we are!" Diana said stopping to turn around. "Could you help us out?"
"Sure!" the women said. The three girls were still trying to place her. "It just one block from here on Fairfax Street. Let me show you."
The girls followed the mystery woman down the block excited for their first chance to enjoy a music club. She led them to Johnny’s, a laid back, smoke filled jazz club that didn’t serve alcohol. The drink menu instead focused on exotic coffee concoctions and tea drinks. As they sat down Trixie suddenly knew who their guest was. After they placed their order, Trixie took the initiative and introduced herself hoping the woman would admit what Trixie was suspecting.
After the girls introduced themselves, their hostess just smiled and said, "I’m Monica." A slight smile crept upon Trixie lips as her guess had just been confirmed. She was dying to ask her a million questions but silently applauded her maturity at refraining. Once the drinks came, they explained to Monica about their summer trip which she thought sounded wonderful.
"You will love your time in Washington! I remember when I first arrived in this city as an inter..." Monica’s voice trailed off as she was no doubt remembering the end of her internship that almost brought down an American President.
Honey, being her usual sensitive self, tried to draw Monica into the happier memories of her initial visit to Washington. "Tell us what you like the best and what we should see?"
"How many days did you say you were here?" Monica said, laughing above the din in the cafe. The four girls talked forever before they realized it was almost 1:30 am.
Spying Diana yawning, Trixie glanced at her watch. "Gleeps! I need to sleep!" Honey laughed as she picked up their "coffee and tea tab" and paid their server. The four girls walked out into the fresh air and stopped.
"Enjoy your stay in Washington, it is a beautiful city. If I wasn’t flying to New York tomorrow, I’d meet up with you again. Do you remember how to get back to King Street and your hotel?"
The girls nodded and thanked Monica and walked the short block back to King Street. The streets were a lot more deserted as most of the over 21 cafes were no doubt having last call. The lobby of the hotel was deserted as they made their way to the fourth floor.
Opening the door and reaching to turn on the light, Trixie said to Honey and Di, "Boy, they guys will be mad they missed out on this!"
But the lights were already on as Honey let out a small yell of surprise. Brian, Mart, Dan and Jim were sitting in their room waiting for them and looking not too happy.
"Uh-oh," Diana said softly as she closed the door behind her.
"Where do you three think you’ve been?" Brian glowered at the three girls as they sat on Honey’s bed. Jim and Brian sat on Trixie’s bed directly across from them while Mart and Dan sat on Di’s bed engrossed more in a late night movie than the fact the girls have just returned at 2:00 am.
The three just sighed and rolled their eyes at each other. Trixie, about ready to explode, held her voice down as she angrily retorted, "Its only the first day of the trip. If you are going to treat us like we’re thirteen again, I’m catching the next plane back to New York!"
There was an angry stare down between Trixie and her brother. His response was, "Aren’t you old enough to not drag Honey and Di into your crazy, harebrained ideas?"
Honey interrupted. "Just for your information, it was MY idea that we take a walk. And now I’m going to bed!" She stormed over to the bed and pulled back the covers to make a point scattering 52 cards in all directions.
But that just added fuel to Brian’s rage. "Where were you doing at this hour and who were you with?"
Diana, encouraged by Honeys independent spirit chimed in; "We were at a great jazz cafe with Monica Lewinsky." She nodded her head to emphasize the point but realized just how ridiculous that sounded.
"Really?" questioned Mart. "Was she as... uh...NICE as she seems?"
"Yes Mart," Trixie snapped. "And she was just as curvy, too!" She went over to her bed and pulled the quilt back. However, she was not as graceful as Honey was and kept tugging at the quilt with no luck.
The four guys left the room, before they started laughing out loud at Trixie’s attempt at turning down her bed. They parted and went their own ways in the hallway. At the door to their room, Jim stopped and turned to Brian. "I wish we had been able to meet Monica Lewinsky."
Brian grinned and slapped his best friend on the back. "Me too, just don’t tell the girls."
Day 2
At 10:00 the next morning the Bob-Whites met in the lobby of the hotel ready to start their day. No one brought up the scene from the night before. The first order of business was to visit Daniel Stuart and deliver the package for Mrs. Wheeler. Since the FBI headquarters was near the Mall; they decided it would give them a good place to start.
The seven Bob-Whites eagerly boarded the hotel shuttle to the Metro station. They then boarded the train to Federal Triangle. The Bob-Whites looked around in amazement and they descended the elevator to the underground subway. It was so clean!!
They boarded the train and before they knew it they crossed under the Potomac River and into the District of Columbia. At Federal Triangle; they emerged from the subway and took the escalator to the street level and were amazed to find themselves in the middle of a bustling business district. As they looked around it was Trixie who located the FBI building for the group.
As she started to take off in that direction it was Dan who grabbed her arm. "Oh no you don’t!" he said trying to hold back a grin. "We all will go to the FBI building." They walked up to the large imposing building on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue and located a guard. Honey stepped forward and put on one of her dazzling sweet smiles.
"Could you help me? I’m Madeleine Wheeler’s daughter to see Daniel Stuart." Without saying a word the guard dialed some numbers and repeated Honey’s message. When he put down the phone he told Honey, "You are to leave your package with me and you and your friends are to meet Mr. Stuart for dinner tonight at the Old Ebbitt Grill at 8:00. Thank you." With that he closed the guardhouse window.
"Well, what did he say? Can we go in to see Daniel Stuart? Maybe he can give us a private FBI tour. HONEY!" Trixie was talking a mile a minute.
"I was to leave the package with guard and Daniel will meet us for dinner tonight. Sorry Trix...no FBI tour today." Honey looked at her crestfallen friend, though secretly relieved they were not entering the FBI compound.
"That’s OK," Trixie said, trying to be cheerful.. After all it was through the Wheelers' generosity that they were even on this trip. "There’s a lot of other things to see."
The group then walked back toward the subway stop and continued walking to Constitution Avenue. On the other side on Constitution was the Mall, or the grassy promenade where many of the city’s museums and attractions were located. Directly across the street was the Museum of American History. All the Bob-Whites found something of interest here whether it was the trends in transportation and agriculture or the First Ladies exhibit that nearly took up the entire second floor.
Following the museum the group went back across Constitution Avenue to the Old Post Office Pavilion. There was a food court in here where they could choose any taste for lunch. There were also a number of stores with the restaurants and Mart amused everyone at the Juggling Store. Following lunch they took the elevator to the very top of the Pavilion where they were rewarded with a breathtaking view of the city. To the north they could see National Cathedral and the campus of Georgetown and to the west they enjoyed seeing the planes land at Ronald Reagan National Airport. They enjoyed it because they planes looked as if they would clip the Washington Monument on descent. Also in that same direction was the Pentagon. To the south was the Mall and the monuments. And to the east was the impressive Capitol at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Once their picture taking was complete, the group decided to split up for the rest of the afternoon. They guys wanted to go to the Air and Space Museum to see the rockets and the Star Wars exhibit. The girls wanted to see the National Gallery of Art. Trixie didn’t really want to look at French paintings, but she also didn’t want to spend the day with the guys. They agreed to meet at 4:00 on the steps on the National Archives.
This time the girls were waiting at the National Archives before the guys arrived. When they finally did they were laughing and girls gathered that they spent more time looking at girls rather that rockets.
They got into line to enter the National Archives and finally were through security and able to see the National Treasures. After studying about these documents in school, all the Bob-Whites looked in amazement at the original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It was after 6:00 when they left the National Archives. The guard told them the Old Ebbitt Grill was near the White House so if they wanted they could walk up to the Washington Monument and then over to the White House before meeting Daniel Stuart for dinner.
As they walked to the Washington Monument, Mart wanted to take a picture of the IRS building (which is next to the National Archives). No one dared to ask what he was planning to the do with it. He also arranged different members of the Bob-Whites standing with their fingers in the air and backs to the Washington monument. When developed, the picture would look as if the person had their finger atop the point of the Monument.
It was just after 7:00 when they arrived at the White House and took pictures of the quiet surroundings. Di and Trixie began to giggle as they saw a secret service agent walking a cat on a leash just outside the Oval Office.
The Bob-Whites arrived at the Old Ebbitt Grill and were delighted with it and its decor. The hostess went ahead and seated them telling them Daniel Stuart had not yet arrived. By 8:15 Stuart had still not arrived. At 8:30 the hostess informed them that Daniel Stuart would not be arriving but that he had already taken care of the bill and they were to go ahead and order.
Day 3
After an uneventful evening the Bob-Whites were up early for their 9:00 appointment on Capitol Hill. Illinois Congressman Phil Crane was a college friend of Matt Wheeler and he was to meet the Bob-Whites for a special tour of the Capitol. The group again took the subway in the District; only this time they continued riding past Federal Triangle exiting at the Capitol South station.
Congressman Crane’s office is located in the Canon House office building. This office building was just a short walk from the Metro stop. Once through security in the Canon building they entered Congressman Crane’s office.
They first met with his chief of staff then the Congressman himself who entertained the visitors with stories of his and Matthew Wheeler’s days at Hillsdale College. After posing for pictures with the Congressman in his office they left for a tour of the Capitol Building itself with an intern. Brian and Jim were saddened to see this intern was male.
The intern lead the Bob-Whites to the lower level on the Cannon building where they boarded a tram that took them speeding along the maze of passages that connected the office building with the Capitol. In no time they were in the lower level of the Capitol building being led to the Rotunda. Once in the Rotunda of the capital, the Bob-Whites looked up in amazement at the intricate artwork in the Dome. They also saw Statuary Hall and the famous "whisper spot". The intern then led the Bob-Whites through a door and they found themselves standing on the floor of the US House of Representatives! The stunned group looked around at the hallowed chamber never having expected to find themselves in the House floor. The House was in recess for the week and therefore special visitors were allowed on the floor. If the House had been in session the Bob-Whites would have seen they wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere near the House floor. The intern gave them a background on the historical mysteries of the House chamber. Then Mart got his wish and was able to sit in the Speaker of the House’s chair.
After their informative tour the Bob-Whites had time to go across from the Capitol and tour the Supreme Court. Following that tour they walked to Union Station for lunch. Union Station is a recently renovated train station that still serves as an Amtrak depot; but the marble facade now contains a number of exquisite stores and first rate restaurants. In the bottom of the station there was a food court similar to the one they ate at in the Post Office Pavilion. This was quickly the consensus again as it was the only way to satisfy Mart’s appetite. The group also saw the food court area also housed a 12 screen movie theater complex!
Following lunch the girls pursued the guys that they wanted to do some shopping back in Old Town Alexandria. They were to leave the next day for Williamsburg. The Bob-Whites were also fortunate to learn that Union Station was a stop on the Metro. They boarded the Red Line train and after a quick transfer at Metro Center, continued out to Virginia.
Once back in Old Town the group eagerly explored the historic shops and monuments. On a main section of King Street; the group scattered into the many stores. Trixie ducked into a book store wanted to buy the latest Lucy Radcliffe book without Mart around to tease her. She immediately went to section and perused through the books.
But a conversation between a customer and the clerk caught her attention. "These books have become more popular since Julie Campbell Tatham’s death last week," the clerk was saying. Trixie stopped as her stomach leapt to her throat; Julie Campbell Tatham was the author of her beloved Lucy Radcliffe books! Feeling almost dizzy she turned from behind the book rack to hear better what the clerk was saying.
"That’s a shame," the customer was saying. "The Lucy Radcliffe books are still one of my favorites." The woman was trying to finish her conversation with the clerk but her three kids were diverting her attention. She tried one last time. "I came all the way from Pennsylvania to visit a chatroom friend from California that I met on the Lucy Radcliffe board. Do you know where she is buried?"
The clerk was generous in her information. "Mrs. Tatham lived just a few blocks from here. She’s buried in a little secluded cemetery not far from here." The clerk continued to give directions and when Trixie heard enough she hurriedly left the store.
Once outside she hugged herself and leaned again the wall of the store. Taking deep breaths she ordered herself to gain control. But the author of her beloved Lucy Radcliffe books was now gone.
"Hey Schoolgirl Shamus!" Jim cheerily called out as he approached Trixie. His grin stopped when he saw how upset she was.
Trixie looked up at him taking deep breath. His look of concern was going to make her cry. All he said was "The others are getting us a table at the Fish Market for dinner. They’re waiting."
"Jim, please! Can we make on little stop before dinner. Please!" This was so uncharacteristic of Trixie that Jim knew better than to try to get out of her what was going on. He simply followed her around the corner and up a block and dart through a hedge into a small cemetery.
For the life of him, Jim couldn’t understand what was so urgent about a cemetery. He came up behind Trixie as she crouched in front of a small discreet marker. As he peered over her shoulder he read the inscription. Letting out an inaudible sigh Jim offered thanks it was he who found Trixie and not Mart. Without saying a word he went over to a tree and snapped off a blossom and handed it to Trixie to place on the marker. As she did she looked up at Jim and weakly smiled her thanks to which he just squeezed her shoulder.
Later that evening Trixie was back in her usual spirits joking around with the others as they enjoyed their last evening in Washington, DC. They were looking forward to the trip to Williamsburg, just a quick 3 hour drive the next day. Walking into the hotel they were all laughing when the hotel clerk motioned for their attention.
"Mr. Frayne," the clerk beckoned. "I have just received an urgent phone call for you. You are to call this number at once." The clerk, having already dialed the number motioned for Jim to take the call at a near-by secluded phone.
All the Bob-Whites sat in the lobby chairs worrying what was wrong. Was it someone back home? An accident? A death?
They didn’t have to wait long as Jim came back to the group. "Relax," he said. "Nothing's wrong at home."
"Then what’s going on?" Dan demanded. "What was so urgent?"
"That was Daniel Stuart’s secretary. He needs our help. He has been called away and we are to deliver a parcel to him. The FBI is sending a courier out to our hotel with it tonight. We are to leave first thing in the morning. He’s in Tennessee and needs it by the end of the week."
"What no Williamsburg!" Di moaned, quickly stopping herself realizing how selfish she sounded.
Brian added, "If the FBI can courier it out to our hotel, why can’t they take it all the way to Tennessee?"
But Trixie wasn’t listening to any of them. She jumped up and looked at all of them, "Wow! A real mission for the FBI!"