We took a trip to DC for a few days over Spring Break. It was such a great family trip! The weather wasn't perfect, but it was better than the snowstorm they got here in NY that weekend! We stayed with the Deans, who live in a beautiful neighborhood in Annandale. He was Ryan's old roommate and close friend in the Springs who has gotten out of the Army and until next week worked for Exxon. I met them in CS while dating Ryan. They now have 2 little girls. We had a great time with them each day while recuperating from all the sightseeing! Our first day was gorgeous, so we went to the DC Zoo. It was a nice-sized one to go to with kids in tow. Not too big, not too small. The next several day was rainy and cold, so we headed indoors to the Smithsonian. We hit the Museum of Natural History and the Air & Space Museum. At our kids age, they were more impressed with the dinosaurs than the airplanes. We had a hard time trying to hook up with Ryan's former Bn XO from Germany, but found a window in the traffic Saturday afternoon after seeing Mt. Vernon. THAT was my favorite sight we saw! The tour was nice, the mansion and grounds and view over the Potomac were really pretty and the museum there is really well done! Of course, the whole thing is owned and operated by a ladies auxilliary. Go, girls! They have really neat displays, a whole room for kids to dress up like that time, play games from then, read books, etc. and several mini-theaters, including one that has seats that vibrate along with the movie. We hit the Mall quickly on the last day. It was sunny, though windy and cold. We didn't get to go to everything b/c of weather and time and energy, but saw more than enough to be satisfied! There are more friends of ours in the area that we couldn't begin to coordinate a hook-up with, but we are close enough to go back or import them to NY. Great, great trip!
