Day 2

We woke up ready to go (well, eventually we were ready to go) enjoy Washington, D.C.'s famous mall, which looks reasonable on a hotel map but, in reality and with humidity and with kids, is quite big. Our host (and friend and former teaching mentor) Jessica led us through forest trails and the metro to have us pop up here...




First stop, Natural History Museum, where in addition to the museum's offerings, I made my own discoveries: "free" museums + hot weather = CROWDED, Beckett would need to get through the day with only 2 spare diapers, and humidity + comfortable, Disneyland-tested shoes = instant blisters. But who cares about all those, when there are giant skeletons! And preserved giant squid (not pictured)!


This is what you're supposed to get for your 10th anniversary, right? 5 more years!


A long walk (made better by some Disney Princess band-aids from Jessica) took us to the American Indian museum. We mostly decided to go here because we heard rave reviews about their food court. It was, indeed, fabulous. There were stations/menus for each tribal region. Yum. And they had Diet Coke, also yum/necessary. The museum itself is a beautiful building with a lot of great exhibits. One day I'll be able to see them for more than a passing glance.



Next: the Botanical Gardens! What else to do on a hot afternoon?


We eventually made it to the children's area where kids could water plants, etc. The brochure promised hoes and shovels, but they were nowhere to be seen. I guess I should be grateful, as Hamilton made a decent mess with just a watering can. Love his shorts in this picture...just like a big kid :) (with the exception of the Yo Gabba Gabba design anyway).


Sometimes I luck into a cute picture of him....


My attempt to take something "artistic" for possible "cheap art" around the house...


Great place to walk through...inside and out.

Fighting over water...my poor, spoiled Southern CA boys...



A little "behind the scenes" photo before Hamilton's and my official one. It took us awhile to wind up to the Capitol because of a big Memorial Day stage that was set up.


Sorry, but I think this building is kind of awesome. Can you spot the serious firepower?


More walking led us to the Supreme Court building. I told Alex to pose here like he owned the place. You can see the guard getting nervous...


Of course, he should have been more worried about this guy...


Just a reminder...it's HOT. We are walking sooo much at this point. We wanted to see some things, but we were also after a place to buy diapers and cheap flip flops (remember my earlier discoveries??)


We stumbled on the Post Office museum, which was perfect for us. There was about 30 minutes left before it closed, hardly anyone was there, it was air conditioned, and had stuff that caught the boys attention...including a stage coach! On the other hand, it ended my fairytale view of the Pony Express.

By the end of our visit, all the guards knew Hamilton's name. They were super, super nice, especially considering that they knew his name because of us yelling things like, "No! Hamilton! Don't climb that!" and "Don't get on that escalator!"





After I got some cheap flip flops, we headed to Good Stuff Eatery for Top Chef Spike's burgers, fries, and milkshakes. Alex and I split a Prez Obama and a Spike Sunnyside, along with toasted marshmallow milkshakes. So, so yummy. Beckett slept through most of the meal. Don't worry, we saved him some shake.




We were all tuckered out and a little nervous about getting back without Jessica's guidance, but we thankfully made it: Lowlight: the elevator down to the metro, which was glass, thus revealing you were in a concrete tube. When Alex started to say something about it, I quickly told him to be quiet. Borderline panic attack, people. Highlight: stopping in Jessica's neighborhood to watch a rabbit. And this is the point when I realize, I have more pictures for this day...including that rabbit! Oh, well...