Well, we just got back from a wonderful 8 day trip to our nation's capital, and let me say, it was AMAZING!!! We were able to see and do a TON of super fun stuff and the boys had a great time! (Luke has already asked to go back to Washington!) Here's some pictures and a recap of everything!
Day 1: So we left Temple on Thursday, the 8th ~12:30pm and headed to Waco to fly out. Only our plane was delayed ~1 hour, so we missed our connecting flight at DFW to Baltimore and had to wait at DFW for ~2 1/2 hours before leaving ~7:30. That put us arriving ~11:30 (with 1 hour time change) with 2 VERY sleepy boys! We got to our hotel to check-in (the Gaylord) only to find out that they were overbooked and we had no room for that night!!!! So they put us up in the Hotel Monoco (Hotel #1) in Alexandria, and we finally crashed ~2:30am -- what a crazy way to start our trip!!!
Day 2: Robert had to be up and at his conference at 7am; but the boys and I "slept-in" until ~7:30. We walked around the little town of Alexandria and saw some of the sights there (while waiting on our room at the Gaylord to get ready). We were finally checked-in ~1pm (Hotel #2). We spent the rest of the day walking around the Gaylord and National Harbor. It was a beautiful area right on the Potomac River, and the boys loved seeing all the boats! We ended the day with dinner and swimming!
Day #3: Robert was in conference again, so the boys and I headed to downtown DC to check out the Cherry Blossom festival and parade! We used shuttle buses, and walked almost everywhere. It was so crowded, that there was no way to see anything at the parade, so we just walked around for a while and saw lots of amazing building, churches, statues, etc. Then we took the Metro rail (subway) to the National Zoo! It was HUGE (compared to the Waco zoo!) with lots of animals and exhibits to see -- oh, and LOTS of people!!!! We met up with Robert for dinner, and then went swimming in the awesome indoor pool! We all slept well that night!
Day #4: Last day of Robert's conference, so we switched hotels (yet again) to the Kellogg Conference Hotel (hotel #3) -- it was a really nice little place north of DC on the campus of the Gallaudet University. We decided to save money on renting a car or a taxi and get shuttled to Union station and take the Metro to within ~1 mile of our hotel... with all our luggage, and 2 sleepy boys!!! We made it, at last, and all took a great nap! Then we headed down to DC to eat dinner and see the beautiful Capitol at sunset -- it was gorgeous!!! The boys loved getting to climb up and down the steps!
Day#4/#5: Our 1st night at this hotel and ~4am, the fire alarm goes off -- so we are forced to wake up our 2 sleeping boys, carry them downstairs and wait, and wait, and wait... it took them about 1 hour to get it figured out and let everyone go back to their rooms... thankfully the boys went back to sleep and we all slept in until ~8am!!! I heard later that a pipe has burst, so that was what all the fuss was about.
Day #5: We headed back to DC to see some of the tourist attractions on the National Mall/Smithsonians -- we went to the Museum of Natural History, Museum of American History, the Old Post Office (which has a 315 foot clock tower that overlooks the whole area! So pretty!), the Washington Monument, and saw lots of other buildings like Ford's Theater, the FBI building, the IRS building, etc. We rode the carousel outside the Smithsonian Castle, and did lots of walking!!! By 9 pm, we were all tired and ready for bed!
Day #6: Back to DC/National Mall for more sight-seeing. Only this time it was cold, and rainy!!! I think the highs were in the 50's. We started off at the Air and space Museum, and spent ~4 hours there!!! The boys LOVED it, and we got to see a show at the IMAX and planetarium. After that we saw the Smithsonian Castle, the National Aquarium, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the WWII Memorial, the WWI Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial -- in the cold on/off rain! It was quite an adventure, and the boys loved getting to "play" in the rain! Again we were all tired and ready for bed by 9!
Day #7: Spent the morning at Arlington National Cemetery. It was just amazing to see in person! What a HUGE place with so much history! We saw the headstones of JFK, RFK, and the unknown soldier; the changing of the guard ceremony, the Robert E. Lee house, and rows and rows and rows of white markers of our nations bravest!!! We rode the Metro down to Alexandria, MD for the rest of the day to eat and play at the pier. The boys loved the trails, the boats, and the water! We were worn out and in bed by 9 or so!
Day #8: Our last day in DC -- it was a fast and busy week and seemed to pass too quickly! We packed up, and headed to Union Station to catch the Red line one last time. We then took a bus to the airport, and 2 very uneventful airplane rides later (both boys actually napped!), landed safely in Waco, and drove home to Temple. It was so nice to be back home in our own beds -- in separate rooms, and sleeping peacefully!
We had a great time and would definitely recommend a trip to DC to everyone at least once in your lifetime! There is just so much to see and do -- so much that we did and so much more that we couldn't fit in in just a weeks' time!
