Travels With Teens: Take Two “I Can Organize This Trip in My Sleep!”BC Dee in DC Roti & Fini p. 40

[luvpoohandcompany]

I have to say I'm really enjoying this TR
There is obviously so much to do and see in DC you must have had a hard time deciding. Definitely makes me want to visit
Can't believe I'm still hanging in there with the contest
My latest guesses are :-
Bus and metro
A model Enola Gay plane for Ben
108 photos

 

[annie170]

That was pretty steep for a breakfast buffet, but not surprising considering it was the hotel. When we eat at a buffet like that, I always try to get my nickel's worth and chow down. I can then skip the next meal and have saved money that way! Of course, then I'm uncomfortable for a couple hours. Anyway, your omelet looked delicious.

That's strange about the pillowcase. I wonder if that was too difficult for people to see, so it was changed.

I'll guess the metro and uber for your forms of transportation. I'll try a t-shirt for Ben's souvenir and 180 pictures were taken.

 

[afwdwfan]

All I have to say about the American History museum is that I could spend all day walking through the war section that you couldn't wait to get out of.

That really stinks that you can't take pictures in the archives, but it definitely makes sense as to why you can't. Good thing you reminded them about the Bill of Rights. Someone could probably stand to remind some presidential candidates about them too...

I'm glad you were able to get back over to Ford's Theater and see it!

 

[rteetz]

I have never been to DC so it was a long shot to get Fords theater right so I just guessed. It looks like a really fun and interesting tour though. Lincoln has always been an interesting president.

We employed 3 methods of transportation to get to the Udvar-Hazy Center . One was walking. What were the other two? 10 points each



What souvenir did Ben get? 10 points



How many pictures from this museum? 20 points if you guess within 20 of the total.

Bus and Metro

Model Space shuttle

225

 

[natebenma]

With me working two jobs now, I've hardly had time for the Dis but I am now all caught up again. Ouch on the price of your breakfast! That's a lot to pay for a breakfast. Okay, so I know that there's a lot of other stuff that I wanted to comment on but I can't remember a dang thing right now other than I'm so enjoying the picture tours of the various places that you've visited.

Well I know how much you have on your plate, so I appreciate you taking the time to stop in and read!

And I suspect you and I are a lot alike, so I can understand how you could only focus on how expensive that breakfast was! It gets me, too!!!

 

[natebenma]

Well that's an expensive breakfast ... crazy! I think the only time I've ever done a hotel breakfast is when it's included ... otherwise it's almost always easier and cheaper for me to get my own food elsewhere.

How did the docent forget the Bill of Rights? That's crazy!

I definitely wouldn't have thought of Ford's Theater (nice misdirection there), but I'm glad you guys got a chance to do it! Even if you didn't see the bloody pillow.

Sadly, not the most expensive breakfast we have ever had. I think that one goes to our hotel in Hawaii. It was $31 per person if I remember correctly. Sometimes Mark appreciates convenience over frugality. I would rather binge on Pop*Tarts and save the $$$!

I could not believe what was happening in the rotunda. She had pulled us into the center of the room, starting going on and on about the murals on the wall, as I was watching the crowds gather and the time creeping towards the 10 am opening...

I raised my hand and said "Um. Are we going to see the Bill of Rights?"

It was really difficult to make the trip to Ford's Theatre happen- we had to leave the Archives a little sooner than we might have. And then we were disappointed about the lineup for our scheduled tour. Would have much preferred a walk-through of the theatre, the museum and the Petersen House to the play given our time constraints.

But at least we made it.

Answers noted!

 

[natebenma]

New Contest Questions:



We employed 3 methods of transportation to get to the Udvar-Hazy Center . One was walking. What were the other two? 10 points each

Metro and Bus


What souvenir did Ben get? 10 points

Scale Model Aircraft (I probably would go for a rocket but Ben seems more like an airplane kind of kid, maybe one of the military aircraft)

How many pictures from this museum? 20 points if you guess within 20 of the total.

160

Guesses noted!

 

[natebenma]

I have to say I'm really enjoying this TR
There is obviously so much to do and see in DC you must have had a hard time deciding. Definitely makes me want to visit
Can't believe I'm still hanging in there with the contest
My latest guesses are :-
Bus and metro
A model Enola Gay plane for Ben
108 photos

Thank you so much, my friend!

When you come here to do your East Coast USA tour, I will definitely help you plan. Maybe even act as your tour guide!

You are doing great with the guesses. I have made note of your latest batch.

That was pretty steep for a breakfast buffet, but not surprising considering it was the hotel. When we eat at a buffet like that, I always try to get my nickel's worth and chow down. I can then skip the next meal and have saved money that way! Of course, then I'm uncomfortable for a couple hours. Anyway, your omelet looked delicious.

That's strange about the pillowcase. I wonder if that was too difficult for people to see, so it was changed.

I'll guess the metro and uber for your forms of transportation. I'll try a t-shirt for Ben's souvenir and 180 pictures were taken.

Nate was the one in a pissy mood but it should have been me moping since I am in charge of the household budget. We still needed to get lunch because we had a busy afternoon, but we pretty much skipped dinner, mostly due to time constraints.

A sign said the bedding was now on display at a museum in Chicago, but I'm not sure if that is temporary or permanent. Perhaps that happened when they were renovating the Petersen house a few years ago. I don't know.

Thanks for your guesses!

All I have to say about the American History museum is that I could spend all day walking through the war section that you couldn't wait to get out of.

I'm sure!

You will probably have the same reaction to our next stop. Two hangars of aircraft on display are about a hangar-and-a-half too many! But my guys loved it. So I'm glad we did it.

That really stinks that you can't take pictures in the archives, but it definitely makes sense as to why you can't. Good thing you reminded them about the Bill of Rights. Someone could probably stand to remind some presidential candidates about them too...

Right?!?



I totally understand the no picture rule there. I had hoped to get to the gift shop to see if I could purchase a book containing pictures of the artifacts on collection at the Archives.

I have been trying to find a reproduction of something I saw at the Archives, I think from my trip as a young girl. There was a display of political comic strips. One was Archive-themed. It showed a bunch of tourists crowded around the documents on display and was captioned

"You're just supposed to look at it, not READ it!'

See your comment above.

I'm glad you were able to get back over to Ford's Theater and see it!

Me too.

I have never been to DC so it was a long shot to get Fords theater right so I just guessed. It looks like a really fun and interesting tour though. Lincoln has always been an interesting president.


Bus and Metro

Model Space shuttle

225

It was amazing and humbling to be in the place where such pivotal moments in history took place.



Thanks for your guesses!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Thank you so much, my friend!

When you come here to do your East Coast USA tour, I will definitely help you plan. Maybe even act as your tour guide!

You are doing great with the guesses. I have made note of your latest batch.

I will totally take you up on your kind offer of tour guide if/ when we make it to DC. So far I reckon it will be 2019/2020 before we get there but I definitely see it happening in our future

 

[Wood Nymph]

New Contest Questions:



We employed 3 methods of transportation to get to the Udvar-Hazy Center . One was walking. What were the other two? 10 points each



What souvenir did Ben get? 10 points



How many pictures from this museum? 20 points if you guess within 20 of the total.

Next Up: Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Center

I've never been to DC, either, so my guesses are mostly just a guess

1. Uber and Metro

2. Model spacecraft

3. 467

 

[amazingact21]

For starters, our step count for the previous day, Tuesday, was 26,978!!!

Whew!

We were not all that sympathetic since you can basically get anything you want at the buffet, but it was well into the meal before he was out of his foul mood and bearable to be with.

Ahh, kids. Landon has those foul moods at 3, I'm kind of scared to see his teenager self. I'm sure there will be many trip report breakfasts like yours.

The breakfast was $26 per person!!!

Holy smokes! That's Disney prices.

I asked “Are we going to see the Bill of Rights?” She was a little embarrassed as she said she forgot.

Yikes, glad you remembered to ask to see it. I mean, you book a tour for the archives, there's certain documents you want to see!


Sorry you were on a time crunch at the Ford theater and couldn't stay for everything, but at least you got to do a little.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I came over to make sure that I hadn't missed anything and was pleasantly surprised to see that I haven't! That's saying a lot for me nowadays!

 

[natebenma]

I will totally take you up on your kind offer of tour guide if/ when we make it to DC. So far I reckon it will be 2019/2020 before we get there but I definitely see it happening in our future

YAY!!! That will be a fun trip to plan. And participate in!

I've never been to DC, either, so my guesses are mostly just a guess

1. Uber and Metro

2. Model spacecraft

3. 467

Got 'em.

I hope you are able to make a visit to DC someday. So much to see.

Whew!

I was tired just writing the number of steps!

Ahh, kids. Landon has those foul moods at 3, I'm kind of scared to see his teenager self. I'm sure there will be many trip report breakfasts like yours.

I have to say, for the most part my boys are pretty good natured, but Nate was extremely pissy that morning.

Holy smokes! That's Disney prices.

Yikes, glad you remembered to ask to see it. I mean, you book a tour for the archives, there's certain documents you want to see!


Sorry you were on a time crunch at the Ford theater and couldn't stay for everything, but at least you got to do a little.

No kidding! The Bill of Rights is the document Nate wanted to see the most.

My family was kind of annoyed with the way they did things at Ford's. We ended up leaving the archives earlier than we wanted and then we couldn't choose the things we wanted to do/see. And that the actual bedding is on display elsewhere. But I'm glad we got into the theatre, even for a brief moment.

I came over to make sure that I hadn't missed anything and was pleasantly surprised to see that I haven't! That's saying a lot for me nowadays!

Yeah, I am currently behind. Glad I can accommodate you! Excuses coming right up!

 

[natebenma]

Hey everyone


I already posted these updates on my Whistle report and some of you may have seen some of my posts on Facebook, so this is a repeat to some.

I actually was trying to do my next update, but I am having issues with Photobucket. It is only letting me upload one picture at a time.

"I love how user-friendly Photobucket is" said No One Ever!"






***************************************************************************************8


The two big life events for my family in August.


First- Nate got his driver's license.

This would seem to be a minor thing, but it was literally a long, winding, rocky road, 2 years in the making. Our summer project.

It started with Nate's declaration after his first day in driver's ed: "I'm never driving one of those death machines. Or crossing the street!"

3 driving schools. The first one closed due to retirement of the owners, the second one was run by a jerk who hung up on me on the phone and the third was the instructor from the first school that closed down.

Having to get in 6 hours of driving and 2 hours of observation in a month, before his learner's permit expired (which was after college dropoff).

Then trying to schedule a road test- no openings so we had to check 4-5 times a day to see if there was a cancellation. Scored a road test, but Nate did not pass (he froze up parallel parking in Mark's car. He was used to the instructor's smaller car). Back to looking for another cancelled appointment. Found one a week ago. His driving instructor took him in the school car.

Mission accomplished!




Next summer, it's Ben's turn~






On Friday, we brought Nate to UNH. Nate was excited to go and so far the few reports we have from him are very positive. He texted us that things are going really well. He rented books for a couple of classes and it didn't bankrupt us. He had his first class yesterday (US History) and said it was good and his teacher seemed really nice. I am comforted in the knowledge that this is where he needs to be now, at this time in his life.

 

[natebenma]

National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center


http://www.si.edu/Museums/air-and-space-museum-udvar-hazy-center


The boys were really looking forward to this afternoon’s outing. We were headed to a museum we had not visited before. The Udvar-Hazy Center is an annex of the National Air and Space museum. Hundreds of aviation and space artifacts that are too large to exhibit in the museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., along with thousands of small flight-related artifacts are displayed in two hangars near Dulles airport.


Highlights Space Shuttle Discovery, B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, Concorde, Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird, Boeing Stratoliner

The biggest obstacle for visiting this museum is the location. Because we did not have a car and because we are really cheap, we decided to use public transportation to get there. Mark had looked up directions online. Essentially, you take the Silverline Metro to the end of the line (Wielhle-Reston East) and then transfer to the Fairfield Connector bus.


It was a long trip. The train ride was about 30 minutes and the bus loop took almost an hour. In hindsight, we probably should have hailed a taxi or an Uber ride from the train station, but for Mark, who has a daily commute of 2 hours each way into Boston, this journey was no problem.


I took a lot of pictures of the aircraft and the signs describing the exhibits. How many? Ah, that is the question…


I’ll post a few of them here.


The facility

As I mentioned, there are two hangars. The first one has general exhibits from all periods of aviation history. The second hangar was mostly devoted to spacecraft along with some missiles.

Anyone recognize these backs in the next few pictures?

Enola Gay sign

Continued in Next Post

 

[natebenma]

Continued from Previous Post:

"This is not the mailbox you are looking for..."



There is also a large area where restoration of the exhibits takes place.

This museum is an incredible national treasure. The boys were fascinated by all of the exhibits. I was a bit overloaded.


It was around 4 pm and we had a few minutes to browse in the gift shop before we had to catch the bus that would take us to the metro that would take us back to our hotel for a very short break.


Ben got this t-shirt:

We were pretty exhausted on the trip back, boys were a little grumpy as a result of being tired and probably a bit hungry. But we still have a big night ahead.


Next up: Washington After Dark


New Contest Questions:


On tonight’s agenda is touring the monuments at night. What means of transportation do we use to experience Washington after dark? 25 points


Once again, the next update will not include any pictures from my DSLR. What is the reason for my big girl camera fail this time? 25 points

 

[natebenma]

Contest Update

So it has been 100 million years since my last update, so I will remind you of the questions and of your answers:


We employed 3 methods of transportation to get to the Udvar-Hazy Center . One was walking. What were the other two? 10 points each: Metro and Bus

What souvenir did Ben get? 10 points: T-shirt


How many pictures from this museum? 20 points if you guess within 20 of the total: 157

*******************************************

Sarahdisney
Metro and Cab (10)
Book about military planes
215

bookgirl
metro and bus (20)
model aircraft
160-Wow!!! extra 5 bonus points for being so close (25)

luvpoohandcompany
metro and bus (20)- because you know my cheapskate nature. Most of the time.
model plane
108

annie170
metro and Uber (10)
tshirt (10)
180 (20 points)

rteetz
bus and metro (20)
model space shuttle
225

Wood Nymph
Uber and metro (10)
model spacecraft
467 (10 points because I love your answer and optimism)

******************************************
Updated Leader Board, September 2

luvpoohandcompany: 180
rteetz: 160
SarahDisney: 135
bookgirl: 110
Wood Nymph: 105
annie170: 105
afwdwfan: 50
pas130: 20

As always, let me know if I have miscalculated your total!

 

[bookgirl]

HIDDEN MICKEY






Ben got this t-shirt:

Nice shirt, I still would have gone for the Scale Model of a space craft..(Space Nerd...I've met an Apollo astronaut okay I might have gotten the shirt AND the space craft)


Next up: Washington After Dark


New Contest Questions:


On tonight’s agenda is touring the monuments at night. What means of transportation do we use to experience Washington after dark? 25 points

Tour Bus....either a HOP on HOP Off or one of those guided drive by mini buses

Once again, the next update will not include any pictures from my DSLR. What is the reason for my big girl camera fail this time? 25 points

Due to the short break turnaround and rush to get hangry boys on the move you forgot the camera or it's spare battery in the hotel room.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Okie doke I'm guessing you saw all the nightime monument by helicopter since your tooties are tired out from all the steps taken so far and I reckon you decided not to take any photos because your a romantic and decided you'd rather hold hands with Mark (or maybe you simply forgot to bring a memory card with space on it since you used up all the other space at the udvar-hazy).
ok I know I cant have 2 guesses so I'll go with the lack of space on the memory card lol

Oh and well done on getting a photo of the backs of those 3 handsome lads but also a profile shot while they were paying attention Super sleuth mum wins the day

 

[SarahDisney]

I love all of the pictures from the Udvar-Hazy Center! I really need to go there at some point, it looks like something that's right up my alley (I've seen some similar stuff at the Intrepid Museum here in NYC, but nowhere near as much). And Ben's t-shirt is cool!

On tonight’s agenda is touring the monuments at night. What means of transportation do we use to experience Washington after dark? 25 points

One of those bus tours.

Once again, the next update will not include any pictures from my DSLR. What is the reason for my big girl camera fail this time? 25 points

You used up all the battery taking pictures earlier in the day and didn't have a spare battery (or time to charge it)