L’Arche House Swap

September 2014
By Michael Richard

On September 15th the residents of Assisi House went on a little adventure. Traveling in two vehicles that housed a sleepy though energetic team of Don, Deb, Phil, Christine, Jane, Todd, Michael, Marcia & Ben, the troupe drove in a straight shot to Washington D.C. Participating in a house swap with our sister Washington D.C. community, Assisi House made a home of Euclid House in downtown D.C. for three nights.

Arriving in the early morning for some pancakes and much needed coffee at IHOP, Assisi House was then warmly welcomed by the residents and assistants of Ontario House – across the street from Euclid.

After a few hours of deep slumber, Assisi sprang on the Capital. Traveling first to the National Mall, they walked over the Capitol steps snapping pictures on a gorgeous late summer’s afternoon. After, they travelled to the National Museum of the American Indian and observed
a small piece of this lands native people. They watched a stirring film, observed the colorful
headdresses of long extinct tribes and eventually ate at the museum’s lunch hall (arguably the
Smithsonian’s finest) before heading home to rest.

The next day included a visit to the Greater D.C. L’Arche communities of Arlington, VA for
dinner and an extended walk through the hip Adams Morgan district. Both of which are highly
recommended!

The final day included visits to the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial which overlooks the
Tidal Basin and rests across from the lovely Jefferson Memorial and an exciting visit to the
Museum of Natural History.

Knowing that there was so much left to see but that time was running out, the team spent their
last evening with the residents and assistants of Ontario House eating some ice cream and
swapping L’Arche stories. They eagerly plan on visiting Ontario & Euclid next summer when
L’Arche’s eastern region will be meeting for regional gathering in Washington.