I often feel that Milwaukeeans, in general and myself included, lack a true sense of scale.  Not the “scale” that we use to weigh ourselves after overindulging in too much cheese, brats and beer, but scale in the sense of our place in the world.  For me, traveling has always been my best opportunity to remind myself that the world is a really, really big place!

When I was in seventh grade, in the early 80s, we went on a family trip to Washington, D.C.  Since then, I have only been back to visit once, just very briefly for a business trip.  My brother, who was about six at the time, kept a pictorial travel diary.  I think it is probably buried in a box somewhere in my parents’ basement, so I’m unlikely to be able to dig it up, but I do remember vividly the picture he drew of the Washington Monument.  It was actually very average drawing for a kid his age and hey, after all, the Washington Monument is the architectural definition of minimalism – not too hard to draw.  We did have some good laughs over his drawing skills, but now as a parent myself, I love it that he wanted to keep track of the experience in that way, as a kid when everything looks so HUGE.

I now have two daughters, ages ten and twelve, and they have not been to Washington, D.C., much less anywhere on the East Coast.  While I would love them to see New York City, another place that dwarfs you, I have actually been thinking of first trying to scrape up enough money to take a driving trip to D.C.  We were really inspired by the last election; they even participated by making campaign buttons out of Shrinky Dinks.  I was a Government major in college, so I figure I could make a decent tour guide.  And we do like museums.  In my opinion, you either have the patience for museums, or you don’t.  One other not-so-fuzzy memory from my childhood trip to D.C. is visiting the Smithsonian, and I would like my girls to see it in person, not by visiting the museum’s website.  These days, it’s been too much virtual travel by TV and computer, and not enough of the real thing!

I’v also heard that D.C. has some great restaurants, and we are adventurous eaters willing to try everything from gourmet to neighborhood ethnic food.  And if I recally correctly, D.C. also has some shopping…and hopefully not just conservative business suits suitable for a day of legislating!

If we could travel to D.C., I envision us creating an informative yet humorous multimedia blog, something along the lines of what Maira Kalman publishes in the New York Times (see her photo above for an example of her work).  My girls can both draw very well (I take after my brother, unfortunately).  I can take photos and video.  My final memory from my long-ago family D.C. trip is of my mother almost having her camera taken away by a Secret Service agent for taking photos in the White House.  That won’t be me!

P.S. I do realize this contest offers a trip for two…My younger daughter is very petite and if I can’t squeeze her into our suitcase, I will pay for her extra ticket!