DC in 1.5

We headed to the DC for the weekend to see our good friends that recently moved there. We had 1.5 days to fulfill a few requests: see our friends (Reese's request), go to the air and space museum at Dulles (Karl's request), see the Lincoln Memorial (Brady's request). My request of Ikea did not make it on the itinerary, boo!


First stop was the air and space museum. There was a observation tower for Dulles that played the air traffic controls radio. Karl tried showing them the mountains and the runways...

 but they were interested in finding our van!

 Another exciting part of the museum is seeing the Discovery Space Shuttle. The girls' fact they took away... the women were allowed small makeup bags!

 I was personally amazed by the heat proof exterior.

 For the afternoon we meet up with our friends at the local splash pad. You know that made these little ones happy.

 Then for the evening a dinner gone wrong (diet restrictions are not easy) and a sleepover that included milkshakes and the movie Frozen. Again, happy, but tired little ones.

The next morning time to ride the Metro into the city. Remember getting there is half the battle fun!

 Reese did also request to meet the president. Unfortunately, we had to cancel on him because we were too busy.

 Comparing feathers, now that is what we came to DC for. Really! It isn't what she is doing but who she is doing it with.

 I said after we hiked the length of the reflecting pool "Girls, turn around and look back at the Washington Monument". Not a one cared or even heard me... What was I thinking... There were baby ducks!

 Why look at that view behind us, when there is baby ducks in front of us?

 I will follow this wonderful lady anywhere she moves...no, really, I will. In less than a year, for the third time I will move into the same state as her. We have done Florida together, Virginia together and soon be in Maryland (maybe) together.

 Brady got to see her much requested statue. At the end of the trip home she proclaimed "My dream came true! I got to see the Lincoln Memorial!" That alone made the madness of the trip worth it. She actually appreciated the trip.

 DC trip isn't complete without a food truck stop!

Copenhagen Day Three: "To travel is to live"

Today is a Monday. Mondays in Denmark means lots of (government run) tourist hot spots are closed. So we hit up a lot of random spots, and still had a blast. 

Blu Planet, an aquarium, is one of the newest tourist additions to Copenhagen. Built about three years ago, it is a architectural sight to behold. Honestly though, seeing the building from the outside was the best part. 

 Even though the constant flowing of locals and tourists into the place told us otherwise, this place was small and short coming of our expectations. The most interesting thing inside was the school of fish that are in a cylindrical tank. They swam in a small circle over and over and over; there were the rogue few that rebelled. I gave them a virtual high-five, well high-fin.

 I do chuckle EVERY time I see the under side of a ray.

 The Aquarium experience that filled up 45 minutes of the expected three hours, left us walking around and just enjoying the sights. We stopped for lunch and this was our view. I love it! I think just looking at all the buildings has been my favorite part so far.

 We spent our afternoon at the Hans Christian Andersen Museum. Learning about H. C. (as the locals refer to him) is one of the things I looked forward to the most. This quote made me smile.

 The museum featured many of his fairy tales in three minute summaries with animated scenes.

"The Little Mermaid"

 "The Little Match Girl"

 "Thumbelina"

 Again, these buildings...amazing! This is City Hall. Don't ask what that goofy man is doing in the front!

 Another dose of H. C.

I sat on his knee and asked him to tell me another story, and he rudely turned his head. The nerve!

 What is a trip without a little aerospace. I know we are all shocked that Karl wanted to visit the Tycho Brahes Planetarium. Again, like the aquarium, the facade was the most intriguing part. At least we both appreciate a pretty building.

 I did wish our space loving Reese was with us since they had a scale representation of all the planets. See itty bitty Earth behind Jupiter? That was about it for displays.

 There is so much ingenious public art here. Here there were about five pieces for the kids (young and old) to climb on. Also, notice the cobblestones. This is what 95% of the sidewalks are like. So you are constantly walking on uneven surfaces. It has been interesting with the two pair of shoes I choose to pack.

 Another interesting thing about the city is there are as many bikers and car drivers. Every street corner looks like this. There are also bikes with cabins on the front so parents can tote multiple kids around or pile in groceries.

 Another date night... we were just playing around, our faces don't accurately display the great fun we are having!

Car Time with Preschoolers

I want to know about our nine day trip to NC and VA.

 

Number of hours spent in the car on highways…

 

Day one: 10 hours (Pensacola, FL to Guaffney, SC)

Day two: 5 hours (Guaffney, SC to Raleigh, NC and then to Crabtree for dinner)

Day three: 5 hours (around NC for NASCAR time and concert)

Day four: no highway time this day

Day five: 2 hours (Eno River Festival in Durham)

Day six: 2 hours (Durham Museum)

Day seven: 3.5 hours (Raleigh, NC to Williamsburg, VA)

Day eight: 10 hours (Williamsburg, VA to Winder, GA)

Day nine: 6 hours (Winder, GA to HOME!!!)

 

Add that all up to get almost 44 hours of car time.

 

Guess how many movies were watched during this time….ZERO! But guess how many times I sang “The Wheels on the Bus”….

 

Yep,  I am still balking on the DVD player in the car because I want family vacations to include the bonding during the car. I loved observing the creativity of the girls. At one point they removed their shoes and they become dolls for them, where one shoe was the mom and the other shoe was the kid. Brady would read books to Reese and then they would switch roles.

 

I will say about day six when we first got on the highway, Brady starting kicking and saying “no more highways”! But really they handled it VERY well. I am proud of my entire family for making this trip (and all of our trips) movie free!

 

So for those who want to know, we entertained the kids with:

-CDs

-singing together with no music, kids find this more entertaining than CDs

-Color Wonder markers

-sprial notebook to draw whatever they want

-color books that help the imagination out a little

-lots of children’s books (and a doll or stuffed toy to read to)

-snacks

-naps of course

-discussing what we see outside, like the giant peach water tower, or them helping us look for a hotel

-counting cars or sometimes we would count to 60 (to make minutes pass)