It started Father's Day weekend and ended with the 4th of July celebrations. We are usually at Dad's for the 4th but this year we were supposed to be in London and then last minute it was canceled and all plans redirected...long story short we had 2 weeks vacation up here!
The Saturday after they arrived, the Smithsonian had a family archaeology dig day! Anna had been begging to try a dig, so I asked for them to make an exception for their 10yr old + only rule. Anna had a BLAST (her words). In fact I hadn't seen her so excited about something that didn't involve swimming :) The interns even showed her around the labs, including the maps they use, some bones, and lab tools. She was hooked. I kept waiting for her to say she was bored but no way! The dig was only 2.5hrs. Perfect in my opinion but she would have been happy to stay longer! She helped the interns uncover a foundation to something no one is sure about yet.
Her first little find: ceramic chip :)
Next day, Father's Day. How do we celebrate the man who takes care of us? By a trip to the Indiana Jones Exhibit at the Nat Geo museum! And surprisingly fitting the day after our archaeology dig :)
That afternoon we headed to Hershey Park in PA! We checked in to a Hershey campground cabin, made our own chocolate bars, and played with FIREFLIES! Something Anna had never experienced, and Paul and I hadn't seen since kids. What ever happened to them in the South? They ended up being all over PA and MD on our travels!
First roller coaster of our first night was a disaster! It was Laff Trak, a new indoor coaster ride that was supposed to be easy and fun! She was game, and then right at the first drop, she lost it and cried-literally with tears- for the remaining 60 seconds or so of the ride! WTF. Dismayed parents. She used to love coasters, but we admitted to a spark of worry after she cried on a roller coaster at Legoland last year- one that she had loved over and over again just the year before when she was like 5! So here we were again...bummed since Hershey is known for its great coasters, even for kids. We tried not to be frustrated, didn't want to force her, and used some magic words about support and being nervous and risk and blah blah if she decided to try again tomorrow. The next morning first up she tackled the comet: a wooden coaster with a pretty big drop. Her idea, and we were thrilled. She loved it, and that was it, over and over. I bribed her with a gift shop trip if she'd ride the loop coaster, which she did- over and over- and ended up with a few stuffed animals on sale and a pillow/blanket combo. Also got the kid the danged T-shirt!
By end of day 1 she was asking to ride that first coaster again- WHAT?! And she ended up riding it like 3 more times during our 2 days there. That park is awesome. Even has a water park that doesn't require a separate ticket so you can bounce from wet to dry throughout the day!
So many more pictures are on A and P's i-stuff. And Paul's got the rides on his Go-Pro. I took an afternoon to get a chocolate spa treatment (very cool) and they hit the park without me, including the arcade (they're a famous arcade duo...never come home
Empty handed. They hit the jackpot!
After Hershey, onward to Lacaster county, to spend a day learning about the Amish. We stayed in a B&B for a different change of pace, here: http://m.ejbowmanhouse.com
Our first stop was at America's oldest commercial pretzel shop, Julius Stergis http://www.juliussturgis.com, where we learned to twist pretzels and learned some history!
Is it weird the only pictures I took of the entire Amish experience was this- some old fashioned candy cigarettes in the local general store that we hadn't seen since kids?!
Anna took lots of pics and videos. I'll have to get them off her iPod. One thing extra we love about her- when she asks for her iPod while we are traveling, it's not for reasons you'd think- she wants lots of videos and photos. She amazes us! I need to get those!
After we had a beautiful day learning about the Amish, including visiting farms for fresh ice cream and cheese, we kept heading east to Glenmoore to visit our old friends, the Hayfords. Paul's Air Force BFF of like 20 yrs now. Marc and Christina are fantastic community leaders, have great kids, and made sure we had a blast! Anna was smitten with their oldest daughter, Jayda so followed her EVERYWHERE!
They joined us for a day trip to Philadelphia, where we got soggy but made great memories :)
Liberty Bell
Archaeological ruins of the original White House (president's home) in Phili before DC became the new location.
After we said goodbye to the Hayfords, we met up with a Phili friend I'd known for 8 yrs online from a March Baby community board and Facebook. She's super cool in person, as is her daughter and her husband. So neat to finally meet! The kids have birthdays just 3 days apart. Surreal!
Then good-bye to Phili (after a hotel stay and breakfast at Reading Terminal Market), and onward to NYC for a They Might Be Giants family show in Brooklyn. These are super rare so we couldn't pass it up since Anna was bummed she couldn't come to the one Paul and I went to in Brooklyn last month. Good thing we allowed enough time for traffic- we ended up in the middle of Manhattan caught in the middle of a historic gay pride parade, the day after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage! D'OH! We'd have taken a minute to reflect on this historic accident if we weren't pressing to get to the show after coming so far, and we all had to pee badly! Paul's amazing driving skills, even in intimidating NYC, saved us!!
For the next few days she couldn't believe she had seen TMBG in person. Like most of us concert goers, she enjoyed the favorites and was also bummed over ones she didn't recognize. She said they sounded young but looked old (why yes, sweetie). And was overall just shocked to get so close up!
Lucky. Kid. This timing just happened to work out!
Yes, the TMBG generation is growing up together :)
After some Brooklyn pizza, which Anna didn't like (what does SHE know?), it was back to DC that night, completing the first 7 days! The next 7 days consisted of hanging out around DC, including lots of outdoors. With temps maxing out at only 84, and blissful in the shade, why stay in?
First up: Adventure Park in MD. Outdoor ropes course and zip lines, kid-friendly, with old Houston BFF, Esther and her crew. These kids were great! All had scary moments, including some tears, but all were coachable and completely proud of themselves and wanting more by the end of the day! What a fantastic way to spend the day- cheering each other on and gaining self-confidence! SCORE! We were some incredibly proud parents- no other mom I'd rather spend that kind of a day with. Esther gets it, and she's one of the best moms I know.
Look, no pics of me on these- I'm always behind the camera :)
After we said goodbye to Esther's crew, we set up camp at Patapsco state park in MD (the Hilton area). What a clean campsite! Private! Wonderful temps, in the trees, complete with fireflies! I had the honor of making our fire using the skills I gained from the wilderness survival class I took at Mountain Shepherd school in June, and it worked!! Anna helped gather the timber from dead trees too :) Alas, the fire only lasted long enough for a few hot dogs and s'mores since the wood bundle we bought was wet and wouldn't burn long. Anna got more great pics of the campsite. Darn it!
Hiking was amazing at this little park! I picked it thinking surely there would be hiking trails that Anna has been begging for, and it was close to the Adventure Park. Surely I was hoping for simply "Good enough." But never anticipated this adventure!
River beds, waterfalls, old ruins, a suspension bridge- hello? Heaven!! Mental note- the trails were called Forest Glen (or something) and Cascade Falls (Orange Grove area). Never had we hiked anywhere that was so accessible to literally climb waterfalls, swim in little pools, look for snakes and fish. These people here have it made!! Paul and Anna have more pictures-
We saw a guy in the stream creating rock art so we got inspired too :)
Back into the city, I went to work for one day, while Paul and Anna went on a kids pirate ship ride on the Potomac. When in Georgetown, you have cupcakes from Baked and Wired!
Then it's dinner at Bobby Flay's Burger Palace with Esther and crew, and we got to take Nina back with us for a sleepover :) Nina's VERY FIRST SLEEP OVER! They had a riot! Swimming on the rooftop pool, and sleeping in a fort :) They claim they stayed up till 12:59am!
The next day was more play with Esther's crew! I love them. They left Houston when Anna was a month old and she and Nina are just 2 months apart. So they barely know each other but when we all get together it seems we grew up together. That must be True friendship. We miss them but they have made a great life in MD!! Love it!
Their final full day in DC was the Fourth of July. After having learned about America's freedom from England in Phili, and about George Washington since Nov, and with her trip to London last year, this particular July 4 was most meaningful. We weren't at my dad's (and Anna expressed her dismay at that fact as we watched the DC fireworks). We made it to the Independence Parade, the Jefferson Memorial, and a soaking walk to Arlington Cemetery :)
Fake frown for the camera as we took shelter in a porta-potty LOL!!
We decided to watch the fireworks from our balcony because hey-we are paying extra for a view like this with no crowds! :) It was a cloudy night so the show wasn't as brilliant as it could have been, and we were actually underwhelmed at the fact that it only lasted 15 minutes!! We thought this would have been a bigger display but eh! Another cool thing about watching from 15 floors up- getting to see the numerous other fireworks displays from nearby cities and events scattered along the DC skyline at the same time. Love!
And now they've just left, headed home to Houston. Anna wanted to stay but thankfully there were no tears- she has lots to look forward to at home. I'm so thankful for getting to spend time with them, and with old friends and new. One of the best parts about being a parent is introducing your kid to the excitement of the world, to get a feel for how others live, for what's possible. I'm not sure how much she will retain, but she certainly is present and takes it all in. Yes she is a booger who also owes me about $20 in gift shop money (addict!) but I am so grateful that at least for now, she loves sharing these experiences with us. This Family is important to her, and as far as 8 year-olds go (the sarcasm, the constant ARE WE THERE YET, HOW MANY MORE MINUTES?!, the shower battles, other areas we constantly work on) I think we have a good one.
Now I'm alone again in the DC apartment, till I head home for a long weekend on Friday. 12.5 weeks left here. That's bitter sweet, as we plot and plan a way to make DC our future second home :)
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