Trip to MD/DC - July 2014

We were so blessed last summer to be able to take two family trips. My sister moved to the D.C. area at the beginning of July and Nick just happened to plan a multi-day bicycle ride from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., so the kids and my mom and I took off to visit my sister and her family...and to pick up Nick and his friend of course. ;-)

This time...the kids didn't do so well in the car. :-( I think having Daddy around makes them behave a little better! Imagine that. It was a beautiful day to drive and the Pennsylvania Turnpike was not as scary as Mom and I remembered it. I think workers must have taken out some mountains or something. ;-) We arrived in Maryland in good time and had some excited kiddos on our hands!

Our first full day we headed to the National Mall on the Metro. It was crowded. And I had to ride backwards...or sideways...or something. Bleh. We survived and headed straight to the National Museum of Natural History. It was pretty cool, but I have to say that the Cleveland Museum of Natural History is better!

It was very difficult to move four children at a good enough pace to see everything and still have time to see some more things on the Mall. The Museum had a large screen where the kids could pretend to pet dinosaurs---this was a big hit!  Of course, the gems and rocks were popular among our crew as well.

Part of the Glacial Grooves of Kelly's Island, Ohio

After lunch we ventured out onto the Mall to look at the monuments. Everyone was tired of walking already...uh-oh!

Newly acquired stuffed tigers and leopard ears from the gift shop

WWII Memorial

WWII Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Two memorials that my mom and I hadn't seen before were the World War II and the Korean War Memorials. Both were very powerful and moving and really elicited the visitor to stop, reflect and remember.

WWII Memorial

WWII Memorial

WWII Memorial

WWII Memorial

My grandpa was stationed in the Philippines during WWII. He never got to see the WWII Memorial, but he did receive a certificate of recognition that was presented to him at our hometown's Memorial Day parade in 2005. I was able to accept that for him.

Korean War Memorial

Korean War Memorial

The kids were done walking by this time and done looking at things they didn't quite fully understand. It was a beautiful time looking at the monuments and hopefully the next time we visit, we can all go up in the Washington Monument (you must reserve tickets way in advance).

Our second full day we headed to Annapolis to explore! We ate lunch on an awesome patio of a restaurant I can't remember the name now :-P and we took a ride on the Chesapeake Bay on a Pirate Ship...and we played on the beach of Sandy Point State Park! All sorts of awesomeness for the kids. :-) Looking back now, I think we should have done the kid stuff our first day and the monuments the second day.

Downtown Annapolis

I'm convinced that water and sunshine make everyone in a town HAPPY. Everyone in Annapolis was in such a darn good mood. I had a lovely roasted Caesar salad for lunch...yes, roasted lettuce...and it rocked.

Lunch

Marin's lunch had to be on the go! :-P

So the pirate ship...Mere and Anna discovered it while they were quietly cruising on another boat. A rowdy bunch of kids passed them on a pirate ship!  Find more information here: Pirate Adventures on the Chesapeake Bay.

Before we boarded the ship, the kids got dressed up as pirates and got painted up, too!

We happened to be riding with a summer camp full of girls...so Evander and Emory got a lot of extra attention being the only boys on board. But, they loved it! It was loud, so Marin didn't appreciate it as much as the boys...until the end...she got into it when it was almost over, of course.

There was a story line that we had to be on the lookout for Pirate Pete...and sure enough we encountered him twice and the kids had to attack him with the water cannons! The kids even had to heave ho a few things out of the water--- a map, some Pirate Ale, and the treasure!

Needless to say...someone was in his glory...

They blared the pirate music so loud and Emory just danced...and danced. He loved every...single...minute of this expedition. It made my momma heart so happy to witness, and seeing my kids so happy always makes me cry. :-P

In a sea of girls.

Guarding "HIS" water cannon

Booty!

Being the brave boy and the first to taste the Pirate Ale!

After all of that fun we headed to Sandy Point State Park for the beach!!! Oh, we had such a good time. The kids had a blast playing in the water and the adults had warm sand and such a pretty view of the Bay/

Ohhhhh, the trip was too short!  The next day we said goodbye to my sister and her family and headed back in to Washington, D.C. to meet up with Nick and his bicycling buddy. They had made it!  More than 300 miles in three and a half days! What an accomplishment! They were so proud.