Washington, DC

We had to move our trip to Washington, DC back a day because of the huge snowstorm that came through on March 5th. We had planned on driving down on Friday morning, but the roads were a mess and it was very cold.

J shoveling us out on Friday morning

We drove down on Saturday instead. There was still snow, but the roads were clear. Apparently there is a DC regulation banning snow sledding. Seriously?! Otherwise we might have figured something out at the base of the Washington monument.

It may look cold, but it wasn't. Highs in the upper 40s meant the warmest it had been in months. It was fabulous.

On Saturday, we checked out the Museum of American History, the White House, and the Natural History Museum. We were a little surprised at how wonderful that last was.

Then it was time to head to the hotel, complete with pool and hot tub. Yesssss.

Day Two was Monuments Day, and we got off to a pleasantly warm start at the FDR Memorial. This was one of the memorials I had never seen before. It was powerful, expansive, and the only one where one of our children had  a complete and utter meltdown.  Glad we got that over with first thing. People staring. Parents smiling. Child sitting on the ground yelling. Yes, that's my child.  But we recovered!

We waved to the Jefferson Memorial from across the frozen tidal basin before visiting the remaining eight memorials on our agenda that day. We hit them all. Tourist Ninjas. (They are continuing their training).

I just wanted to skate right over to it. Sort of.

Next up was the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. This was a new memorial that I had not seen before. Bud had memorized part of the "I Have a Dream Speech," and he did recite it here. The noises of the crowd were too loud, though, so we re-recorded it later in front of the Lincoln Memorial (where the King originally delivered the speech).

We had a little trouble with wind, instead of with crowds. I was so proud of Bud and Pixie gamely trying to let me record them…they memorized back in January and hadn't been practicing. Pixie chose the Gettysburg Address:



I have been hoping to make it to Gettysburg, and maybe we will this spring. Perhaps she can recite it again there without SO MUCH wind interference. But we went ahead and made a recording, just in case!

We lived in DC one summer when Pixie was three months old. I remember carting her stroller UP ALL OF THOSE STEPS at the Lincoln Memorial, and walking around on the Mall on a hot fourth of July with a tiny baby girl who was wearing pink seersucker. I kept looking at Pixie and wondering, where is that baby? I was a teeny bit staggered by the contrast this time around.

Sunday evening we reunited with friends who live in the area. J and I met at their wedding. Our first-borns are less than two months apart. This photo was taken as we were moving to DC back in 2003:

And here they are, fresh out of the hotel pool:

WHAAAAAAAT??!?

It was so fantastic to see these people, by the way. That should be its own blog post. I grew up with the mom--at church, with our families doing holidays together, and occasionally I tagged along on their family vacations. We were roommates in college. Our children had never met. It was awesome fun time.

 Monday was an amazing good time and I did not tote my camera around. Not even a purse or a wallet, actually. I was just footloose and fancy-free all day as we met up with a friend from Notre Dame days who works at the Supreme Court this year (we got a very cool backstairs tour. Among other things, Bud sat in the President's chair and we learned that there is a kind woman who serves as elevator operator.)

We toured the Capitol with a staffer from our California Congresswoman's office. Apparently snowy days in March are not prime time. Our family had a private tour.

Each day of our trip had a different flavor, with different sorts of things to see. All of Bud's dreams came true at the Air & Space museum on Sunday. He has loved airplanes since he was two, and has read about them for as long as he's been able to read (memorizing specs). Getting to see the Wright Brother's plane--as well as the Spirit of St. Louis, flown by his hero Charles Lindbergh--were highlights for him. One of my highlights was watching him dance with glee.

Bud at Air & Space

Another highlight was getting to see everyone's reaction after trying out the flight simulators. Lots of adrenaline.

We are getting to do some pretty amazing things this year, and I am grateful both for the opportunities to "go and see" as well as all of the time together as a family. We came home from DC having bonded as a unit and feeling very much on the same team...Which is a wonderful souvenir! And one I'm asking for as souvenir from our whole year out East.

Spring, come she will…and summer will follow. As the weather turns, that is increasingly on our minds.