DC Drive and Day 1

Jack and Anna turn 16 in October. We told them they could each have a special weekend for their birthday or they could combine their weekends and have a week somewhere of their choosing as a family vacation. They both ended up choosing DC. Because it was the week option, we decided to take their trip over the summer. And, our favorite summer time to travel is right when they get out of school. There was a little bit of overlap in what they wanted to do (e.g. Natural and American History Museums) and some distinct differences (e.g. zoo and Capitol Building). I took all of their top choices and planned out a jam-packed itinerary to hit both of their favorites. Because we lived so long in Southern Maryland, there was a lot of nostalgia for them, well all of us, at the thought of being back in the city that we spent so much time in.

We left for DC on Saturday at 5am. Jack drove for the first 1.5 hours and then Thomas took over. I never drove at all. The drive up felt really long. It rained and was very windy. We had the Thule on top of the van and felt like we were blowing around the road. The rain definitely slowed us down. We made the best of it and listened to our playlist and started an audiobook (The False Prince), but it still felt like the drive went on and on and on. We got to our rental around 6pm and walked to a nearby shopping area. We had a late dinner at Taco Bell (Jack and Thomas) and Chick-Fil-A (the rest of us). Then, we went to Target. I had given Luke a packing list and usually he does a great job packing for himself, but this time he forgot shirts and I didn't notice. So, we bought him several cheap shirts at Target. We got a few other supplies and walked back. Everyone was in bed around 9:30.

We are staying in an apartment in the Columbia Heights area. It is about a mile and half from the National Zoo, which was our first destination on Sunday morning. We walked and enjoyed seeing some of the sights in the city. We arrived around 9 and met up with the Wills. We walked the America Trail and had fun watching the keepers feed the sea lions. The Andean bears were super active, there were two cute cubs playing in a tree and the adult bear at one point climbed the tree to fuss at both of them. It was super cool to watch. Then it was on to Anna's favorite--Amazonia.  After that, we circled back around and saw pretty much everything else. I think we saw almost all the animals. It was very crowded, but that is what happens when you travel on a holiday weekend. The animals were really active and everyone had their favorites (Kori, Kara, Luke, and Jack-bears; Thomas-lemurs; Anna-turtles). And, of course, it was nice being with the Wills. 

Some of the fun animals we saw. The bears in the tree were the best!

The pandas are always fun to see. The outdoor shots are all of the same panda. He was funny, at one point he rolled down the hill.

This game was in the chimpanzee house. You had to try and get your partner to place tiles in the same pattern as you using only words.

Luke and Kolten were the most successful.

Wills and Wilson kids.

We left the zoo around 2 and took a metro to our second stop--Ford's Theatre. That was also insanely crowded. This time the crowds did impact our enjoyment a bit. There was a massive middle school group and they were loud and disruptive in the museum portion. We didn't even try to see the Petersen House because the line was crazy long with the same kids. But, it was still worth visiting and I learned something new (about Major Rathbone, who was a guest of the Lincolns at the theatre and had a troubled life after the assassination). We were glad we went, we just wish it hadn't been so crowded.

The only picture I took. The President's box, where Lincoln was assassinated.

After that, we took the metro back to the same area we had dinner last night and tried out a pizza place. Then, we walked back to the rental, played Love Letters (Luke won) and relaxed. It was a long day! We walked around 10 miles and it was nice to have a good space to come back and rest.