I'm not sure how to neatly tuck this 24 hour getaway into a blog post. Since we used our anniversary as the excuse and today is our anniversary, it seems like a good time to try!
Jeremy and I have followed Michael W. Smith since we were kids/teenagers. Michael W. Smith was one of my first cassette tape purchases. Contemporary Christian music was so new to my family that my parents had to read the lyrics page before it was approved. It was his Change Your World album which was not worship music and that made it suspect. That seems so funny to look back on now! In a nostalgic moment in mid June I looked up Michael W. Smith's instagram page and saw that he was going to be in concert on July 1 in DC. I sent it to Jeremy and suggested it would be a fun anniversary date.
Jeremy looked at it more closely. Michael W. Smith was playing the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts with full choir and full orchestra. It was a one time concert titled Honoring Freedom. I needed to change up some scheduling with Janell and figure out who would love to have the children for a night. I did that within a couple hours and then Jeremy had the tickets purchased and hotel booked almost instantly.
I was not involved with the tickets or hotel. Jeremy casually tells me that we are staying at the hotel adjacent to the Kennedy Center for ease of walking and, oh by the way, it's a 5 star hotel called The Watergate.
When we arrive, valet and bellhop pull you from the car before you can even get your head together. The bellhop says, "Oh! You must be having a night away from the kids." That being said after he opens the back door where there is all kinds of kid evidence strewn on the floor. Clearly our car was the oldest van the poor valet guy would have to drive that night.
The shower was like a whole room. Pretty amazing--I could get used to that!
And there were snacks in the room--which I thought was pretty amazing until I figured out that they cost $9 for each little tin. By then we were laughing and determining not to touch anything.
We ate supper at a Mediterranean restaurant. It was a beautiful afternoon and no one was around. It was actually almost eerily quiet for knowing we were in DC. And then we walked over to the Kennedy Center.
We arrived early so had plenty of time to look around the building, the gift shop and walk around the balcony overlooking the river and city.
By the time we got into the concert hall I couldn't believe I was there. Everything in DC feels historical and this was no different.
And then Michael W. Smith! He played some really old songs. We knew all of them. Performing here with a choir and orchestra was a dream for him and knowing it was special for the artist made it even more special to be a part of the audience.
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| Photo from @mwsmithofficial |
At the end of intermission people started randomly standing up and looking back and clapping. I had no idea what was going on until I realized the Vice President Mike Pence and his wife had just entered and were waving to the audience. Later, I learned that Secretary of State Pompeo was in attendance also. That was a pretty amazing moment.
The second half of the concert was even better than the first. He played so many of his best worship music. And, of course, Friends for the encore.
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| Photo credit: @mwsmithofficial |
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We walked back to the hotel behind the building and along the river. CVS was our romantic snack stop. Ice cream and plastic spoons for the win!
In the morning we had an excellent breakfast buffet and listened to Michael W. Smith music in the car on the way back to pick up the children. (They spent the night with Jeremy's parents and we met them half way.)
I'm pretty sure this 24 hours will go down as one of our favorite memories together.
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