Jan Heirtzler (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jan_andrea) wrote2004-08-28 04:43 pm
jan_andrea) wrote2004-08-28 04:43 pm
Washington DC Redux
We've been back for a day now, so I ought to get this written up :)
Monday: Driving driving driving driving... We left home at about 8:30 to pick up the rental car at UNH. They'd told David he'd get a large car, but we got a Chevy Malibu instead. I didn't like it. It wasn't much bigger than our Honda Civic, though the trunk was a little bigger. Kids were not happy about getting up so early, but they got over it. We picked up the stuff David needed for the testing at Goddard, then drove home to get our stuff. We'd packed the night before, so it was just a matter of schlepping everything into the car, including the kids' carseats. I guess it took us about 15 minutes to get everything in, so it was about 9:20 before we got on the road. We managed to get to Connecticut before needing to stop for lunch/leg stretching. It was a pretty dull drive, which actually is good. David drove the whole way down; I got about halfway done on my quilt.
We visited Kristen in Baltimore -- she has a really neat house! It's 3 stories tall, but 9 feet wide. Definitely unique! We had dinner at a fabulous Indian restaurant that we'd walked to -- pleasant walk, great food! Unfortunately, we'd reached Baltimore at around 6 pm, so we had to leave shortly after dinner in order to get to Greenbelt before too late. Checked into the hotel, showered, and crashed for the night. Stephen was happy with his "bed" -- we had packed a twin-size inflatable mattress for him, but discovered that the chair and ottoman the hotel provided were a perfect size for him, so we put his sheets and blanket on that and he loved it.
Tuesday: Smithsonian! We got up around 8 am, also not pleasing to the wee ones, but they managed. I overpacked the stroller, which I regretted later on, but didn't know it at the time. Free breakfast (hurray!), then David drove us to Greenbelt's Metro station. Bought a $20 Metro card -- still have $13 left on it now! -- and rode the Metro into Washington, which was apparently the highlight of Stephen's day. Chatted with a woman who worked at the Commerce department on the way. Got off at L'Enfant Plaza at around 9 am, only to find that the Smithsonian museums don't open until 10 am, so we killed some time walking around the Mall. It was already hot -- at least 85 degrees F and humid -- but I was feeling good, so the walking was nice. We checked out the Castle (which opens at 8:30) and I tried to plan our day a little bit.
Once 10 am rolled around, our first stop was the American History museum, so that Stephen could see the trains up close and personal. I'd planned on doing 2 museums the first day, 2 the next, and the zoo on the last day, but Stephen's attention span wasn't having it. We practically ran through the relavant American History exhibits (trains, cars, etc.), then it was off to the Natural History museum at about 11:15 for the dinosaurs. They recently renovated the Hall of Mammals, and it is *gorgeous* and very well-done. He had a little more patience there, since there were so many animals to look at, and I nursed Sophie in the Mammals movie, which seemed apt. Next we spent a very short time in the Freer museum -- pretty much just enough time to look at the gift shop, as nothing there was of interest to the kids. Then we headed over to the Air & Space museum, stopping along the way at the Carousel -- we both rode, which was fun. At Air & Space, we ate in the new food court -- it had the 1950's 21st-century look. Then we looked at the planes, satellites, spaceships, etc., practically at a run. Stephen wanted nothing more than to ride the Metro again, so we caught that at around 3 pm.
Unfortunately, I hadn't planned very well -- I was hoping to get a quick bus back to the hotel, but ended up on the one that took 30 minutes to get there, even though it's only 3 miles from the station to the hotel. The kids both fell asleep on the bus, and I got off at the wrong stop, and ended up walking about 3/4 mile from there to the hotel in the blazing hot sun. Yuck. David finished working pretty late -- got back to the hotel at 6:30 -- but had finished 5 of the 6 tests he had to do, which was nice for him. We ate at a Mexican place near the hotel, then went back and went to bed early.
Wednesday: Zoo and IKEA. David went to work the next morning, and I stayed in the hotel with the kids. I'd been thinking about going swimming, but it looked like rain, so we never ended up going. The kids played and watched PBS, and I did some more quilting. It was relaxing, compared to the day before. David came back at around 1 pm, and we drove to the Zoo. It was hot and humid, and we were so tired that we ended up staying for just a couple of hours -- Stephen was cranky, Sophie was sleepy, and we didn't feel up to too much walking. So we drove to the new Ikea in College Park, and it was FANTASTIC! It seems dumb that we had more fun there than at the Zoo, but they have these great little play areas all through the store, plus David and I walked around the whole store with a litany of "That's so clever!" and "That's so cheap!" and "Oooh, I wish we had room for that," and "Let's chuck all of our stuff and start over here!" We ate at their restaurant, which was yummy. Got a great little desk for Stephen and other miscellaneous small stuff, but made plans to replace our computer desks and a number of other things when Ikea comes to Stoughton, Mass.
Thursday: Heading home. We had been planning to stay for Tuesday through Thursday, then drive back on Friday, but since David finished early, we had to leave on Thursday instead. The drive was pretty uneventful. I drove for the first couple of hours, then David decided he'd prefer to drive the rest of the way back, so he did. We ended up driving through NYC, which I had expected to be really backed-up and busy, but it wasn't, and Stephen was thrilled to actually be there. We stopped in Boston on the way back, craving squid at our favorite Chinese place, and the change in the weather from southern states was stunning -- it was a beautiful day in Boston. We also managed a stop at Trader Joe's, and then made it home.
So, that was our trip. Not the most exciting vacation, but it was cheap -- we didn't have to pay anything out of pocket. They may send David back down again in October or November, and I'll join him again then, as it'll probably be a longer trip... and cooler! Definitely need to see Kristen again, too. We didn't have nearly enough time to visit.
Monday: Driving driving driving driving... We left home at about 8:30 to pick up the rental car at UNH. They'd told David he'd get a large car, but we got a Chevy Malibu instead. I didn't like it. It wasn't much bigger than our Honda Civic, though the trunk was a little bigger. Kids were not happy about getting up so early, but they got over it. We picked up the stuff David needed for the testing at Goddard, then drove home to get our stuff. We'd packed the night before, so it was just a matter of schlepping everything into the car, including the kids' carseats. I guess it took us about 15 minutes to get everything in, so it was about 9:20 before we got on the road. We managed to get to Connecticut before needing to stop for lunch/leg stretching. It was a pretty dull drive, which actually is good. David drove the whole way down; I got about halfway done on my quilt.
We visited Kristen in Baltimore -- she has a really neat house! It's 3 stories tall, but 9 feet wide. Definitely unique! We had dinner at a fabulous Indian restaurant that we'd walked to -- pleasant walk, great food! Unfortunately, we'd reached Baltimore at around 6 pm, so we had to leave shortly after dinner in order to get to Greenbelt before too late. Checked into the hotel, showered, and crashed for the night. Stephen was happy with his "bed" -- we had packed a twin-size inflatable mattress for him, but discovered that the chair and ottoman the hotel provided were a perfect size for him, so we put his sheets and blanket on that and he loved it.
Tuesday: Smithsonian! We got up around 8 am, also not pleasing to the wee ones, but they managed. I overpacked the stroller, which I regretted later on, but didn't know it at the time. Free breakfast (hurray!), then David drove us to Greenbelt's Metro station. Bought a $20 Metro card -- still have $13 left on it now! -- and rode the Metro into Washington, which was apparently the highlight of Stephen's day. Chatted with a woman who worked at the Commerce department on the way. Got off at L'Enfant Plaza at around 9 am, only to find that the Smithsonian museums don't open until 10 am, so we killed some time walking around the Mall. It was already hot -- at least 85 degrees F and humid -- but I was feeling good, so the walking was nice. We checked out the Castle (which opens at 8:30) and I tried to plan our day a little bit.
Once 10 am rolled around, our first stop was the American History museum, so that Stephen could see the trains up close and personal. I'd planned on doing 2 museums the first day, 2 the next, and the zoo on the last day, but Stephen's attention span wasn't having it. We practically ran through the relavant American History exhibits (trains, cars, etc.), then it was off to the Natural History museum at about 11:15 for the dinosaurs. They recently renovated the Hall of Mammals, and it is *gorgeous* and very well-done. He had a little more patience there, since there were so many animals to look at, and I nursed Sophie in the Mammals movie, which seemed apt. Next we spent a very short time in the Freer museum -- pretty much just enough time to look at the gift shop, as nothing there was of interest to the kids. Then we headed over to the Air & Space museum, stopping along the way at the Carousel -- we both rode, which was fun. At Air & Space, we ate in the new food court -- it had the 1950's 21st-century look. Then we looked at the planes, satellites, spaceships, etc., practically at a run. Stephen wanted nothing more than to ride the Metro again, so we caught that at around 3 pm.
Unfortunately, I hadn't planned very well -- I was hoping to get a quick bus back to the hotel, but ended up on the one that took 30 minutes to get there, even though it's only 3 miles from the station to the hotel. The kids both fell asleep on the bus, and I got off at the wrong stop, and ended up walking about 3/4 mile from there to the hotel in the blazing hot sun. Yuck. David finished working pretty late -- got back to the hotel at 6:30 -- but had finished 5 of the 6 tests he had to do, which was nice for him. We ate at a Mexican place near the hotel, then went back and went to bed early.
Wednesday: Zoo and IKEA. David went to work the next morning, and I stayed in the hotel with the kids. I'd been thinking about going swimming, but it looked like rain, so we never ended up going. The kids played and watched PBS, and I did some more quilting. It was relaxing, compared to the day before. David came back at around 1 pm, and we drove to the Zoo. It was hot and humid, and we were so tired that we ended up staying for just a couple of hours -- Stephen was cranky, Sophie was sleepy, and we didn't feel up to too much walking. So we drove to the new Ikea in College Park, and it was FANTASTIC! It seems dumb that we had more fun there than at the Zoo, but they have these great little play areas all through the store, plus David and I walked around the whole store with a litany of "That's so clever!" and "That's so cheap!" and "Oooh, I wish we had room for that," and "Let's chuck all of our stuff and start over here!" We ate at their restaurant, which was yummy. Got a great little desk for Stephen and other miscellaneous small stuff, but made plans to replace our computer desks and a number of other things when Ikea comes to Stoughton, Mass.
Thursday: Heading home. We had been planning to stay for Tuesday through Thursday, then drive back on Friday, but since David finished early, we had to leave on Thursday instead. The drive was pretty uneventful. I drove for the first couple of hours, then David decided he'd prefer to drive the rest of the way back, so he did. We ended up driving through NYC, which I had expected to be really backed-up and busy, but it wasn't, and Stephen was thrilled to actually be there. We stopped in Boston on the way back, craving squid at our favorite Chinese place, and the change in the weather from southern states was stunning -- it was a beautiful day in Boston. We also managed a stop at Trader Joe's, and then made it home.
So, that was our trip. Not the most exciting vacation, but it was cheap -- we didn't have to pay anything out of pocket. They may send David back down again in October or November, and I'll join him again then, as it'll probably be a longer trip... and cooler! Definitely need to see Kristen again, too. We didn't have nearly enough time to visit.