April 12-20
On Sunday morning we headed off to Gettysburg National Military Park to see the battlefields and the museum. I had forgotten what a huge place it is. We were there for hours while the kids worked on their Junior Ranger badges. It was a beautiful day with some of the longest stretches of sunshine we have seen in a very long time. I was glad to have my new sun hat from the Toronto trip.
That night we slept at Greenbelt National Park just outside of Washington, DC. It is cute and tiny, and you can just barely hear the B-W Parkway traffic that borders the park.
Monday was the most perfect day to see the cherry blossoms and the big monuments in DC. We drove past Chad's old house in College Park first, but then left the car at Prince George's Plaza and took the Metro down to Foggy Bottom. Then it was the big walk: Einstein statue, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, FDR Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and finally the WWII Memorial. It was the peak blossom day for the cherry blossoms and the weather coudn't have been better, so both the foot and car traffic were INSANE!
Our Peabody friends, Sawyer and Karl, met us late in the afternoon and we went out to eat with them. We had planned to camp at Greenbelt again that night, but it was late and dark, so they graciously agreed to let us stay at their house. Thanks, S and K!!
Tuesday was Baltimore day. We had crab cakes at Faidley's in Lexington Market. We will try to remember to never order crab cakes anywhere else again. These are the best and every other crab cake will be a disappointment. We wandered around the old Peabody neighborhood. It was rainy and dreary, but Chad and I had a good time telling the kids about our Baltimore adventure days. I don't think I need to worry about Oliver ever moving there after our stories about muggings, shootings, and rats!
We finished up the afternoon at Port Discovery, then took off for the drive to Arlington. We ate at a bar that Chad often goes to when he is working at NSF and slept at the cheap hotel he always uses. He was tickled to have us all in a space where he has spent so many days away from us.
Since Chad was working for the next three days, it was my job to walk the kids all over Washington, DC. We started at Arlington National Cemetery. I had warned everyone that is would be lots of walking, so I think that's why it didn't seem nearly as far as I had remembered. We walked to the big sites and even had a tour of the Robert E Lee house that I had not expected. My friend, David, was playing trumpet for a funeral that morning, so we got to have a quick lunch with him. From there we went to the Museum of American History.
Thursday was government day: Senate office building, Capitol galleries, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, and an evening walk to the White House with Chad. In the midst of that, we went back to the Natural History Museum. Our feet were sore and there was much whining by all (except Chad, who had spent most of the day sitting down) before we finally got to bed.
Friday included more walking and more whining from those forced to march from art museum to airplane museum. The whining finally ceased once we got to the food and the children's space in the Museum of the American Indian.We ended Friday up at Bengie's Drive-In near Baltimore and slept at Karl and Sawyer's house again.
On Saturday, our kids enjoyed playing with Sawyer and Karl's kids all morning while Sawyer and I went grocery shopping and caught up on life events. We went to the National Zoo in the afternoon, before returning to their house for dinner. Sawyer had a gig to play that night, so I got to tag along for a recital of German song.
Sunday we went to Mass, where Karl played the prelude and Sawyer sand with the choir and played flute. We were sad to say goodbye to them, but it was time to head off toward Delaware, We stopped in Annapolis for a late lunch and a visit to the State House. Annapolis was extremely crowded, and we finally decided that it must be some visiting Sunday for the Naval Academy.
We spent the night at Cape Henlopen Sate Park exploring the old army fortifications and looking for horseshoe crabs on the beach. We had a very late supper at Dogfish Head in Rehobeth Beach, followed by a pretty wet night in the tents. Since it was raining in the morning and we hadn't seen any horseshoe crabs at Cape Henlopen, we drove to Slaughter Beach next. We saw both an alive and a dead crab there, so we could drive back to Ithaca having accomplished our Delaware Bay goal.
On Saturday, our kids enjoyed playing with Sawyer and Karl's kids all morning while Sawyer and I went grocery shopping and caught up on life events. We went to the National Zoo in the afternoon, before returning to their house for dinner. Sawyer had a gig to play that night, so I got to tag along for a recital of German song.
Sunday we went to Mass, where Karl played the prelude and Sawyer sand with the choir and played flute. We were sad to say goodbye to them, but it was time to head off toward Delaware, We stopped in Annapolis for a late lunch and a visit to the State House. Annapolis was extremely crowded, and we finally decided that it must be some visiting Sunday for the Naval Academy.
We spent the night at Cape Henlopen Sate Park exploring the old army fortifications and looking for horseshoe crabs on the beach. We had a very late supper at Dogfish Head in Rehobeth Beach, followed by a pretty wet night in the tents. Since it was raining in the morning and we hadn't seen any horseshoe crabs at Cape Henlopen, we drove to Slaughter Beach next. We saw both an alive and a dead crab there, so we could drive back to Ithaca having accomplished our Delaware Bay goal.
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