Took a lovely boat ride to Mount Vernon today. What fun! The trip was restful, the weather gorgeous, the grounds beautiful. The boat gave the girls time to relax, so we didn’t have to endure an overwhelming amount of whining or moaning about the amount of walking.
Category Archives: U.S.
Our Nation’s Capital, Day Two
We decided to forgo the political animals today in favor of the real kind.
Our Nation’s Capital, Day One
Due to chilly and cloudy weather conditions this morning, we made a last-minute decision to ditch the National Zoo (tomorrow’s entertainment, perhaps) in favor of some Smithsonian fun. As it turned out, we did an impressive amount of walking – I’d estimate about 4 miles.
We’ve Invaded Washington
We finally made it. I had forgotten how horrible the traffic is when you approach D.C. A million times worse than New York. And we were lucky. Cars traveling west on New York Avenue were stopped for miles because the police decided it would be a wise idea to have a checkpoint (I have no idea what they were checking for). Really? A checkpoint on one of the most trafficked thoroughfares around the capital? All I know is that I’m glad it didn’t affect us. I had already had enough driving into the city, with the husband trying to provide directions from his free iPhone app. Only problem is that he’d tell me that I needed to turn at the precise moment I needed to be turning. Not helpful when the highway has four lanes, the exit is off the right lane and I’m speeding along in the left lane.
Made it to the hotel near Dupont Circle and the girls are happy as clams. Not because of the pool, not because of the free happy hour (ok, that’s really an adult thing), not because of the free breakfast, not because of the free Internet. They’re ecstatic because the bed has a great cylinder-shaped pillow that they can use to chase each other around the room. Kids are so easy to please.
We walked to our first choice for dinner tonight, Pizza Paradiso on P Street, but there was an hour wait. And people were eating outside in windy 50-degree weather. Needless to say, we had to find another option. We ended up at a good Thai across the street. No, the girls were not adventurous (although they both tasted the sauce on my dish). They ate steamed chicken and rice, which was fine for Sophie but not for Chloe. Too bland. Can’t win with the 9-year old. Either too spicy or too boring. Oh well. At least she remained relatively calm.
Tomorrow we will explore the National Zoo. None of us has ever seen a real panda, so it should be a treat.
Sophie is dying to see Obama at the White House. I haven’t burst her bubble yet, but I will eventually have to confess to her that we were not lucky enough to get tickets for the tour. We’ll have to settle for a photo outside of the gates, and she’ll continue to admire Obama from afar.
More Austin
We went on a Texan adventure today. Drove a couple of hours east of Austin to Blue Bell Creameries, home of the third largest ice cream producer in the United States (after Dreyer’s, aka Edy’s, and Breyers). Those of us who live in the northeast aren’t familiar with them, because they sell to 18 states in the southern half of the United States. But their ice cream is yummy! We went on a tour of the factory and saw the workers (of whom there were far fewer than I expected) packaging the treats. Most of it is automated and very streamlined – no Lucy/Ethel shenanigans there.
Austin, TX!
Chloe and I are visiting my brother and his wife in Austin, TX. Chloe really likes it here. We took their dog, Lucy, to a dog park this morning and she went crazy in the lake fetching the tennis ball. Chloe refrained from joining Lucy in the lake, but happily ran after her along the trails.
Man Made Snow!
Chloe and Sophie climbing the hill after a snow tube run. It was super freezing outside during our weekend away – temperatures in the single digits. The lake was frozen but there was no snow. What you see is the machine-made stuff. But we didn’t care. The snow tube run worked just fine. By the way, how cute is Sophie in her puffy snow clothes?
Our Super Winter Weekend
Ice skating on the bumper boat pond. Boy, were those skates painful!
Fun in Philly!
We’re back from our long weekend in Philly, and boy, did we have fun.
Some highlights:
(1) Who’d have ever thought that the first hippo any of us would ever see up close and personal would be in Camden, NJ? Thanks Adventure Aquarium for a super fun-filled day!
The City of Brotherly Love
We’re off to Philly tomorrow morning for a long weekend. First stop, the Adventure Aquarium, which is not in Philly. It’s in Camden. But it’s close – just across the Delaware. People tell me it’s quite fun there. We’ll see – but I figure we can’t possibly go wrong with Nile hippos, sharks, penguins, a giant octopus…