AN: Sorry about the long update. I have the next installment of this story. So far, I have only four chapters left to write about. Hope you like this chapter!

Chapter Eleven

Danny

Thursday

Made it to Chicago. Stayed about a day. Now we're contining our long journey. How was Chicago? Most people think it's a great city, but I personally think there's really nothing to write home about it.

They've got the Sears Tower and Wrigley Field and all that, but what else? Not only that, but I think it could stand to be cleaned. San Francisco is pretty dirty, too, don't get me wrong, but Chicago is worst! (And don't get me started on New York City and Boston - Whoa!) But Chicago is by far the -

Dad, you're supposed to be writing about how the trip to Chicago was - not about how polluted it is. Chicago's a cool city nonetheless.

Thank you, D.J. for snatching the pen out of my hands. Okay, let me cancel out everything I said before and give a recap of what happened in Chicago today: Went to the Sears Tower this morning after breakfast, went with Vicky to watch a taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show, went with Steph to the Museum of Science and Industry. That was where we bumped into good ol' Steve Urkel. He's the same as always - suspenders and all. He and Stephanie remembered each other and picked up where they left off with Stephanie and her eyeglass dilemma. Steve is just as annoying as he was when we first met him. But the kid knows his stuff when it comes to science.

Oh, and we all went together to Wrigley Field to see a game, but don't ask me who played. As much as I love sports, baseball has never really been a favorite of mine - it's too dirty, if you ask me. In fact, I-

Thanks, Dad. You've written quite well. Remember, I'm handing this in as a school project. Don't think my teacher wants to know your opinions about the lack of cleaniness with baseball. We're in the state of Pennsylvania , after hours and hours of driving. We're cramped and bored, but I think we'll stopping soon, because our next stop is Washington, D.C., Stephanie's choice. Sounds like it could be cool...Sorry for rambling and sorry for snatching the pen, Dad.

D.J.

"Do you think we'll see the President when we arrive?" Stephanie asked, looking up from one of her chapter books.

I had to chuckle at that. Seeing the president is a one-in-a-lifetime chance. Getting to meet him up close was probably the same as getting the chance to meet the Queen of England. Extremely rare. Joey had actually gotten the honor of meeting her, but then totally screwed up when everyone thought he was trying to create an international incident by trying to assassinate her when he was only trying to take a picture of her.

Typical Joey, but still, even for him or any other normal civilian, it was rare to meet a politician or royality.

I didn't want to crush Stephanie's hopes, so I nodded and told her yes, it was a possibility.

Kimmy snorted a laugh. "You're such a doofus!" She exclaimed to Stephanie. "Who cares about meeting the President? It's his kids I wanna see! Think he has any hot sons?"

I rolled my eyes. If I had a dollar for everytime I heard Kimmy's complete stupidity, I'd be a rich man.

Stephanie shook her head simply, without even looking at Kimmy. "He's got children, but none of them are our age. He's got a five-year-old daughter and eight-year-old triplet boys."

Kimmy's face fell. "Oh," Was she said.

"Well, don't you find at least something interesting in our nation's capital besides cute boys, Kimmy?" Vicky asked.

"Don't even bother asking her that, honey. You'll corrupt her brain stems with knowledge," I wisecracked.

"Well, I would like to go to the National Mall," Kimmy replied.

That's when I burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Kimmy demanded, scowling.

I had to wipe my eyes before I could stop laughing. When I recovered enough to talk, I turned to Kimmy.

"You want to go to the National Mall? Kimmy, do you even know what the National Mall is?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's a shopping mall. It's Washington D.C.'s mall, right?"

I laughed even harder. Vicky was giving me looks, but I ignored them.

Stephanie looked up from her book and sighed. "Kimmy, the National Mall is not a shopping mall. It's a large area in the middle of D.C. with different monuments of our former presidents. You know, like the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Things like that."

Kimmy's mouth dropped open. "You can't be serious! Here I was, planning to go to the mall and then finding out it's not a mall? Oh, God. This is gonna be so boring now!" She fell into the chair next to D.J. and Steve.

"I don't think D.C. will be boring. It sounds quite cool. Don't you think so, Steve?" D.J. asked.

Steve nodded his agreement. "Absolutely. D.C. rocks."

Kimmy didn't look convinced. She only closed her eyes and moaned. "I'm on vacation to have fun - not learn a bunch of nerd stuff!" She exclaimed dramatically.

Stephanie and I looked at each other with amusement.

By 2pm, we checked into a hotel. The kids were hanging out in the lobby, so Vicky and I went to our room to unpack. As I was opening a suitcase, Vicky kissed me softly unexpectanly.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Ever since we left, we've hardly had anytime together. Can you kiss me again? Please? Puh-leeeeeeese?" she begged.

As much as I wanted to return Vicky's favor, I knew we had work to do. There were clothes and other items everywhere on the beds, chairs and the floor. And God knows I can't stand messy rooms.

"We've got to get unpacked first and then-"

At that moment , Stephanie came charging into the room at top-speed.

"You guys won't believe who's here right now!" She exclaimed, looking out of breath.

"Who?" I asked, not stopping my work of picking up clothes.

"You'll never guess - the First Lady's here! In this hotel! You guys, we just have to meet her!"

Stephanie looked flustered and excited.

"What's she doing here?" I asked.

"She's in the lobby, signing autographs of her new book. Dad, can we please go see her? Please? Puh-leeeeeeeeeeese? I won't ask you for anything else on this whole trip. I promise!"

"Yeah. Sounds fun to me. Let's go, honey," Vicky replied, grabbing my hand.

With that, the three of us went inside the elevator all the way down. It's a glass elevator, so you can see all the way down to the lobby and up into the sky.

When we reached the lobby and the doors opened up, the lobby was jam-packed full of people. Everyone was waiting in line to see the First Lady, a fairly young, dark-haired woman wearing jeans and a blue T-shirt.Not what I was expecting to see on the First Lady, but she looked down-to-earth. She had all her kids with her and all the Secret Service agents were surrounding them. She was signing books for people and having brief conversations with them, smiling.

"Wow, what do you think happened to her suit?" I asked.

"She must be a tomboy. Not that that's a bad thing," Vicky said, frowning at me.

"I never said it was. I just-"

"Guys! Shhh!" Stephanie shushed.

We quickly shut our mouths.

About an hour and a half later, we were finally in front of the line. Stephanie was shaking. My hands were pretty shaky, too. I've interviewed a lot of interesting people on Wake Up, San Francisco, but the First Lady was by far the most interesting person to meet.

When the hotel assistant escorted Stephanie to the table, the second she stood in front of the First Lady, she froze.

Vicky and I looked at each other. I walked over to the hotel assistant. "Excuse me? Could we possibly get through to check on that girl over there? She's my daughter and-"

"Well...three's the limit if you're with someone. Is she with you, too?" he asked, pointing at Vicky.

"Yes, I am," she told him.

"Okay. Come through, but make it quick. We've got at least 200 more people waiting in line."

We nodded and joined Stephanie, still standing stock frozen.

"Oh, are you this lovely young lady's parents?" the First Lady asked, smiling at us.

Stephanie looked up at me, hesitantly.

"Go ahead, sweetie," I assured her.

Stephanie nodded and then walked up to the First Lady and shook her hand.

"Hi, I'm Stephanie Tanner. I'm eleven and I live in San Francisco. It's really nice to meet you," she said breathlessly.

The First Lady smiled at Stephanie. "Nice to meet you, Stephanie. Are these your parents?" she asked.

"Well, that's my dad, Danny and his fiancee, Vicky. They have their own TVshow where we live."

The First Lady looked interested. "Oh, really? What kind of show?" she asked.

"It's just a local morning TV talk show. It's really nice to meet you, Ms. First Lady," I replied, reaching out to shake her hand. (My hand was terribly sweaty. Hope she didn't notice.)

"Pleasure's all mine. Well, do you have a book for me to sign?"

"We don't have one. I never got a chance to buy one, but I've still heard all about you. I think you're amazing, what you've done for this country, as far as children are concened, " Stephanie replied.

The First Lady beamed. "Thank you, Stephanie. That's a nice thing to say. I do what I can, you know. I've helped out in soup kitchens, women's homeless shelters, orphananges and other places I can help out with kids. Oh, speaking of children, meet my own kids. This is my daughter Gabrielle-Ann and my sons Phillip, Tyler and Jesse. The nanny's sick, so I had to bring themwith me to the signing. Say hello, you guys," she told her children.

All her kids waved hello shyly.

"We have a uncle named Jesse, too," Stephanie told the First Lady. "He likes the way you keep your hair," she added.

The First Lady chuckled. "Oh, well tell him that the First Lady said thank you. I love men who like hair."

We laughed. Then the First Lady motioned for one of the Secret Service agents. The agent walked over to her and she whispered to him. He then ran down the hall. A second or so later, he came back holding a Polaroid camera. He handed it to the First Lady.

"Well, since you guys don't have a book for me to sign, how about you take a picture with me and I'll sign it for you? How's that sound?"

Stephanie's eyes widened. "Cool!" she exclaimed.

The First Lady laughed. "I take that as a yes then," she said, winking at Vicky and me.

In a mere few seconds,all of us bunched up together - Stephanie, Vicky, the First Lady, her children and I while one of the hotel assistants snapped a quick photo.

After the picture came out, the First Lady quickly signed it. After she'd signed it, she handed it to Stephanie.

"It was nice meeting you, Stephanie. You're a really intelligent girl. Good luck with you. Oh, and Mr. Tanner? I'd like to appear on your show soon. Is that alright?"

I was floored. I didn't know what to say.

"Say yes," Vicky hissed in my ear.

"Uh, sure. Absolutely. Why not? We'll have a little party, while we're at it. Whaddya say, huh?"

Stephanie looked like she wanted to die.

Vicky tugged my sleeve. "Let's go, sweetheart. Steph, let's go. It was nice meeting you, First Lady," she said, sensing Stephanie's embarassement.

After we'd left the line, Stephanie shook her head. "Never again will you come again with me in public," she muttered, walking ahead of us. She was smiling, though.

All throughout dinner, Stephanie kept talking about our brief encounter with the First Lady.

"She's soooooo cool! I wish you guys had gotten the chance to meet her. She's amazing," she was telling D.J., Steve and Kimmy.

"Where were you guys anyway?" Vicky asked.

D.J. smiled at Steve and then at Kimmy. "We took Kimmy out to see the sights. Took her to the Library of Congress, U.S. Capitol, Jefferson National Cemetary...all the important places here."

"We got someone to take a picture of us in front of the White House, but nothing compares to meeting the First Lady! Steph, I'm envious of you!" Steve exclaimed.

Stephanie grinned.

"And did you learn anything from your experience, Kimmy? Dare I ask?" I asked her.

Kimmy shrugged. "Yeah, I did. Everything was cool. I did meet a hot guy here, though. So my plans didn't really go to waste. I met him in the Library of Congress. Who knew such a hottie could be in such a place like the library? I mean, the only ones that hang out in a library are geeks and dweebs. Took me completely by surprise to see him. Oh! We have a date tonight! I promised I'd meet him at this movie theater downtown. Gotta go!"

She got up from her seat and grabbed her coat.

"See ya, Kimmy! And give me details when you come back!" D.J. called after her.

"I will!" Kimmy yelled back, closing the door behind her.

"Ahh, so glad she's gone," Stephanie sighed with relief.

We laughed.

Vicky got up and picked up her plate to put in the dishwasher.

"What are our plans for tomorrow?" She asked.

"We have to be in Maine by Saturday, so...if we play our cards right, we might be able to make a stop somewhere in perhaps Connecticut or Massachusetts by Friday evening," I replied.

"So, we're leaving tomorrow morning then?" Stephanie asked.

I nodded.

Stephanie sighed. "I don't want this vacation to come to an end. It's been fun."

I nodded in agreement. "It sure has," I agreed.