We're excited that the Amtrak has a stop in town now, which made it easy to head to Washington DC for Spring Break without a car for a few days!
The train left at 6:15am which had us all feeling like this:
It was a 5-hr ride which went pretty well. The kids brought activities to do and were happy to be able to walk around and even have their own set of seats!
We arrived at 11am so we were able to get a lot in on the first day still. We walked to the White House, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial. According to Willow's FitBit, we got in 8 miles (21,309 steps). The kids did great though!! The weather was very windy but in the lower 60s, so not terrible. It may seem like the kids wore the same outfit every day, but their mother just packed one long-sleeved shirt, which ended up being worn daily.
The selfies aren't the best but are the only evidence we have that Chris and I accompanied the children to DC ;)
After showing Owen how to "pose" for this picture, he did that hand position in a lot of other pictures too, none of which were lined up to look like this one (haha!!):
We lucked out with the cherry blossoms being in peak bloom! They were beautiful!
We all counted a different number of steps to get up to the Lincoln Memorial. 86, 87, or 88??
We sat down for a little snack and an opportunity to soak in the view. Owen said, "This view is perfect!"
Day Two was the Museum of Natural History, Air and Space Museum, and Botanical Gardens. We got in 6 1/2 miles (17,506 steps!). The weather was cooler (40s to 50s) so we opted for indoor options. We spent about 4 hours at the Museum of Natural History - there was so much to see!
I'm starting a new theory that we evolved from the spider monkey, not the ape!
An apple makes everything alright!
We went to the Air and Space Museum since Owen's been so interested in wars lately. He thought it was cool but Willow wasn't so interested.
Owen's "serious" face:
It warmed up a bit by the afternoon to enjoy the botanical garden. It was beautiful!
Our last day was spent at the zoo. It was chilly in the morning (hot chocolate all around!!) but warmed up to tshirt weather by the early afternoon. We got in 6 miles (16,809 steps) in half a day before heading back on the train in the late afternoon.
We learned a lot about poop on our trip!
This might've been my favorite moment on our trip! The seal was definitely putting on a show for Willow! Check it out here and here.
So many animals in one picture!!
We got pretty used to traveling by Metro in the city!
We stayed at a hotel on the Gallaudet University's campus, which is a university for deaf students. Thankfully they had a shuttle that took people to and from Union Station, which saved us quite a few steps (and a few dollars too!). The sweetest moment of the trip for me was one morning heading to Union Station with a bus full of students who were all signing to each other in multiple conversations. It was silent on the bus but full of conversations between smiling students and even an audible laugh here and there. It was beautiful to see such a community developed between these students!
We had a smooth trip back on the train. Thankfully Owen slept for about 2 hours of it and Willow slept for a bit too!
