Pre-Trip Report: It's Going to be a Capitol Vacation!

[jillyb]

No, they are everywhere. DD got several.

Thanks!

 

[mominwestlake]

Most of the pressed penny machines were near the gift shop. The majority of them charged 4 quarters and a penny but some were only 2 quarters and a penny.

The national treasure tour sounds great. I wish we would have done that. It might have been the group we saw going in the basement. I can't wait to hear the details from you. I want to go back!

 

[jillyb]

Most of the pressed penny machines were near the gift shop. The majority of them charged 4 quarters and a penny but some were only 2 quarters and a penny.

The national treasure tour sounds great. I wish we would have done that. It might have been the group we saw going in the basement. I can't wait to hear the details from you. I want to go back!

Thanks for the info on the pressed penny machines. Sounds like I'm going to need LOTS of quarters! LOL

I'm getting really excited!

Hannah and I are going to the NC Zoo with my parents and my niece and nephew on Thursday. It's a 5 mile walk. That should get us prepped for D.C.! LOL

 

[mominwestlake]

The kids decided that shiny pennies turn out the best. I brought a baggie filled with quarters and shiny pennies with me. They also sell the albums to store the pennies in the gift shops.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

Hi, we are back! Here’s my report:

Saturday July 25th – left NY at 8:45 am; GPS said we would arrive at Williamsburg at 3:30. All was good until we got south of Washington DC, where we hit traffic nonstop until Richmond, where it cleared up. Note – when the GPS says get off the thruway to avoid upcoming traffic, do what it says!

At 5:30 we arrived at the Governor’s Inn in Williamsburg. Basically it’s the Williamsburg version of the All Stars. Small room, small bathroom, but served its purpose. The refrigerator was unexpected and nice. The continental breakfast served us well. Because we stayed 4 days, we got free tickets for the historic area, which was about 15 minutes walking distance away. That sounds good, unless you are at the end of a long, hot day, lol. After we arrived, DH was tired so he took a nap while I went to pick up the tickets for the historic area and for our Pirates Amongst us tour later that night (DH wants to be Captain Jack, so I figured he would like this). After he woke up we drove to where the tour started, just after dark. Creepy! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was pretty good, with re-enactors telling stories of the pirates who were hanged in Williamsburg (Blackbeard). It wasn’t too scary for the kids. When it was over, it was 9:30 and we were starving so we drove to the Five Guys in the business district, which was awesome! Drove back to the hotel and fell into bed.

Sunday the 26th – This was our only full day in the historic area. The forecast was 97 and sunny, and it really was. Yikes! First thing we arranged a carriage ride because DD 11 wanted to do that. She brought her Felicity American Girl doll and carried her around all day. The footman (er, woman…) on the ride noticed her and asked if we wanted to drive by Felicity’s house, so we did. I did not realize that Felicity was based on a real girl who lived there in the 1770’s, so that was cool. I was suprised that we only saw one other girl with a Felicity doll that day. I figured there would be a lot of them. She was one of the reasons we decided to go there. We had sandwiches at the Cheese Shop for lunch. It was good but the menu was limited. The Governor's Palace was a very nice tour. It was so hot that we were dragging and did not get a chance to see everything, but I think we saw most of what we were interested in. I had bought metal water bottles so I brought one with me that day, filled with ice. I filled it up at the water fountains all day. Some buildings we went in said you couldn’t bring in open bottles but I never had to empty it out. It was a pain to drag around though, so I didn’t bring it any other days. It was nice to have in the room and the car though – I just filled it with ice and let it melt into cold water. It did create a lot of condensation until the ice melted though. We brought a case of bottled water with us and I was conservative with it, so we actually drank the last bottle on the ride home. It really kept us from buying bottles from vendors and machines. DS 9 was bored with the historic area but he sucked it up and managed to not pitch a fit during the tours. I’m willing to bet he enjoyed it more than he let on. Around 4:00 we went back to the pool for a dip, then cleaned up and went to dinner. We decided to drive to dinner at Chowning’s Tavern which I had read was good for kids and had food that was not too fancy. No joke, it was sunny when we got out of the car. We had about a 10 minute leisurely walk to the tavern and about halfway there the sky turned dark, the wind kicked up, the lightning show was crazy and it started pouring buckets! Five minutes later the sun was out. Weird! Dinner was OK. They had a magic show and 18th century troubadours that the kids liked and the food was good but nothing special. It was not crowded at all. After dinner we walked to Shields’ Tavern for our Tavern Ghost Walk. We got about 10 minutes into it and of course the sky opened up again, lightning and all, so we ended up staying inside the tavern for the whole “tour” where employees of the historic area tell you stories of the paranormal experiences they’ve had. Sitting in the creepy tavern on a dark and stormy night added to the experience! After it was over as we were walking to the car we could tell another storm was coming. We barely made it to the car when the skies opened up. As we pulled up to the hotel, we noticed it was dark. It had lost power after the first storm. We sat in the dark until about 10:00 and decided to go to bed as we were exhausted from walking so much. It stormed for several hours after that and the power came on at 2:00 am.

Monday the 27th: Water Country USA. Let’s just say DS liked this day a whole lot more! It was not empty but the lines were not long for any of the rides. We never waited more than 15 minutes for any ride. We bought a parking ticket and one meal for each of us plus one snack for each of us ahead of time. We saved on parking but when we tried to cash in our meal vouchers the machine was not working and we wasted a half hour at customer service. They did give us free vouchers for additional meals though, which we didn’t use. Beware – you can’t use snack vouchers for drinks. This day was 90 and hazy so we bought a fair amount of drinks, and didn’t use all our snack credits. Around 3:00 they closed all the rides for 20 minutes because a thunderstorm was near. They opened everything up again but closed it again a few minutes later. This time we and half the free world decided to leave. A lot of people had left after the first “pool emptying” so traffic was not bad getting out. It was a nice park and the kids enjoyed it but I didn’t think it was great. We did a fair amount of walking this day, but it wasn’t too bad. We went back to the hotel and showered before going to dinner at Carraba’s Italian Grill. It was nice but too much food! I was way too stuffed. I ate more than I should have because we couldn’t take the leftovers with us.

Tuesday the 28th: Busch Gardens. DS’ favorite day, lol. It is a very nice park. Much better than Six Flags Great Adventure, but not Disney either. There are a lot of scenic areas, sculptures, etc. that make it pretty. It’s like a little of EPCOT with Six Flags coasters, lol. I went on 2 of the wimpier coasters – Big Bad Wolf and Loch Ness Monster. DH and DS went on all the coasters and loved them all. We pre-bought parking and meal deals for this park, which meant 2 meals for each of us plus 2 extra soft drinks. The fine print is that you can’t use the drinks for anything bottled. It was 90 that day as well, and we only wanted water and Gatorade, so we ended up paying OOP for those and not using all the drink credits. We also pre-bought one snack for each of us and I think we didn’t use 2 of them because of the fine print – it had to be an ice cream bar, cotton candy or popcorn. Of course DD wanted Dippin Dots. BUT, the meals we had were awesome and were definitely worth the deal, although I would buy the individual deals without the extra drinks or snacks next time. We ate lunch in the Festhaus in Germany. It was a HUGE dining hall that served primarily German food, and had a German dancing/singing show. Not the stuff I usually eat but it was nice to have another option besides burgers and bowling alley pizza. I got the sampler platter and it was awesome. We ate dinner in the Italian restaurant in Italy and that sampler was just as good. This is coming from native New York Italians who generally don’t eat tomato sauce that is not made at home. After both meals DH and I had to walk around and digest before going on rides, for fear of getting sick, lol. We basically closed the park. There were some lines for the popular coasters, but nothing more than 20 minutes. The Dark Castle line was 45 minutes so we opted to do it later but then forgot about it. I would love to go back but the 9 hour drive will probably scare me away. We walked a LOT this day. We were hurting by the time we got back to the hotel. We fell into bed, preparing to get up early for the drive to DC the next morning.

I will have to finish the DC portion of the report tomorrow, as I’m still tired from all the walking, lol!

 

[mominwestlake]

Hidden Mickey, your trip sounds great so far. I have always wanted to go to Williamsburg. I can't believe more little girls didn't have their Felicity doll. The pirate and ghost tours sound neat. I really I wish I had booked the National Treasure Tour when we went to Mount Vernon.

 

[jillyb]

Sounds like a great trip so far! The Pirate and Ghost Tours sound like they were fun. We've done the Ghost Walk in Wilmington, NC a couple of times and it's always fun. Funny that Mother Nature helped with the creepy factor for the Ghost Tour!

I'm really looking forward to the DC portion of your trip since we're so close to our trip.

 

[jillyb]

Just biding my time until next week when laundry and packing will go into full swing. I've received tickets for: National Archives, Washington Monument, Spy Museum, Mt. Vernon and the National Treasure 2 Tour. I pre-ordered timed entry tickets (5:15) for the Butterfly Pavilion at the Natural History Museum. Those are Will Call so we'll pick them up when we get there. I can't pre order tickets for the Tourmobile Arlington Cemetery Tour so will have to purchase those when we get there.

We went to Walgreen's the other day and I found some small boxes of individual packets (8 to a box) of Sugar Free Hawaiian Punch and Wyler's Light for a $1.00 each. I ended up buying 6 boxes! LOL We've got Hawaiian Punch Berry Blue Typhoon and Lemon Berry Squeeze and Wyler's Light Hydration Fruit Punch, Cherry, Pink Lemonade and Lemonade. Hannah has already gotten into the lemonade and cherry mixes so I had to hide them. I also bought an extra camera battery.

Sunday night I was on the Metro website using the Trip Planner. I love this feature! I was figuring up how much we would need to spend on Metro tickets our first full day and asked Clay if he thought we should just get an all day ticket for each of us that day. (The plan is to take the Metro from the National Archives to the Library of Congress and then from the Library of Congress to the Spy Museum to minimize our walking.) Since he has no idea what I've planned for each day I had to pull out the itinerary and maps.

He's looking at the first day and asks why we're not going to the Spy Museum after the National Archives. I told him my thought was, even though we'd be doing backtracking, we'd end up closer to "home" by ending our day there. He seemed satisfied with that answer. LOL So then he looks at Saturday and he's looking at the map of the Mall area. After looking at the itinerary and looking at the map he pronounced that we'd just have to drive that day because it was going to be alot of walking. He didn't want to have to deal with having everyone drag to a Metro station after doing so much walking.

I agree that it will probably be better to drive that day but I'm worried about the parking. Since it's a Saturday I'm hoping it won't be too hard to find a parking spot. I don't think it will be too hard to park at Arlington Cemetery but I am concerned about parking at/near the Jefferson and FDR memorials. I've gone to the websites for both and see that there are several free parking lots there. Hopefully we won't have trouble finding a parking space there and we can just walk to the other monuments from there.

I've also had to change where we were going to eat lunch that day. I was planning on going to Old Glory BBQ but when we looked at the map and saw approximately where it was located on the map I saw that it was wayyyyyyyyy too far for us to go. So now the plan is to eat at the Food Court in the Ronald Regan Building.

Well, that's it for now!

 

[jenjolt]

Sounds like an amazing trip...you sure are going to do DC in style!!! I think it is a good plan to drive on Saturday!! I can't wait to see all your pictures when you get back!!

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

OK, so here’s the second half….

Wednesday morning we were up early, hit the continental breakfast, and were out on the road early. We decided to head up to the Air & Space museum’s auxiliary location near Dulles airport, since we were in the car and expected to leave it in the hotel garage the entire time in DC. I was worried that we would not have enough time to check it out, get to our hotel to check in at 3:00 and then make it to the Washington Monument for our 4:00 reservations, but it all worked out. Washington is like WDW – you need to plan for extra travel time all around. We arrived at the museum around 11:00 and stayed there until 1:45, including eating lunch at the McDonald’s. It was a good call to stop there because it was DH’s favorite thing on the trip – he called it the Airplane Boneyard, lol. If you saw Transformers II, it’s the hanger where they meet the older plane that is an autobot that changed sides. It’s chock full of planes, including a Concorde, the Enola Gay (the plane that dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima), and the first space shuttle, which was incredible! DH works for Sikorsky, and there were a few of their copters there, so that was pretty cool.

When we left the museum, it took 45 minutes to drive to the L’Enfant Plaza hotel in DC. We were able to check in a few minutes early with no delay. As we entered the hotel DH asked me if we could afford it, lol. It was very nice and being above the Metro station was very convenient. The metro station also has a mall attached to it, which luckily has a CVS because DH picked up pink eye, he thinks from the pool at the Governor’s Inn. His doctor called in a prescription and we were able to pick it up easily. Our room was almost twice the size as the one at the Governor’s Inn, clean and comfy; no refrigerator though. There was free wifi at the Governor’s Inn but we had to pay a fee for each day we used it at L’Enfant Plaza. Not the end of the world, but considering the cost of the room, we thought it should have been free. There was no continental breakfast either, but when I inquired at the Concierge desk as to where we could get a quick breakfast they gave us free passes to their breakfast buffet, which was $18 for adults and $9 for kids. Of course we went back and paid for it another day, so that marketing worked!

After checking in, we looked at the map and decided to walk to the Washington Monument. We walked up to it at 3:55, phew! It was a nice day so the view was breathtaking. The observation level is at 550 feet. You can see out windows in all 4 directions. It was a great way to start the vacation, being able to see everything at once. Once you go up, they let you stay as long as you want to. After about 20 minutes, we were done. We went back to the hotel and decided to go to the Hard Rock Café for dinner. We took the Metro and our trusty map from the Visitor’s Guide and got there with no problem. Our meal was good and once again we ate too much, lol. We went back to the hotel and fell into bed.

Thursday – We had an 8:15 appointment for a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. We are not morning people so this was tough. The tour was cool though. Note that you can bring cameras in but cannot take any photos unless you want to donate your camera to the Federal government. DH bought a new Nikon recently so he was quite the camera jockey the entire trip. After the tour we went back to the hotel for our complimentary breakfast and to plan the rest of our day. We decided to take the Tourmobile and go to Arlington that day. We got on in front of the Air & Space museum, and rode it to the Jefferson Memorial, got off there looked around, got back on, off at the FDR memorial (very nice!), got back on, went to Arlington, transferred to an Arlington tram, stopped at the tomb of the unknown soldier, watched the changing of the guard (very moving), got back on, rode back to the visitor center, got back on the regular tram, then rode back to the Air & Space museum. I had wanted to see JFK’s grave but we didn’t have time. We really should have gotten on the bus earlier because the buses stop running at 4:30, and like the Disney buses, there is traffic, etc. and it takes longer than you think it should to get anywhere. Our guide said it takes them about 2 hours to drive the entire route, not including stopping to look at the attractions. Note that you have to be on the bus to your final destination by 4:00. Wherever they stop on the route at 4:30 is where they kick you out and you could be stranded far from where you got on. The Arlington route keeps touring until the cemetery closes though. There is a metro station there, so you could theoretically get stuck there but take the metro back to DC. We considered that but decided not to do it. We also considered getting off at the Lincoln Memorial and hoofing it back to the hotel but by then we were hot and tired and the kids wanted to go in the pool, so we just rode back to Air & Space. When we were waiting for buses, we never waited for more than 15 minutes. Each monument has bathrooms and a vendor outside selling drinks, which you can’t bring in to the monuments. There are water fountains also, which came in handy for filling empty bottles. Once we got back to the hotel, DH took a nap while I took the kiddies to the pool for an hour. After that we decided to go to ESPN Zone for dinner. We again took the metro. We probably should have gotten weekly passes but we were only there for four days and weren’t sure how much we would actually use the metro. It was easy to use and fairly clean. DH was initially skeptical because he hates the NYC subway, but let’s just say the metro, uh, smelled better than NY, lol. The only bad thing was that all the stations looked exactly the same and sometimes we had to be careful of which direction we were going in. Once we walked out the wrong exit of the L’Enfant Plaza station and were nowhere near the hotel! It was night so that was not cool, but luckily there was another couple who had done the same thing so we were not alone. Anyway, there was an hour wait at ESPN Zone but they have a 10,000 square foot arcade on the bottom floor, so let’s just say that was a winner for DS. The food was OK, but the atmosphere was cool. We liked watching the Mets on one of the feeds while we ate. DH bought a beer mug, and after dinner we went back to the arcade for a bit before returning to the hotel to crash.

Friday – we had an appointment to meet our Representative in the House of Representatives (whose office set up all our appointments for tours) at 9:30, followed by our 10:15 tour of the Capitol. We all had snacks, then went down to the Metro. Of course there was technical issue on our line and our train was delayed. We started to panic but the train came, we got out on Capitol Hill, walked to our Rep’s office building, and got there for 9:30 but there was a huge line of people ahead of us to get through security. I remarked that they were all wearing the same shirt and wondered aloud if they were all from a group. The gentleman ahead of us said they were and offered to let us go in front of their group, so we walked right in, found the Rep’s office, said hello, took a picture, and then she said she had to go to debate health care, so we left to head for the Capitol visitor center. We completely missed it because it was down a flight of stairs but we got there eventually. I was freaking out because we were supposed to get there 20 minutes early to get through security and we got there at 10:10 but we still ended up on the right tour. They corralled a LOT of people into a theatre for an introductory film that was very patriotic, then separated us into several small groups led by a tour guide. There were a LOT of tours going on simultaneously so it was important to stay together with the guide. Camera jockey DH got separated a few times. For most of the trip I was trying to keep DS (who has ADHD) from running ahead of DH, who was stopping to take pictures like mad. In crowded places like the metro and museums it was very nervewracking keeping everyone together. When the tour was over we ate lunch in the Capitol cafeteria. It was expensive but at least it was good. Then we used passes that our Rep had given us to view the Senate from the visitor gallery. You have to leave pretty much everything with security - all electronics (cell phones, hand held games, cameras), although they let me bring my purse in after x-raying it. The Senate was empty except for one senator we didn’t know, so we saw the room but not much action. We would have gone to the House next but they were debating health care so there was action in there, and the line was at least an hour long. The employee monitoring the line suggested we just watch C-SPAN, lol. We couldn’t wait on the line because we had to be at the White House for a 2:00 tour. We had to take the metro back to the hotel to drop off everything. You can only bring your keys, wallet, cell phone and umbrella to the White House. We had to be there 20 minutes early to get through security and of course we were almost late for that tour too, lol. We got in line at the entrance gate just in time. I had my paperwork out but they never asked what time our tour was for, our reservation code or for our ID’s, as our Rep’s office said they would. We just got in line, went through security and did the self guided tour. There were security folks in every room who could answer any question, and there were brochures with a map of the rooms we could see. DH and I enjoyed it but the kids were bored. No, we did not see any Obamas, lol. After that we were shot so we went back to the hotel to regroup and decide on our dinner plans. We decided to go to Chinatown for Chinese food. On the way to dinner, we decided to stop at the National Archives. It closes at 7:00 and we got there at 6:30, just in time to be part of the last group! The Declaration of Independence is very faded, but it was really cool to see. It made me want to watch National Treasure again so I could see how they stole it, lol. A friend who lives nearby had recommended a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown called Full Kee – it is on H and 5th, and we were able to walk there from the Archives. He said it was a hole in the wall but had great, cheap food. OMG it was awesome! We all ate like pigs for $50. It is where the local Chinese community goes to eat. In the window there were Peking Ducks hanging, so we all cracked up thinking about the scene in A Christmas Story where they go out for Chinese Christmas dinner, lol. When we left it was dark and we saw police arresting someone as we were walking back to the metro, and another arrest at the entrance to the metro. That was the only time we felt uneasy. We noticed a lot of police in the area, so it made us feel better. We took the metro back to the hotel – this was the time we came out the wrong entrance, and it was kinda unnerving but the streets were empty and we found the hotel a few minutes later.

Saturday – This was the day we paid for the breakfast buffet. Since we missed the Lincoln Monument on Thursday, we decided to take the metro to Foggy Bottom and walk there. We then walked along the reflecting pool to the WWII memorial, which was very nice. We walked right past the Vietnam memorial without realizing it because it was on the other side of a hill. Once we realized we missed it, we decided not to go back because it was too hot and humid and we knew we had a lot more walking ahead of us. We then walked to the ellipse in front of the White House because DH camera jockey wanted to take pictures, but couldn’t the day before. Then we went into the White House visitor center which thankfully was air conditioned. The kids took a break by coloring – they had an activity table for kids – while I walked around and looked at the displays. Camera jockey rested his feet, lol. Then we walked to the museum of American History and had lunch in the cafeteria. It was good but expensive. We went up to the 3rd floor to see Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Kermit the Frog, and Jerry Seinfeld’s Puffy Shirt. We also saw a Dumbo from the original Disneyland ride, some Stradivarius violins, then went to the military history section, which was very nice. It was VERY crowded and the kids were kind of bored. DS wanted to race through, but the crowds were awful, and camera jockey was holding him back, lol, DD was getting hormonal and teasing DS, and finally we had a Griswold Family Vacation Moment. DH decided we should separate. He went to the Natural History museum with DD while I took DS to Air & Space. They saw the Hope Diamond and some dinosaurs. All DS was interested in was the McDonald’s at Air & Space. After he had some McNuggets we walked around the entire museum, ADHD style, lol. We saw it all, but quickly! The Apollo 11 display was cool. DS enjoyed it because it was kid oriented and hands on. Then we met up with DD and DH, walked around with them for a bit. I can’t wait to see Night at The Museum 2 now! I wish we had time to see other museums, but if we want to see art, I guess we can just go to the Met! Then we walked back to the hotel for a break. We decided to go to Chinatown again for dinner, but to a restaurant near the metro, for minimal walking – it was a sports bar called the Green Turtle. It was 8:30 and the place was empty but the food was decent and we were able to see the Mets again. We went back to the hotel and crashed. By this time I was exhausted and ready to go home and get back into my routine.

DH threatened to get up at the crack of dawn the next morning and just leave so I got up before him and jumped in the shower before he could say not to, lol. There was no way I was sitting in the car for 5 hours all sweaty and sticky from the day before. We were in the car at 7:30 am and were home at noon! Luckily there was no traffic. We had some snacks in the car and only stopped once for a 10 minute potty break. Once we got home, I went out for groceries, made lunch and started the laundry. Then we watched National Treasure, to end our historic vacation with a patriotic movie, and to see all the places in DC that we had been to.

It was a great trip but exhausting. It would have been better in the fall when the weather is cooler and we could walk more comfortably, but we didn’t want to take the kids out of school. I wish we could have seen more museums but I think the kids may have been bored by them so maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. DS whined a lot at the historic area and monuments but in a few years he will probably look back and say it was a great trip. I also got a decent tan

 

[jillyb]

Sounds like ya'll had a good trip! Can you tell me more about the Jefferson and FDR Memorials? I'm sure there's sidewalks or some sort of walkway between the two but you can't tell from the maps. I've read that it's a 15-20 minute walk from the Smithsonian Metro stop. I realllyyyyyyy don't want to drive! LOL Plus, we'd have to pay for parking at Arlington Cemetery and I don't want to do that. Wonder if it would be better to park at the Jefferson or FDR Memorial then take the metro over to Arlington? That way we're guaranteed a parking spot near the Mall and don't have to pay for parking.

 

[jillyb]

In mid-July Clay's ex had to have surgery. The weekend after her surgery, Alison was going to stay with her Grandmother who lives at the beach. Clay has an Aunt that lives not far from the Grandmother so after spending a week with the Grandmother Alison was going to spend a week with Clay's Aunt. My niece was also going to be staying at the Aunt's house so Alison would have some company.

We found out from Clay's Mom (and unbeknownst to Clay) that she and FIL had originally told the ex that they would go pick up the girls. Later we found out that they weren't going to be able to pick them up, SIL (nieces Mom) said she wasn't going to pick niece up so Clay and I had no idea how the girls were getting home. He later learned that the stepdad was going to pick the girls up.

This is our weekend to have Alison; matter of fact we're supposed to have her for three weekends in a row. It's been two weeks since we've seen her. Clay calls the ex last night to see when the stepdad is going to pick up the girls and when he'll be home. Come to find out that he wasn't leaving until later this afternoon as the ex has a follow dr. appointment and he's spending the night so it will be Saturday before Alison gets home. We can't have Alison through Monday because she has to get fitted for a clarinet that morning. So as it stands now we will have Alison from 9:00 am Sunday morning until sometime that night. The ex is then going to drop Alison off at our house around noon on Wednesday. The only reason we're even getting her for Sunday is because Clay told the ex she needed to pick out her clothes for the trip. I don't really need her to do that because she doesn't have that much here and I'm basically taking everything she has here on the trip.

Last weekend on the way home from swimming lessons Hannah mentioned about Alison coming. When I told her Alison wouldn't be with us she sobbed, heartbroken, all the way home. Since we didn't know when Alison would be home this weekend I'd been trying to prepare her for the possibility that she wouldn't be here. So, last night, I had to break the news to Hannah that she would only have one day with her sister. She broke down in tears and cried for 30 minutes, asking why her sister doesn't want to come see her and how much she misses her sister.

It took everything in me not to get in my car and go beat that $(%#& to a pulp. She KNEW it was Clay's weekend to have Alison and she DELIBERATELY sabotaged it. And to add insult to injury she broke my daughter's heart. I DESPISE that worthless, good-for-nothing, vindictive......UGGGHHHHH!

 

[golfgal]

Sounds like ya'll had a good trip! Can you tell me more about the Jefferson and FDR Memorials? I'm sure there's sidewalks or some sort of walkway between the two but you can't tell from the maps. I've read that it's a 15-20 minute walk from the Smithsonian Metro stop. I realllyyyyyyy don't want to drive! LOL Plus, we'd have to pay for parking at Arlington Cemetery and I don't want to do that. Wonder if it would be better to park at the Jefferson or FDR Memorial then take the metro over to Arlington? That way we're guaranteed a parking spot near the Mall and don't have to pay for parking.

I would check into the bus system. There isn't a metro stop that is convenient to the monuments. If you parked at Jefferson or FDR you would have to walk back to a meto stop, go over to Arlington, walk around there, go back to a metro stop and then walk back to your car. That alone could be 5+ miles of walking. You could park at Arlington and walk over to the monuments but that is a long walk too and then you would have to get back there for your car. The other option would be the tourmobile but that is expensive.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I am so sorry, Jill! That ex sounds like she is something else!

 

[jillyb]

I am so sorry, Jill! That ex sounds like she is something else!

She most definitely is. When I was pregnant with Hannah, Alison was 4. It was our weekend and we were in Clay's truck going back to the house. Out of the blue Alison asks Clay if he loves me more than he does her. Our jaws just dropped. He told her that the way he loved me was different than the way he loved her but that he didn't love me more. She then proceeds to tell us that her Mommy told her that he would love the new baby more than he would her. What kind of monster says those things to their child???!!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

She then proceeds to tell us that her Mommy told her that he would love the new baby more than he would her. What kind of monster says those things to their child???!!!

That is just so horrible!!!

 

[jillyb]

That is just so horrible!!!

I know...just makes me sick all the head games she's played with that child. *sigh*

On happier news...Clay will be going to pick her up soon! Even though it's only until tonight it will be nice to see her. I know Hannah is going to be over the moon to see her sister.

I woke up this morning and thought "4 more days!!!" This time next week we'll be eating breakfast and getting ready to go to the Air & Space Museum and the American History Museum. Can't wait!!

 

[jenjolt]

Awwwww...I'm with you, what kind of person drags their child into the middle of a mess like that deliberately!!! I hope you have a great day with Allison!!! Yes keeping thinking happy thoughts about your trip and the memories you guys will be making as a family!!

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

Sounds like ya'll had a good trip! Can you tell me more about the Jefferson and FDR Memorials? I'm sure there's sidewalks or some sort of walkway between the two but you can't tell from the maps. I've read that it's a 15-20 minute walk from the Smithsonian Metro stop. I realllyyyyyyy don't want to drive! LOL Plus, we'd have to pay for parking at Arlington Cemetery and I don't want to do that. Wonder if it would be better to park at the Jefferson or FDR Memorial then take the metro over to Arlington? That way we're guaranteed a parking spot near the Mall and don't have to pay for parking.

We considered walking but not once it got hot and humid! It's a lot like Disney. The weather felt like Florida - hot and humid. Things look close on the map but once you see it you realize you don't want to walk there if you can take the metro! You probably can walk between the monuments but why would you? We saw plenty of parking areas at the monuments. The Smithsonian metro stop is at the end of the mall near the Washington monument - its pretty far from the Lincoln Memorial. It's possible, but not for the faint of heart, lol. On Saturday we walked from Foggy Bottom to Lincoln, along the reflecting pool up to the Washington Monument, around to the White House, and over to the American History Museum. We took our time but it was after 1:00 at that point and we were shot. DC is smaller than Manhattan but it's like walking around EPCOT.

You would have to take the Metro from the Smithsonian to Arlington. I don't think there are stations near the monuments, although I could be wrong. That was why we walked from Foggy Bottom to Lincoln Memorial. DH said it looked close but it was a good half hour brisk walk. Look at the street maps, not just the metro maps. Metro maps make everything look close to a station! Get a good map from AAA or use the one in the official visitor's guide.

Have fun and let us know how you made out!

That ex sounds like a piece of work, geeze.

 

[jillyb]

We considered walking but not once it got hot and humid! It's a lot like Disney. The weather felt like Florida - hot and humid. Things look close on the map but once you see it you realize you don't want to walk there if you can take the metro! You probably can walk between the monuments but why would you? We saw plenty of parking areas at the monuments. The Smithsonian metro stop is at the end of the mall near the Washington monument - its pretty far from the Lincoln Memorial. It's possible, but not for the faint of heart, lol. On Saturday we walked from Foggy Bottom to Lincoln, along the reflecting pool up to the Washington Monument, around to the White House, and over to the American History Museum. We took our time but it was after 1:00 at that point and we were shot. DC is smaller than Manhattan but it's like walking around EPCOT.

You would have to take the Metro from the Smithsonian to Arlington. I don't think there are stations near the monuments, although I could be wrong. That was why we walked from Foggy Bottom to Lincoln Memorial. DH said it looked close but it was a good half hour brisk walk. Look at the street maps, not just the metro maps. Metro maps make everything look close to a station! Get a good map from AAA or use the one in the official visitor's guide.

Have fun and let us know how you made out!

That ex sounds like a piece of work, geeze.

Thanks! I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and drive on Saturday. LOL The map I've been using came in the packet of information I got from the Smithsonian so it's more of a street map. I remember the walk from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. It was a lonngggggggggggggggg walk! LOL

I've been keeping an eye on the weather forecast for D.C. It looks like it's not going to be too bad while we're there...isolated and/or scattered thunderstorms with highs in the mid-to-upper 80's. I think we can handle that!