The cherry blossoms have come and gone. That means it’s spring – right?
Saturday was a new adventure in guiding. I often say I love the job – you meet people from everywhere, get some exercise and make good money. It’s all good except when it rains.
Or maybe I should say snow. My Saturday morning tour started alongside the first heavy drops of rain outside the White House. And then it started snowing. Like really hard. My group thinned over the next hour. They couldn’t take the conditions. Oh, what’s a little snow, rain and 35 degree wind chill, but that’s just me.
By the 90-minute tour covering the Lincoln assassination’s end, only half the group remained. I always tell people with my personal tours you can always come another day for free and that’s what many decided. I can’t say I blamed them for leaving.
But that was just round one. I still had an afternoon 90-minute tour along Embassy Row.
I exchanged my soaked winter coat that’s luckily waterproof for two fleece jackets in my car and headed to DuPont Circle. While waiting 20 minutes for the group, my mind kept wandering to “I just want to go home. Can I leave?” The wind was now 20-plus mph so a 45-degree afternoon became a 30s wind chill.
When showtime starts I usually block out the elements and keep going. I was just happy two groups of people were brave enough to weather the two rough conditions. It was 11,000 steps for me and a handful more to the couch for the evening.
Don’t worry – it will be 90 degrees and sweaty before we know it. And, I’ll then dream of the snowy morning and hope for a breeze.
