Robert went to a conference in D.C. for two weeks. The military put him up in a nice suite and cover his food too. So we went to visit for the weekend, figured it would be an opportunity for a cheap trip! None of us had ever been to Washington D.C., infact, once I crossed over into North Carolina it was the farthest north I had ever been on the east side of the US. Daddy's hotel was in Bethesda, MD, so technically me and the kids drove through four states! South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. The drive was estimated to be about 9 hours and 20 minutes. I almost chickened out when I found that out, having never driven with the kids by myself for longer than a few hours. But, we persevered with positive attitudes and a month prior devoted to reading and learning about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson, and all things we could about the capital of our nation.
We arrived Thursday evening at 10:20. Almost exactly 12 hours after we pulled out of our drive way in Georgia. But over all the trip was not bad. The kids were pretty patient and I had ebooks to listen to on my phone. Friday Daddy was at the conference so I met up with my dear friend, Julia and we walked around downtown Bethesda. Probably walked about 1-2 miles, ate lunch, and shopped a "woman's market" that was outdoors. Then naptime and when Daddy got back we all headed to the metro to see the monuments. More walking....guessing, 2-3 miles. LOTS of walking, baby wearing, and stroller pushing. I felt full term pregnant by the end of the night. I think its amazing how in parenthood you can feel like if you take one more step you will likely collapse out of exhaustion, but then your body surprises you by not only walking another 6 blocks, but also carrying a preschooler on your back, getting back to the hotel, putting pjs on everyone, changing a diaper and laying everyone down for bed....all BEFORE you collapse. Truely astounding what we are capable of when we have no other choice. And then ofcourse, rising the next morning before seven (because in parenthood, and ironically on vacations, there is NO rest!), feeding everyone breakfast (super yum, great free buffet at the hotel!) and then heading back out to go to the zoo!! Mooooore walking!! This time, after the zoo, which was about 2 miles of walking, the metro was under construction and instead of waiting for a while for the next train we decided that we would walk the rest of the way back to the hotel. Are we on CRACK?! yes. We figured it couldn't be more of a mile. But by the time I pulled up how far it actually was (almost 2 miles) we were already headed out, so no turning back. Needless to say, we all got our excercise. Except Cal ofcourse, he was either nestled into the mei tai or in the stroller at all times. Sunday we spent the morning eatiing breakfast and packing. Said our goodbyes at 10 and headed back to Georgia. Amazingly, this trip back only took 9 1/2 hours and we only stopped three times. Likely because the girls were stoked to be sitting for long periods of time? Probably. Oh! And did I mention: Just during the round trip of 21 hours, Cal pooped four times, exploding out of his diaper and onto the carseat and all over his clothes every single time?! Yeah, memorable! ; ) Here are some pictures!
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LindseyI'm the mama and wife. Updating you on our life! Archives
January 2022
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