Day3: Washington, D.C.!!!

Day 3: Washington D.C.

We ended up running a little behind getting out of town, but we still managed to hit a LOT of things in D.C! Mike was fantastic and had a ZipCar booked for us in Philly. We got a Toyota Sienna minivan so we could all ride together.

Before we took off for the day, Ryan and Uncle Ethan had to walk J.R. & Tabasco. Ryan was excited about this job every single day. He loves those dogs.

Thank goodness we brought his MobiGo for the car ride. He played his games all the way there.

Cristy decided to get a little extra rest on the trip...ha!

Ethan enjoying the ride.

Me!

We made it!

It had been a little over a year since we have seen Mike's brother Todd. He lives in D.C., so we met him at his apartment. He agreed to be our tour guide for the day. It was SO nice to get to spend some time with him.

Ryan took to Uncle Todd's cat, Bruce, right away.

Uncle Ethan & Ryan played in the trees while Mike & Todd parked the van. It was a nice time-killer and Ryan just loved climbing those trees...plus he loves his Uncle Ethan.

Todd's apartments...with Ethan in the pic!

After saying our hellos, Todd had a restaurant picked out for us to go eat lunch. We hopped the Metro and headed to Chinatown. This is a picture of Todd, Ryan, and me waiting for the Metro. Ryan was so surprised at how FAST the subway comes down those tracks. That was the only part that scared him a little bit.

Brothers leading the way.

Chinatown!

Nothing like "Bird Game" while you wait for your lunch.

Me at The Matchbox

We ate lunch at The Matchbox restaurant. It had excellent pizza and the apple, pear, gorgonzola salad that I ate was fabulous!

Me, Todd, Ryan, Mike, Cristy, Ethan, & Mom

After we left the restaurant, we walked a few blocks to the National Mall. We didn't have enough time to hit up all of the Smithsonian museums, so Todd took us too the Museum of Natural History. It was the best one for Ryan.

Giant Sloth

T-Rex

My boy loves his dinosaurs, so he was in heaven in this part of hte museum.

This is the main entrance to the museum.

Mammoth

I just had to get a picture with this bear. Ryan has had an imaginary bear friend named Booma since he was 2. He still talks about him and even has his own "work" named Booma's Center. I can't wait until he's older to tell him about all this!

Mike & Todd

The Hope Diamond

TITANOBOA

This was a recreation of a HUGE snake who's fossils were discovered in South America. It is eating an alligator!

After a few "I am DONE! I want to get OUT of here"'s from Ryan, we left the museum and headed on our way.

Ryan & Uncle Ethan heading for the Washington Monument

The Capitol

Todd, Mom, Ryan, Mike, & Me at the Washington Monument. We couldn't go up inside of it because of the earthquake damage.

The Lincoln Memorial taken from the Washington Monument. It looks a LOT closer than it really is.

World War II Memorial

Ryan & Uncle Todd at the WWII Memorial

The back of the White House taken from the Washington Monument

The reflecting pool was closed for repairs.

We walked all the way to the Lincoln Memorial. It was a LONG walk. I sent the rest of the family up the stairs. My knees and feet couldn't do it. I was just thrilled to be well enough to be there!

We left the Lincoln Memorial and Ryan was again glued to Uncle Todd. They both were loving it!

The Vietnam Veterans memorial. Holy moly are there a lot of names on that wall. It was a very surreal reminder of all the lives that have been sacrificed for my freedom. 

We walked up close to the back of the White House

The U.S. Treasury

We made it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!!!

My fam at the White House

Which way do we go? Which way do we go? After the White House, Todd & Mike, Smartphones in hand, were trying to locate the nearest Metro station.

Can we go yet?????

Oh, BIRD GAME!!! Thanks Aunt Cristy!

Me & my Sista at the White House

Ryan & Ethan riding the Metro back to Todd's side of town. We were hungry!

We all settled in at Alero Mexican restaurant where Mom, Cristy, & I all enjoyed a very well-deserved margarita. YUM!

We took the bus back to Todd's after dinner. We said our goodbyes and thanked him for being a fantastic tour guide. We wouldn't have gotten as much in as we did without a local to help us. I said goodbye to Bruce. He is one SWEET kitty!

We hit the road around 9:00. By the time we stopped for gas 10 minutes after we left, this was the scene. He was exhausted. What a FUN day this was. I will have to say that this was the best day of the whole trip for me. I had a fantastic time and am so glad God has given me my life back so I can enjoy things like this again.

Stay tuned for Day 4