Since the last post, I turned 30 (it's okay, I'm coming to grips with it), and we on went to Washington DC. Derek had a conference, and so we tagged along, and had an absolutely wonderful time.
Highlights:
No one puked. Ever.
If you have been a follower of this here blog for any length of time, you know that puking and travel go hand in hand around here. Henry even yakked up his pizza on a quick trip home from Boston once. So, the fact that at NO TIME did anyone vomit ANYTHING is a miracle.
That has NEVER EVER happened. Ever.
So, there was that.
Also, we generally got along well. We managed public transit, sightseeing, swimming, and general vacation-like activities without incident, two of the days Derek was working so I was on my own, and it was so much fun.
Day One: Natural History Museum
On the Red Line! We stayed near my parents' old house, so I would confidently be able to get around DC via my old routes. It worked perfectly.
Excuse the crap picture, this is Spencer and Oliver is there in the background, sitting on his feet, watching the tarantula feeding. YUCK, but the boys were in heaven.
Lunch on the Mall. We ate A LOT of peanut butter and jelly on this trip. so as to be frugal. Suffice it to say, I'm over it. BUT we did manage to save a good chunk of change only buying one meal a day. Go us.
So fun.
Then we headed back to the hotel because what's vacay without some swimming? I managed to keep everyone alive. Be impressed.
When the baby girl naps through the last hour of swimming, it does make it easier.
Day Two: National Zoo
We happened to be at the zoo on a cool, rainy day. The very day that the baby panda was born, but that didn't matter because it broke my boys' hearts not to get to see the pandas.
The downpours meant I got to spend $25 to buy zoo-official ponchos and then we enjoyed a nearly empty zoo. We stayed all day. So long in fact that Derek met us AFTER his conference let out at the end of the day. That, my friends, is a successful day of vacation.
Ezra didn't want to pose for the camera and was highly offended to be made to look at me when he wanted to watch the baby elephant!!!
Flamingos!! And ponchos. Miriam was in the carrier the entirety of this day and therefore was not in any photo opportunities.
Day Three:
Derek's sister, Amber and her three kids drove up Friday night to meet us in DC, it was a nice mid-point for us both, and as we hadn't see each other since Henry was a baby, it seemed like it was time. We had a blast. We hit the Air and Space Museum which is always a blast but also incredibly crowded. We managed to unknowingly plan our vacation on the same weekend that the 50th Anniversary of MLK's freedom walk took place. There were a lot of people. Everywhere.
Stupid blurry picture of Henry reading about Amelia Earheart.
Stupid blurry picture of Derek and about seven kids. I only got asked once if all eight kids were mine. HAH! No. Just no.
No more pictures Mom.
Day Four:
We decided to hit the Temple and Visitors' Center before Amber had to hit the road. It was beautiful and not too hot. We even managed to walk the small nature trail behind the DC temple, that abruptly ends in either a chain link fence or a giant, muddy hill underneath the Visitor's Center. It was awesome.
Aunt Amber and Miriam. Cuties.
The sun was too bright for any really good pictures.
Love it.
We went back to the hotel then and swam, watched a movie, and just relaxed.
Day Five: Monday was drive-home day, and we took a tiny detour into Hoboken, NJ to see Carlo's Bakery which is the setting of the show Cake Boss, which we all know is dearly loved by my children. My good luck with health and travels was starting to abate though, and Miriam had a fever, and everyone else was snot-nosed and not feeling great. It was fun for the boys still, although waiting in line was misery. THAT is why we don't do theme parks. Anyway, it took too long, and traffic out of Manhattan and through the whole of Connecticut was rubbish, so whatever.
It's hard to wait.
We crawled home, much later than I wanted, and now we are spending the day NOT doing school, or anything else, because we all feel utterly crappy.
So, I'm thankful we're home. It was, by and far, the best family trip we've ever taken. VERY successful. But now, tomorrow, I suppose, it'll be back to the grind. It's been an absolutely fantastic summer.
All good things must come to an end.
Like this, the worlds longest blog post.
2 comments:
Yes!!!!!
It was a FABULOUS trip! Loved it all!
Now we need to plan for next summer's to be during the summer and not right before the kids go back to school. Where does D have conferences next summer? :)
Love you all! Glad you made it home before all heck broke loose health wise! Jealous about Carlo's Bakery! Yummm!
Sounds like fun! You probably passed within 40 minutes of our house, being on the highway from DC to Jersey. Our trip up your way took much longer too.... thanks to Jersey and New York traffic and all that lovely construction. Lucky mama that the baby slept at the pool, I haven't gotten that sort of luxury yet this week!
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