Spring Break in Washington D.C.

Washington DC is one of our favorite places to visit. When we were dating, Alan and I took a trip there with another couple (hi Kristin!), and it's been a special place for us ever since. It doesn't hurt that one of my oldest, life-long friends lives there, too. The last time Alan and I went was for my friend Jen's wedding, but Matthew hadn't been since he was almost two, and Michael was just peeking out of my hugely preg belly. After watching "Night at the Museum 2" recently, Alan and I decided we'd take a little trippo to show the kids the sights in person.

It was, of course, a fabulous idea. And, I have to say, our kids are the best, best travelers. They are so stinkin' easy. We just bring some books to look at, books on CD, and a few movies to watch on the laptop, and it's an easy car ride. And since Momma has to tinkle every few hours, we all get a chance to stretch our legs. The rest areas throughout Virginia on 95N will never be the same.
The weather was glorious. Sunny - just like me! - the entire time and 70ish degrees. Could it be any better than that? And since Alan and I have been there for Independence Day celebrations before in the sweltering heat of July, we especially enjoyed the reasonable temps we experienced.
Our visit with Jen this time was too, too short. We just popped by the first night we were there to see her wonderful new home. She and her husband, Sam, have done a wonderful job planning and implementing the renovation of their rowhouse. Unfortunately, she was In Demand with assisting with a wedding that weekend (the second floor in their home was filled with cherry tree branches for the wedding) and a somewhat impromptu trip overseas. But being the flexible and accomodating couple that they are, they let us invade for a brief visit and take the Official Tour that I so rudely demanded. That's what thirty years of friendship gets you!We've learned that "flexibility" is the name of the game for our trips to DC. That and staying at our super cheap location (thank you Folger House!) We were hoping to slip in a trip to the Bureau of Engraving (free samples, yes?). Alas, the tickets for the day were gone by 9:30, so we just popped our little selves over to the zoo instead. All kinds of amazing wild life to see...and the animals were pretty neat, too.

Michael was dying to see the dinosaur fossils, so we went to the Museum of Natural History as soon as we could. That place has been totally redone since the last time we had gone, so it was almost like going to a brand-new museum. Michael was in love, and we might as well have left him there for the rest of spring break. There were, perhaps, moments when I was tempted.

It was kind of hot that day. And you know, those poor poor children had trooped along the best they could. But the fact is, they needed a little break. And The Children needed Italian Ice. Yes, it was The Children who needed it. And Mother just was willing to eat some to keep them from feeling, oh, you know, guilty. I'm sacrificial that way. So, there we were. Eating our ices. Hanging out on a little hill by the Washington Monument, when all of a sudden, these police cars/motorcycles race down the road, clearing the way for...The President. OF THE UNITED STATES. Craziness. I think he waved right at the pretty blonde girl stuffing her face.

One of my favorite things we did was go to Eastern Market. On Saturdays, they have a Farmer's Market complete with yummy breakfast inside the building, and produce stands and vendors outside. I sipped my coffee as we strolled around and then found...this amazing photographer. His photographs were gorgeous, but simple. And he was the nicest, chattiest man ever and gave me all kinds of advice (wanted!) and let me know that I am doing a lot of things right. Yay - so affirming! I could have stood there and talked to him all day. Alas, he had photographs to sell, and I had impatient boys (all three) who were ready to move on (and did).

DC is such an easy city to navigate. The first time Alan and I went - about 12 years ago now - we walked and walked and walked. Ahh, the folly of the young. The next time we went, we discovered the wonders of the metro, and life was ever so much better. As were my feet. Being Vehicle Nuts, Matt and Mike became pros at riding the metro. It didn't take many trips before they were able to slip the ticket in and grab it to walk through the turnstyle, maneuver on the escalator so that the faster passengers could keep going, and to learn to look for the flashing lights that signaled the incoming train.

And you know, it's typical on our trips there that I'm usually struck with how un-Southern (meaning, non-chatty) our metro rides usually are. Alan wants to talk up every passenger in sight, but the locals don't seem to take well to that. It's my impression that it's kind of a DC cultural thing that you don't chitty chat on the metro. Well. I don't know if it was the throngs of visitors at this time of year or the fact that we were a family, but all kinds of people talked to us and helped us out and shared something of themselves. Which made me enjoy our trip even more.

We spent some time at the American History Museum, which has also been renovated since we visited last. LOVED IT. Honestly, the amount of time we had at each museum was tempered with little boy attention spans and energy levels, but we could have spent days at each museum. Note to self: spend days at each museum next time. The First Lady dresses were incredible...by far my favorite exhibit. And doggone if I didn't want to try them on and wear one somewhere...maybe back to the Italian Ice stand?

One new exhibit at American History was about the history of transportation - most specifically cars - in our country. And lo and behold, there was a small part about train transportation development...in Salisbury, NC. Unfortunately, that part focused on the segregation that occurred in train transportation in the early part of the 20th century. On the bright side, after all the travel I have done to Salisbury for work this year, it had special meaning to me.

And the cherry blossoms...were gorgeous. In fact, everything seemed to be blooming the week we were there. Including the tourist population. There were tons of people. Not as bad as early July, but whew! And the tourists were from everywhere around the globe. You could always hear different languages and see different nationalities around you all the time. I do love for my boys to have that experience...a bit different from our typical existance.

We were hoping to take in some Cherry Blossom Festival (afterall, Alan isn't the Festival King for nothing!) activities, but that didn't really pan out either. I think we burned ourselves slam out too early in our trip. Note to self: don't burn yourself out too early in the trip next time. It's pretty bad when you have to come back to the room and take a nap at 7:30 at night to keep going.

One of the craziest things that happened on our trip: we turned a corner on our way to the metro and happened onto this Indian wedding on the steps of the Environmental Protection Agency. You just couldn't miss it. Oh my heavenly days, do these people know how to celebrate. At first, the groom was sitting on a white horse with an elaborately decorated, ummm, covering. Indian music was blaring from the speakers, and at least a hundred people were on the steps dancing it up. Made me want to slap on a sari and boogy it up, too.

Eventually the groom rode through the crowd and under an arch and then got off his horse. And THEN, he got on the shoulders of some of those in the crowd, and they just kept partying on. This went on for at least 30 minutes. Tourists were hanging out with the wedding guests and snapping pictures, so, of course, I felt right at home snapping away, too. A lady watching told me that the guests were the groom's family welcoming him to the wedding. We never saw the bride, and I soooo wish we had. It was just another of those serendiptous events that made our trip so interesting.

I have to say, we did not get too adventurous with food. What with little boys and a random schedule, eating when and what you could was the name of the game. Note to self: get more adventurous with food next time. Michael, my little coffee drinker, and I enjoyed our daily Starbucks trips. And Alan swears that next time we have to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant.

We went to both Air and Space Museums - the one on the Mall and the one near Dulles. OK. The boys loved both. Julie, not so much. Wish I was a little more appreciative. To tell the truth - should I even confess this? - I actually ended up going back to the van when we were at the museum near Dulles and took a little snooze. In my defense, I was feeling a smidge under the weather, but still. To be honest, those planes all kind of start to look alike to me after a while. I think I don't have enough testosterone to appreciate it fully.

One thing I really wanted to do was go by the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) office that is in DC. I don't know why this was a big deal to me this time. Perhaps because I didn't even know they had an office there when we visited last time. Interestingly, when I called their main headquarters in Rockville, MD a week or so before we went on vacation, the person I spoke to gave me all kinds of travel tips and told me that they have a DC office for lobbying purposes. Go ASHA! So, being the bozo that I can be (shocking, I know), I didn't actually write down the address of the office and had to resort to looking it up in the phone book. But hey! There it was! ASHA! So, as we left DC, we took a 30-minute tour around the city to find the office. And again, there it was! Just like the phone book said!! Unfortunately, as it turns out, the ASHA I found was actually the American Seniors Housing Association. Rats. Note to self: write down the address next time.

And lest you worry about the whereabouts of our Baby Girl, Lucy, she was in excellent hands...those of her rescuer...The Amazing Dog Whisperer! Becky that rescued our funny pup as she was running down the road five months ago had offered to keep her for us if we went out of town. Famous last words. Although Lucy had the time of her life chasing chickens and running with the dog pack, Becky had inside potty visits and near dog death (as my dippy dog ran right under one of her horses) to deal with. I am very sure that there is an extra crown in heaven for Becky now.

Great trip, but glad to be back. What a fabulous time of year!