Washintgon DC

We are finally home from our first family vacation! We all had a great time, but it is nice to be back home again.

Our journey started early last Monday when we drove up to Miami to catch the Amtrak to DC. Our train left about noon and we got to DC about 3pm on Tuesday. It was a long 27 hours, but a great experience. Haley enjoyed being on the "choo choo" and did wonderfully the whole time. It was nice because there were a few times we could actually get off the train and walk around outside. We had a sleeper car, so we were able to have a bed to sleep on, although I think the only one who actually slept was Haley.

We made it to DC and Union Station about 3pm on Tuesday and managed to get to our hotel. Since it was late in the day we thought we would just wander around close to the hotel. Luckily, we were right across the street from the Iwo Jima memorial, so we walked on over. Afterwards we had dinner and made it an early night.

Day 1- We had reservations for the Old Town Trolley and the DC Duck. The Trolley took us around town and showed us all the monuments and memorials. The nice part was that we were able to get on and off and tour at our own pace. We managed to see the Capitol, White House, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, and quite a bit more. That afternoon we did the DC Duck tour. The DC Duck is an amphibious vehicle that does part of the tour on land and then goes into the Potomac River for the rest. It was a very cool experience. Haley was just too exhausted and fell asleep part way through. It was a wonderful and gorgeous day to tour the Capitol city!

Day 2- We met up with my Uncle Jeff, Aunt Fiona, and cousin Bryce who live in Pennsylvania for the day. The plan was to go to the National Children's Museum, but apparently it doesn't open until 2013. So we were a little early. We made the best of it and spent the morning in Old Alexandria, which is a super cute little town. We had lunch at a great little pub and then it was time to head back to DC. Unfortunately, the family had to get back to Pennsylvania, but we had a great time seeing them! Zach, Haley, and I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around DC some more. We managed to get up close to the White House, Washington Monument, and the WWII Memorial. While we were at the White House we were able to see some cherry blossoms and boy are they gorgeous!

Day 3- Zach's Birthday! To celebrate, we went to the International Spy Museum. It is one of the newest museums in DC and it was pretty cool! You got to see and read about spying all through the years and what kind of tools they use. It really was very interesting and I think Zach had a great time! After the museum, we headed off to Madame Tussuad's. Lots of fun! We all had fun taking our pictures with the celebrities. Eventually we headed back to the hotel for a nap time, then went to dinner with some friends of mine from college, Mike and Katie. It was great getting to see them since the last time we saw each other was our wedding.

Day 4- Our last day. We met up with a few of Zach's friends, Pat and Donik, at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. We got to see the Wright brother's first airplane and lots of NASA stuff. Then we were off to the Smithsonian American History Museum to meet up with a few more of Zach's friends, Dawn and Eugene. The American History Museum was by far my favorite. We got to see Julia Child's kitchen, Dorothy's ruby slippers, dresses of some of the First Ladies, and the original American flag. After an early dinner, we were headed back to Union Station to catch the train back to Miami.

We had a great time in DC and will definitely try to go back again. We couldn't have asked for better weather while we were there. It was sunny just about every day and cooler than Key West. I know that we didn't get to see everything, but our main goal was to be relaxed about our trip and we definitely managed to do that. I know that Haley won't remember her first train ride, and we will probably do it again at some point, but we have the pictures and memories to tell her about. It was a wonderful first family vacation and I am looking forward to the many more that we have!