We got all packed up, loaded the car, and were off. But for this road trip, we were not headed to the normal destinations- the beach or the mountains. We were going somewhere new...
Washington, DC!!! We have decided to make a conscious effort to visit new cities with our kids each year. We want them to see the country bit by bit. They are still little so more of this will come with time. But we thought now would be a good time to see one of the most important and historical cities in our country that happens to be within driving distance- the nation's capital!
Brian and I were excited to show the kids this cool city, and the kids were just happy to be out of the car. Five hours is not so easy...darn DC traffic!
We got started right away with the Museum of Natural History...
which was very, very crowded. Because we had walked from our hotel with the double BOB it had to come in the museum too which was a disaster. It was almost impossible to navigate through the crowded exhibits with that thing. Lesson learned for the rest of the trip.
Despite that annoyance, the kids were impressed with the Hope Diamond...
T-Rex...
and all the animals.
After a quick (and gross) hotdog/polish sausage from the neighboring hot dog stand, we headed to the mall. But first a cool fountain (turned out that fountains and buses were Luke's favorite parts of DC)...
When you step foot on the mall, you see nothing but food trucks and ice cream trucks at each cross street. When the kids begged for ice cream, I happened to remember that Luke never got his half birthday ice cream cone (our family's tradition). He did turn 1 1/2 on June 7 a couple of days ago. Oops...sorry third child! So we decided to make it up to him by having the coolest half-birthday ice cream cone of all time...right in front of the Capitol Building!
I have to admit it was delicious soft serve so lucky you, Luke!
He was COVERED, and we just let the mess happen because why not enjoy every bite of your first half-birthday cone?
The ice cream fueled us to go see what that big white building was all about...
The kids were not nearly as impressed as I was...it is stunning up close! I have not visited the Capitol in prior trips to Washington, but I really enjoyed seeing it this time.
I found a scavenger hunt idea on Pinterest that I thought might help make things more interesting for the kids. They had to find ten different iconic DC locations and check each one off on our list. If they succeeded in finding all ten? They'd get a cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes! Collins was totally motivated. :)
Supreme Court? Check.
Metro? Check.
This one blew their little minds. They could not believe that a train was under the ground and traveled that fast and on top of it all- you did not have to wear a seat belt!!!
It was Addie's favorite part of the trip by far...
She squealed..."We are going illegally fast!!!". :)
Collins's favorite part was the hotel of course. Because if you can jump on your bed and watch cartoons from your bed AND eat "marshmallow cereal" from a buffet each morning that it must be the greatest place on earth!
Day one finished with a funny attempt at dinner. Brian's friend, Hanks, had recommended a trendy pizza place near our hotel. We decided it was fine to walk over in our dirty, stinky clothes (my dress had applesauce, chocolate ice cream and coffee stains all over it) and try to eat pizza with our three young kids. Well, we sat at a window seat and dropped silverware and drinks and even had the audacity to bring the double BOB in the restaurant. But darn it if we didn't have a fun dinner and eat the best pepperoni pizza I've ever had (pepperoni, basil and honey). It was a little embarrassing though (especially for Collins who is embarrassed by everything these days).
Day two started with the Embassy Suites buffet for the win and continued on with Washington's most famous monuments.
We strolled past the Washington Monument...
and walked over to the Jefferson Memorial where Brian was excited to give Collins a history lesson...
and I was reminded why this monument is my favorite. It's beautiful and Jefferson's words are so moving.
Then we saw the FDR memorial...
and then finally got to the Lincoln Memorial. Where strangely enough some South Korean visitors insisted on taking pictures with us and fussing over the kids. Hmmm...
I guess they are pretty cute...
Addie was impressed that Lincoln was bigger than Daddy!
We decided to go through the Vietnam Memorial which is so simple yet so powerful...but also hard to explain to your kids. Collins had a hard time with it.
After the WWII memorial, they were done with monuments and you couldn't really blame them...that's a lot to take in in one morning!
But we did have to go check out that famous White House...
After that our legs were shot, and we just needed food. But when you're wandering aimlessly around in the Financial District on a Sunday, food is not easy to come by. We trudged on block by block, and Luke refused to sit in the stroller so guess who got to carry him? This was definitely the low point of the trip.
But after an average lunch and a nap back at the hotel, we were all ready for more. So we headed to the Air and Space Museum to meet Brian's friend Will and his family.
Collins got to check another item off the scavenger hunt list...
and then volunteered to help with a science experiment about space.
We thought the kiddos would love the airplanes, but they weren't that impressed. Probably just worn out from the busy day...
So we decided to go to switch gears and go to a fun Mexican place for dinner on Capitol Hill. Brian used to frequent it when he worked in DC one summer. Luke made a supreme mess, but we got margaritas and that made everything okay.
After another exciting Metro ride home, Luke discovered a really cool fountain near our hotel. And since this vacation was all about new experiences, we let him go for it. :)
On Monday morning, we woke up to rain and cooler weather. We had a hard time deciding how to use our final day and eventually wound up at the National Archives. I had never been there before and found it fascinating. Hard to believe that we got to see the original Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Amazing!
But the girls had a singular focus...
going to get cupcakes of course! They wanted to cash in on their scavenger hunt prize!
We showed them Georgetown and had a mid-morning snack, and then Brian had the idea to show them (and me) Old Town Alexandria. It was very charming with it's cobblestone streets and water views. A tasty lunch at a fish house made it even better.
At this point, Brian wanted to take the kids to see Mt. Vernon, but I had to disagree. It was already 2 p.m. and Luke had not taken a nap, and we had a long road trip ahead on us. So we got on the road. And it's a good thing because we did not walk into our home until 9 p.m.!!! It was the road trip from hell where Luke screamed most of the time. We will not soon forget that 6 1/2 hours of ugliness, but I will have to say it was worth it to be able to go on a family vacation to Washington, DC.
The kids saw so many new places and things! They learned how to cross a big city street; they learned who George Washington was; they learned what it's like to stay in a hotel; and they learned that not all places are like home. The trip was a huge success, and I can't wait to take them on another new adventure.
But maybe next time we'll fly? :)
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