Next Time We're Headin' North Part II . . .

 On the second day of our trip we took the Metro into the National Mall in D.C.  The kids really enjoyed it and I couldn't help but think of the scenes in the movie Ghost when Patrick Swayze and the other ghost kept passing thru the subway cars.  : )
 

Poor Annie got hit in the eye while her brother and cousins were having a sword fight with the swords they bought the night before. 

When we came up out of the Metro station we saw the sign for the wonderful festival that was being held.  There were tents set up everywhere and lots of different activities and food. 

One of my favorite things to look at was all of the art work people were creating.  Everything from murals to graffiti.

This was phenomenal!!  I honestly didn't see the guy standing in front of this mural until after I took the photo.  The colors were so brilliant that I guess his shirt just kind of blended in with them!!  : )

   

In the background of the festival was the Washington Monument.  This is the first time I've seen it in person.  It looked so beautiful against the blue sky.

The Capitol Building in the distance.

 There's lots of walking and not a lot of shade while you're doing it.  And when it's hazy, hot, humid and over 100 degrees it's downright miserable!!  The kids were so good and never complained so we forged on to the Smithsonian to see the Air and Space Museum. 

The architecture of the buildings is absolutely beautiful!!!!!

 

The Air and Space Museum was a lot of fun for the kids.  Lots of interactive things for them to do. 

"One small step for man . . ."

This is the actual nose of a real plain.  It's HUGE!!!!!!!

 I really wanted to go to the other part of the museum where you could see the different movie and t.v. sets from the past.  In particular, I wanted to see Julia Child's kitchen.  It was just so darn hot that I didn't even care anymore.  We also decided that we'd head back to the hotel and go see the other monuments that we had planned on seeing the next day before we left to go home.  We did make a valiant effort to go the next morning but when the thermometer in the car showed 106 degrees I had to make an executive decision to throw in the towel.  The kids were disappointed but I think once Jim and I promised we'd bring them back in the cooler weather I think they were just as relieved as us to be heading home.  We did get to drive past the White House and the Pentagon which added a little excitement to things.  : )

On the way home, the temperature in the car was so hot and the traffic was horrible.  We traveled only about 12 miles in about an hour and a half.  Megan was crying and our clothes were soaked.  Jim got on the phone and found the nearest hotel with a pool.  The woman at the front desk took one look at Jim and gave us half price to stay when he told them our story and that we only needed to stay until the sun started to go down.  The kids all went swimming and I took a nap and then we ordered room service and got back on the road.  Believe it or not, it was lots of fun being stuck in a hotel room all together.  The a/c was cranking and our bellies were full and Megan was happy and we knew we were finally heading back to New York!!!!! 

I did take lots more photos and I'll share more of them tomorrow on "Wordless Wednesday."  : )


Many blessings for a wonderful Tuesday ~ Wendy

Next Time We're Headin' North!! . . .

A few weeks ago, we decided we would take a short trip as a bit of a "last hurrah" before we found out if the union workers were going to strike at the very large company where my husband works in Manhattan.  He is part of management and would have to begin working a different schedule if they did indeed strike.  This new schedule includes no more than a day and a half off at a time and being unable to leave the area in case he's needed for an emergency.  We knew this may very well be the only family vacation we got to take this summer so we wanted to make it a nice one.  Short but sweet.  Short yes.  Sweet no.

After learning that our mechanic was unable to fix our car's air conditioning the day before we were scheduled to leave, my husband suggested that we rent a car.  I, unfortunately, told him we could deal with it with cold water to drink and nature's air conditioning (aka leaving the windows down while driving).  So we loaded up the car last Wednesday and headed to Washington, D.C. with three of our four children and our niece and nephew.

Tristan, Brendan, Trevor, Annie and Megan.

The ride to D.C. wasn't bad other then my poor husband having to constantly turn around to wipe Megan's endlessly running nose  (I was driving).  She woke up the morning of our trip feeling miserable.  Hmm . . .  do you think we were getting a sign or two that we shouldn't be going??  : )  Our mechanic had thankfully rigged up the a/c so that we would get some cooler air coming thru the vents on occasion and we stopped for food and cold drinks along the way.  The kids were all buzzing with the excitement of seeing the monuments and other activities we had planned.

We arrived at the hotel to find it was under complete renovation.  Workers coming and going, the lobby furniture all covered in plastic and walls torn down.  I've always taught the kids that you can have a positive experience in most any situation and to enjoy the simple things in life so this really wasn't a big deal to any of us.  As long as we had air conditioning in our adjoining rooms and the kids had the pool to jump into life was good.  The a/c was fabulous but the pool not so much.  The picture on the website was very deceiving and it was much smaller than it had appeared to be.  Not to mention the fact that the water was about 60 degrees and our daughter who usually doesn't want to get out of a pool once she's in it wanted nothing to do with being in this pool.  I had just finished unpacking and settled down with my new book, Heaven is Here, and I heard the pitter patter of semi-little feet coming up the hallway.  The water was so cold that they couldn't even swim in it (it was an outdoor pool that got no sun apparently).  So much for a few minutes to myself!!  And I had so wanted to begin that new book finally!!  Oh well.  At least I made it to page two.  : )

You can tell Meggie wasn't feeling well.  It was very difficult to get a photo of her with a smile on her face.  : (

Tomorrow, I'll share photos of our venture into D.C.  Our hotel was actually in Silver Springs, MD.  Much less expensive when you stay in the outskirts of D.C. and only a Metro ride away.

Did I mention that we decided to take this trip while this area of the country is in the grips of a massive heat wave??  Yep.  It is and we did!!


Many blessings for a happy Monday and a peaceful week ~ Wendy