Washington DC - Day 8

Saturday morning, we headed out relatively early for Mount Vernon (with Brian and Tyler). We toured the house and grounds, saw George giving an interpretive talk, etc. They had an adventure map for the kids to complete as they toured; if they finished it correctly, they got a free prize in the gift shop. Maya thought that was fun. We grabbed a quick lunch before heading out.

In the afternoon, we met Sarah and Claire (who had a birthday party to attend in the morning) at the National Harbor. They had a carousel (we've done a lot of carousels on this trip), a playground, a little beach/sandbox, and the capital wheel, a huge Ferris wheel right on the water. We frolicked, had some dinner, got some cupcakes, fought a nightmare of a parking garage parking jam, and headed home.

Washington DC - Day 7

On Friday, we started with a morning at Wheaton Park, which contains a carousel, an old-fashioned train (closed because of wet tracks), and a huge playground (with a sandbox). The kids had a great time. We followed it up with a picnic lunch that finished just before the rain started. 

From the park, we headed into DC with Jaydee and Téa. Tim braved the deluge for a mile long walk to the cathedral. The rest of us took a short walk to the Phillips Collection. The Phillips Collection notably contains Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party. They also had a great discovery pack for kids, which Maya really enjoyed. However, the museum was the most pompous one I've ever visited, and the docents were really unfriendly. They would creepily stand really nearby, eavesdrop on our conversations, and never say ANYTHING. It was like their goal was to encourage us to move along. Even so, Maya really enjoyed the museum and got a lot out of it. Tim also saw quite a bit at the cathedral (after the weather cleared). We finished the day with dinner in Ellicott City with Brian, Claire, and Tyler.

 

Washington DC - Day 6

Today we had some plans, but we ended up spending almost the whole day at Ford's Theater. We bought tickets in advance (they're cheap, but this seemed like a good idea) for a timed 10:30 entrance. The recommended times were 30 minutes in the museum (we spent about an hour and a half), 30 minutes in the theater (we actually spent less, maybe 15 minutes), and 15 minutes in the Petersen House, where Lincoln died (we spent at least an hour). By the time we added in lunch in between the theater and house, our day was pretty much over.

After that, we headed back to Silver Spring on the metro (where I'd forgotten to pay the parking meter, but we didn't get a ticket!), sad goodbye (for now) to Jaydee and Téa, and drove out to Ellicott City, where we are going to stay with Brian, Sarah, Claire, and Tyler for the rest of our nights. The kids have been super worked up since...

Washington DC - Day 5

On Wednesday, we started in the morning at the International Spy Museum. (Téa woke up sick. We feel a little bad, since this is apparently her first time being sick and happened approximately 4 days after we arrived with our day care/school germs.) this museum was really cool. We all assumed secret agent identities and learned all about everything spy (even "rectal tool kit" ... Go ahead and guess what that is on your own). The museum was larger than our aggregate attention span, so we had to run through the James Bond section, which looked really neat. 

After the museum, we had lunch at Pi, a pizza place that originated in Saint Louis. That was fun (and delicious). We then headed to the Museum of American History. We may have hit a limit of some kind on museums, because our afternoon kind of deteriorated. But we did see the highlights: the inaugural gowns, Thomas Jefferson's desk, the ruby slippers, and the star spangled banner. We saw Miss Piggy (though Kermit is apparently on a hiatus). We played a bit on the nation's front yard (it was gorgeous today).

We then wandered past the White House to dinner at Founding Farmers, whose concept we loved. Perhaps our bellies were too full of pizza still, but we were a bit underwhelmed by the execution (though the food itself was clearly very fresh and of extremely high quality, and the apple pie was killer).

When we got back, Rosie had returned! (She got the address mixed up a d came to the neighbors down the street, so that was a bit of a confusion...)

Washington DC - Day 4

On Tuesday, we headed into DC in the morning with Jaydee and Téa to see the DAR museum. It was really lovely. They have an extensive set of "period rooms," decorated to represent different time periods and, largely, different regions of the country. They also had a couple of scavenger hunts for Maya to do. The staff was really helpful and accommodating, too.

We then met a college friend (and, briefly, her husband) for lunch at a "meaty" sandwich place. It was delicious.

After lunch, we wandered through the Navy Memorial and down to the Natural History museum. It was obviously extensive and had some rally cool exhibits. It was also really crowded. The kids enjoyed it, though. We spent the majority of out time learning about ocean life and the evolution of man. We also saw a bunch of gemstones and minerals (to rival the natural history museum in Houston).

We headed back out to Silver Spring, and Jaydee and Brian volunteered to babysit for our kiddos, while we enjoyed a dinner out to celebrate our fourteen year anniversary.