Trip Video

Wednesday - Part One

Interview with Miss America on FOX

We started our day Wednesday very early, with a trip to the local FOX channel, where Amelia would do a live video feed to an Ohio FOX station with Miss America. Several of the champions were doing interview for their states as well, and some were going to do radio interviews with David Archuleta.

Amelia was pretty impressed that she had her hair and makeup done (she IS a girl, after all), and couldn't quite figure out the earpiece she got to wear. She started getting nervous before, but we played it cool and said it's no big deal (because of course I do live tv interviews with Miss America ALL the time...). When we walked into the studio, she immediately warmed up and started chatting away. Roger, from CMN, leaned in to me and said, "This one will be no problem! She's a ringer!" When the time came, Amelia looked straight into the camera and gave a great interview. I only wish I had a copy of what aired!

Lunch - M&S Grill

If you live in D.C., or go to visit, please visit M&S Grill. It was close to our hotel, and I had heard they had good food, so we went for what I expected to be a quiet lunch. I don't know if it was the Champions shirt Amelia was wearing or her natural charm, but we quickly began causing a stir at the restaurant. In no time, we were seated and introduced to the manager and chef of the restaurant, and they started sending out food for us to try. Two waiters both showered us with attention, and one made a big deal about getting Amelia's signature on his menu. The food was outstanding, the service exemplary, and the impression lasting. When it was time for us to leave, I asked for the check, and our waiter Andres said that the manager was happy for our meal to be on the house. What an impression this made on the girls! Thank you, M&S Grill for making even our lunch a memory to be remembered.

Meeting David Archuleta

We headed out for the short walk to the White House, and we happened to be close to the front of the line. When we reached the first security point, we were trying to line up (but we were all so excited it was tough to follow directions!), and who should walk right next to us but David Archuleta. The girls and I had watched David on American Idol and had some of his music on our iPods. And now he was two feet away from us! I thought Claire was going to have a stroke! After trying to be polite and not act like a crazed fan, the girls caught his attention and he came over and had a conversation with them and signed autographs. What a polite young man he is. He didn't appear at all bothered by the dreamy eyes all of the girls were giving him, and took his time to talk to all of the kids. The best part of it all, though, was once we were in the white house. More about that in the next post.