DC

I had planned to wait to write more until I had my pictures uploaded off the good camera, but it's been a crazy week and I just didn't have time. The whole trip went so well. We hit DC on the exact day that the cherry blossoms were in peak bloom - and it was wonderful.

We woke up Thursday morning, and took the metro into the city. I'm going to admit that dealing with a stroller on the subway was a bit of a challenge - it was hard to find the elevators (oftentimes having to walk all of the way around the block). But when we finally got moving, both kids walked all the way from the White House to the Washington Monument.

People kept telling me it was going to be crazy crowded, but if this is the definition of crowded in DC, I think I can handle it - you can see Grandma and Cam holding hands while Maggie s.l.o.w.l.y follows behind. (I would ask if she wanted to get in the stroller - NO MAMA! I WALK! good thing we didn't have anyplace else to go, lol)

I convinced them to get in the stroller to walk around the tidal basin, and the blossoms were breathtaking. Just perfect. It took us almost the whole morning to do that walk... and by about noon, we got a really sub-par lunch a one of the kiosks on the mall.

I then took the kids to the Natural History Museum - such a huge hit. Each building has metal detectors you need to go through, and when Cam got into the building and saw the big elephant, he just ran through! That was a bit of a stressful moment - as I couldn't get through the line to grab him and then Maggie ran and followed! But after rounding everyone back up, we had a great time. Maggie LOVED the dinosaurs. She is still talking about them a week later.

Then I got the kids back in the stroller to go across the mall to the Air and Space Museum, and they both passed out. Which gave mom and I some time to go into a 'grown-up' museum (the Hirshhorn) while we wait for them to wake up. Then I took the kids into the Air and Space Museum - and the planetarium. Cam HATED it, and of course, Maggie loved it - so I couldn't just leave. I guess the loud noise and darkness was a bit much for Cam.

Friday morning we woke up and made our way to the Zoo! We saw so much fun stuff - including watching the panda's eat their bamboo! Both kids were still tired from all the walking the day before, so had no trouble staying in the stroller, and that zoo is super hilly...so I got a pretty good workout.

One of the neatest things we saw as we were leaving - they have platforms that the orangutans can climb between, and we saw one walking along! Too neat!

The last thing we did was to take a boat tour on the Potomac River. I got a groupon for Capital River Cruises, and it was just the right thing for the end of two super busy days. We had lunch in Georgetown, and then took the boat ride. Both kids LOVED it.

It was supposed to be a Cherry Blossom tour - which was a bit of BS, as you can only really see the blossoms from the tidal basin - but it was nice to see the monuments from a distance.

I will totally be taking the kids back to DC. It's a great place for a family vacation, and we have the added benefit of a free place to stay! It was not a restful vacation by any means (I certainly couldn't have done it alone) but a great way to spend time with both my mom and the kids.