Fun in Washington ABC

Roy just returned from a trip to Africa and had to fly into Washington DC for some meetings. He asked me to join him up there with the kids so he wouldn't be gone from us for another 4 days. We made a short stop in Lynchburg (the halfway point) and then headed on up to DC, or Washington ABC as Caroline calls it. I have to say that I was very proud of myself driving through the city and finding my way to our hotel with no GPS....just some printed out directions:) Yeah, no sweat.

Funny Story--we arrived right around dinner time. The valet man was Hispanic and Caroline told me I needed to speak Spanish to him (even though I don't speak the language). The kids saw a McDonalds across the street from the hotel, so we decided to walk there after we got settled. When we walked in, Caroline noticed that all the employees behind the counter were Hispanic. When we sat down she said, "Mommy, does everyone in Washington ABC speak Spanish?" I told her that Washington was a very cultural city and people from all over the world come to visit or live there. Right as I finished saying this, a black family walked in and she pointed and said, "Yep, and they're from Africa!". Oh wow. I quickly and quietly explained to her that just because they have brown skin doesn't mean they're from Africa and that they were definitely American. I was just hoping they didn't see or hear us!!!!


So, what were the three of us going to do for three days in DC while Roy worked? Well, we walked on over to the National Zoo our first morning. It was a beautiful day with no humidity or typical Washington stickiness. I have to say, though, that Washington is not very stroller-friendly, including the Zoo Welcome Center. I had to haul RoyBoy in his stroller up and down a flight of stairs to use the potty and buy the kids safari hats (and at the bottom of the steps, I stepped into a nice fresh wad of gum! UGHH!). We had a great time, though, and decided that the best parts were the ape house and the snakes.

Roy had a long break in the afternoons, so he joined us at the pool. The kids LOVED it. RoyBoy was afraid of pools last summer but I think that fear is long gone. He was obsessed with jumping in over and over again. One afternoon, Roy let me sit out on the lounge chair for the whole time and read my book (sidenote: Francine Rivers' new book. A definite page turner....blog post to come!). It was so relaxing and gave me hope that my days reading magazines by the pool may not be totally gone:

This is what happens to kids when they haven't had naps for 2 days straight and spend the afternoons in the pool and sun:

Caroline kept asking when we were going to take a taxi somewhere, so one morning we took one to Georgetown. The kids were SO excited and giddy:

After looking for Jackie and JFK's first home in Georgetown, we gave up. I didn't remember the address and I had a cranky 5-year-old walking beside me who was tired of walking and didn't care to look at pretty town homes. So, we found a wonderful place....GEORGETOWN CUPCAKE! Wow, this place was great! It's the cutest cupcake shop with tons of flavors, seriously the best cupcakes I've ever had. They were filming a commercial while we were in there, so we quietly got our cupcakes and sat to the side and ate and watched. I got the cookies and cream cupcake and it tasted JUST like an oreo. If you get a second, check out their website (click here). They have received great reviews and they ship nationwide. I think I may start sending these things out---forget Edible Arrangements!

By Thursday morning, hotel living with two kids was becoming a little challenging. It's hard keeping kids quiet, displaying good manners, trying to escape from the hotel room (RoyBoy), breaking up fights over happy meal toys, and prying M&M's out of noses (again, RoyBoy). So, when we saw Roy enter the lobby to pick us up on Thursday afternoon, I was one happy lady! We had a great time, though. Caroline said the best part was staying in the hotel and going to the pool. I remember my family traveling with my Daddy on business trips once in a while and feeling the same way. I'm glad our children were able to do it last week!