Washington, D.C.
It arrived! The long awaited trip to our nation's capitol. We flew out midmorning on July 4th. The plan was to meet at the airport, take the metro to our AirBNB, check in early if we could, and then go to the grocery store to buy food for the week.
But we did hit a snag. The airBNB wasn't ready. No big deal. We dropped off our bags and waited till the cleaning crew was finished. We went to 5 Guys for a lunch/dinner.
And then we needed some more A/C. D.C. had a 105 heat index on July 4th. It was oppressive hot. So we dove in to the National Portrait Gallery since we couldn't go back to the house to rest.
We all thought this was super neat.
A favorite family quote.
Who approved THAT?
I will say the ones of President's Bush (both) were much more conservative and portrait like. I wondered if maybe the liberal President them is more avant garde? But Carters was really portrait like as well. There are so many Presidents that we never, ever, ever talk about. How odd is that? I find it odd. I'd like to do a study and read more about them. Maybe I'll make that a life goal. Right now I'm researching more about Cuba though, so maybe after that.
Grady learned a lot about George Washington in second grade last year. We didn't make it out to Mount Vernon. Maybe next time.
You can never, ever, ever tell which picture she will want to participate in.
Cool treats while we tried to think of what else to do while we waited for the house to be ready. We ended up going to look for another restaurant. We ended up at Smiths. Picture below was taken outside while we were leaving. We sat there for a while before it was a more appropriate time to go find seats on the national mall for the fireworks!
Julia took a quick nap.
Ready for a Captiol Fourth!
Now this didn't work quite like I thought it would. The last concert that I went to in the national mall they had the music on speakers all through the mall. This time, they didn't. So that was disappointing. But the fireworks were beautiful.
National Archives on the walk back to the house.
And that's a wrap on the Fourth of July!
The next day we had a Duck Tour on the potomac to see all the monuments. So we got up and around and took the metro over to Union Station.
Outside our AirBNB.
No one ever wants to take a group picture. Missing: David.
Union Station
Outside of Union Station
Boarding our tour
The kids loved driving the boat. I was a little disappointed about how close we got to the monuments (not very) but overall it was a good way to drive around and see things. I like Duck Tours. This boat was in Normandy.
After the duck tour we had chic fila at Union Station and then went back to the house for naps. After a long travel day and late night for the fourth the kids needed rest. The cousins went to Georgetown. When they got back we walked to Bobby Van's for dinner. Then back home to bed.
End of Thursday, day 2!
Friday was our White House tour. A tour I got three months in advance through our Congressman's office.
It was also the day we woke up and decided the airbnb wasn't working for us and moved to a hotel.
There are many reasons for this but for me the straw that broke it was we couldn't even use the kitchen. There was some sort of leak and the counter top was constantly wet. And everything was kind of a mess. So there was no way we were going to cook. The central a/c was broken as well, so they had more than 6 window units going to keep it cool. It was loud and hot but you were constantly being hit with air. It was odd. So I asked for a refund (and got it, amazingly) and we moved to a hotel after our White House tour.
We think that this was Vice President Pence's motorcade leaving the White House. I have video you can't really see here but the police cars just whipped in here out of no where sirens blaring and police officers with "mom, that's a huge gun" aka M-16s, stood in the middle of the road.
Waiting in line to be let in for our tour.
There were 3 or 4 check points with secret service. This was the only time I got upset. We had to submit all of our socials and info for background checks for the tour back in April. So the list included Carolyn and my mom. Neither whom were able to make the trip. Mom due to emergency surgery. When we got up to secret service I told him we were 8 instead of 10, and that one couldn't make it due to surgery and the other had died.
I didn't blubber or anything, but I couldn't talk for a second.
Inside the East wing!
There were pictures all along the wall. I didn't get pictures of all of them.
The one and only group picture of our trip.
And just like that it was over and we were back outside.
Next we got lunch at au bon pain and then back to the house to grab our stuff and move to the hotel.
I can't remember why I took this picture. But I think it was because of the All-Star game and banners that you can't really see.
The kids liked our room much better than the house. The house had more space, per say, but had no open spaces. They had no where to move around and play. Here they played hide and seek and pillow fights and forts and craziness.
We tried to nap but they kids didn't cooperate. We headed to the ball park for the Nationals v Marlins game!
Nationals took care of this one and won 3-2 with a walk-off homer from a pinch hitter. We left in the 5th after Grady started getting emotional. A sure sign he was overspent. They had gone hard all day and in hindsight, we don't think they were sleeping great in the airbnb.
Home to the hotel to sleep!
End of Friday, Day 3!
The next day there was a break in the heat. The high was in the 80s and we had planned (since it was our coolest day) to go to the national zoo and try and see the pandas.
The pandas, were of course, sleeping. Just like the panda's in San Diego.
The highlight of the zoo (for my kids) was the gray wolves and the seals. It was pretty crowded but that's to be expected in Washington, D.C. over the summer.
We had lunch in the zoo and then decided to head back to the hotel for the heat of the day. After a brief rest we went to the National Geographic museum and saw the Tomb of Christ exhibit and the Titanic exhibit. This was interesting. It was a 3D VR tour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Tomb of Christ. I was wondering what my mom would have thought, as I think they visited that site? But I could be wrong.
The Titanic exhibit was interesting and the kids liked it. The boys are interested in the massive boat crash and it's remains being left at the bottom of the ocean. The personal stories of the survivors I found interesting. I know I went through a Titanic phase as well, probably in the mid 90s (*yooooooooooooooouuuuuuuur heeeeeeeere, there's nothing I fear!*). There were many stories I thought were interesting. Especially the single woman from Sweden who wouldn't take the spot of a father (they were only allowing women and children) but when there was a man traveling with a baby, and they wouldn't let the man board but he begged her to take his baby, she did. And the baby was reunited with the mother in the United States. She relocated to Illinois, never saw Sweden again, and was afraid of the water her whole life.
I can't imagine. Or I suppose I can. It's just scary.
The kids liked the animations that showed the boat sinking.
Then back to the hotel to meet the cousins for dinner at DC pizza. Then we set up the kids with ice cream and a movie and the adults went to the hotel restaurant for an hour.
End of Saturday, Day 4!
Sunday was our last cool day (80s), so we decided to do the monuments in the morning before it got hot. Good decision! It was a beautiful day.
This was probably one of my very favorite days. I love, love, love walking around the smithsonian. And thankfully, it wasn't too hot. I mean, it was still hot. But not like it had been. There was a nice breeze and in the morning when we got out there it was quite pleasant.
We saw the Washington Monument, which - as ever - is closed for some reason or other. I believe they can't secure it. I think it's all a farce, this "the elevator is broken so no more rides". I think they can't secure it and it's under constant threat so they just said ... well lets close it until we can think of something.
Then we walked down to the WWII memorial and the reflecting pool which may be my favorite spot in the whole place.
And we climbed the steps to see Mr. Lincoln. After this we got water and apples from a refreshment stand and walked around to the Tidal Basin to see the new(er) MLK memorial.
And the Jefferson. Which I think is the prettiest.
Back by the Korean war Memorial (I got pictures I just didn't want to inundate you) and the reflecting pool again to go by the Vietnam War Memorial...
After which we broke up the group and we got a cab over to the Eastern Market.
This wasn't my idea. I was hot and tired of walking. But. It ended up being very nice. The cab driver who picked us up gave us a little mini tour and history lesson to Grady. And when we got out of the cab he handed him a $2 bill. Which Grady thought was a prized possession, in deed. So I'm glad we did that.
And as we were walking down the Eastern Market trying to pick a lunch spot I saw this sign ...
There are two of these in the world. And I've now eaten at them both. I'm a sucker for sentimentality so this was very fun. The kids had pasta, we had wine, even the place mats are the same.
The boys bought this hat. I had to wear it.
And we stopped at this toy store, where a dinosaur puppet was procured. Just one, because she really liked it, and the boys couldn't decide, and I wasn't going to buy them something just because.
After lunch we head back to the hotel for air conditioning and rest. No one napped, so then it was a few hours later we got up and walked up to Dupont Circle.
My urban dwellers are somewhat pro at city walking and metro rides.
And they are so urban they marvel at all the creatures you see in a city; ducks, pigeons, squirrels, chipmunks. Any animal is amazing. City kids.
We had dinner across the street from here and then went home. That'd be the end of day 5, Sunday!
Monday was a baseball game day. Our tickets had turned into a double header since a scheduling issue arouse from a rain out. The cousins rented a car first thing in the morning and we went to the Air and Space museum before renting our own car that afternoon.
The kids all love the metro. G got very good at navigating it.
This is one of my very favorite museums. I've been there a lot. Probably more than any of the other museums in the Smithsonian. The kids liked it too, they picked their souvenir from the trip here.
And we had lunch from food trucks and went back to the hotel to drop off the stroller and get ready for our baseball games. We rented a car from Reagan and headed north.
Some resting occurred.
And just like that they've been to all 30 MLB stadiums. The Orioles won the first game and the Yankees won the second. We always cheer for the home teams (unless they're playing the Astros) so we were happy and the cousins were happy.
We drove home and crashed. We made it through 8innings of the first game and 4 of the second. We left just after 9pm.
Tuesday was our final day in town and we went back to the Smithsonian to see the Natural History museum. Then we walked down to the Capitol and to the Supreme Court.
This was probably their favorite museum. David wanted to look at everything. He asked mom or dad to read him everything. He could have stayed all day. Grady is more "oh what's next!" and wanted to see more, but David would take his time. It was kind of hard to balance that and sister, who is kind of too young for it all. But she enjoyed the butterflies and the pretty rocks and geodes and the animals.
After that museum we went to have lunch at the cafe outside the National Gallery of Art.
And then we walked down to the Capitol. Next time I'll get us a tour of the Capitol Dome. That's where the Bill of Rights is kept and I think it might be a better tour than the White House even. Though I'm glad I've done both.
We ended on the street where I lived during my internship. Then we walked to Union Station and caught a metro home for more air conditioning. It was brutally hot again. We rested a bit and then met the cousins for dinner near Dupont Circle. We hung out in our hotel room for a bit after that and then said our goodbyes.
We flew home Wednesday morning and were back in Dallas before 10AM. The best thing about early morning flights is they are more likely to be on time (pending weather, obviously). And though the 4:30AM wake up is a beating, I actually think the kids do better with early wake-ups rather than late nights. So while I hate, hate, hate having to get up that early ... I'll probably still keep booking the super early flights and saving the money (they are cheaper) and getting home as expected (they run on time) than catching the more desirable 10AM flights.
This was a lovely trip away, as always. I wanted to impress upon my children that this is our government and it's special and unique in all the world and we are lucky to live here. I wanted them to have the understanding that it's theres and mine and look at everything our nation has accomplished! I don't know if I succeeded at that. But. They had fun. Their favorite bits - as indicated by the pictures they drew today when I made them color a picture of their favorite part of the trip ... was the Lincoln Memorial (Grady) and The White House (David).
If I had to judge what their favorite parts were based on my observations ... I would say pillow fights in the hotel room, ice cream in the hotel room, running through the metro and the National Zoo.
It is a joy of my life to show them the world, and the places I love. Glad to be home and on to the next adventures.
Notes ... this wasn't a great individual trip for me. I fell down the stairs at the AirBNB and rolled my ankle really good. It's sprained pretty awesome and walking miles on it every day was fun. But I was not going to let it slow me down or stop our trip. I had looked forward to this for a year. So we went and did, but I think I look a little more tired than usual in some of the pictures. Maybe that's just me. So we'd go back to the hotel for a few hours at nap time and I'd put my foot up and rest it and the kids would rest and we'd all drink water. I think we would have done that anyway, regardless, but that's part of why that happened.
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