We went to the Air and Space Museum first and though it was really neat to see, Halle was already ready for a nap by the time we got there...So, I tried, unsuccessfully, to get her to sleep by walking her around in the stroller while Brandon hopped in on a guided tour. I was still able to walk around and see a bunch of things and Brandon learned a ton on the tour so we saw most of the major sites in the museum before calling it quits. We had a quick ice cream break and it was the first time Halle had smiled since being in the museum...ha!
We walked over to the Natural History Museum after our snack and since it was so hot outside, Halle fell asleep in her stroller pretty quickly (lesson #1 learned: don't try to get Halle to nap...just do our own thing and she will nap when she is tired!). So, we were able to see a lot of the museum while she slept in her stroller and once she woke up, she was still able to see the elephant and other animals! Brandon managed to find something related to work while visiting the mummy area...the sticks and stones area!
We tried to find a place to eat dinner after leaving the museum but Halle somehow saw the carousel across the National Mall and had only one thing on her mind...it was really cute though how she ran to it! We realized there weren't any dinner places close, so we went back to the museum and ate a quick dinner at the Fossil Cafe. We then walked along the long stretch of the National Mall to see the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the reflecting pool (which was empty!), the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, while the sun was going down and it wasn't as hot. It still was pretty humid though! Halle had fun seeing the fountains at the World War II Memorial and really wanted to put her feet in the water. She was a trooper and did very well that night since we walked from about 7:30-9:30pm and then took the metro back to the hotel. She didn't go to sleep until after 11pm! To say we were all exhausted and hot would be an understatement but it was still fun.
On Sunday morning after having breakfast at the hotel, we hit up the National Zoo. We don't have many pictures since we only saw a cheetah, a giant panda and some elephants before Halle lost it. It was just too hot to be outside to see much more! We took a taxi back to the hotel and then ate at Cosi's on Dupont Circle for lunch and to cool down. Afterwards, we drove to Georgetown just so that I could get a cupcake from DC Cupcakes. I didn't even think that there would be a line and I should've known since it is a tv show. However, it only took about 15 minutes to wait in line and I think it was well worth it...the cupcakes were amazing!
We drove to Arlington Cemetery after our cupcake snack so that Brandon could see the sites there...that is one thing he really wanted to see. We went during the heat of the day (3:15-4:30 or so) so it was really hot but it was still fun to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where they were doing the changing of the guards and the Kennedy grave sites. Halle slept in her stroller almost the whole time which was nice. We both really enjoyed seeing the changing of the guards even though we were drenched in sweat!
We drove downtown and ate dinner at Old Ebbitt's which ended up being really good. It was near the White House too so it was fun to drive around and see some of the sites that we were too tired to walk to the night before. We drove by the Capital after dinner so all in all, I think we saw a lot in two days with a toddler. We headed back to Baltimore afterwards and it only took an hour. It was a busy, tiring and hot two days but it was so neat to see so much of Washington D.C! And, Halle and I were so grateful to be able to spend two full days with Brandon!
On the metro for the first time - she loved being on the "train"!
Touching the moon rock at the Air and Space Museum
The Natural History Museum
Brandon's gift to me for our anniversary...ha! - The Hope Diamond
Always working...
Halle taking pictures - she was so proud of herself for "using" Mom's camera
The "round and round"!
Our only picture from the National Zoo - the giant panda
The line (mostly women) at DC Cupcakes!
The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - very neat to see!
The Kennedy's
Halle did great at dinner at Old Ebbitts - thank goodness for our portable DVD player!
Waiting for Daddy to get the car since it was raining and having fun playing in the rain!
The U.S. Capitol on our way home
3 comments:
So glad you got to spend some time with Brandon! Looks like DC was fun! :) If it helps or makes you feel better at all, Jon and I haven't seen much of each other this rotation either. Miss you guys!
You fit in so many things! Way to be adventurous. Now I am craving cupcakes ;-)
What a great way to use precious time to view so much.
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