We flew out of Melbourne last Wednesday afternoon for Washington DC. It was our boys’ first plane trip. And, boy, were they excited! They absorbed everything about the airport and the planes while we waited to board. The TSA officer gave them badge stickers to wear on their shirts which made them feel pretty special.
J was already in Maryland for a training class so I flew alone with Wildman and Cutie Pie. I made sure to pack plenty of activities and snacks in their backpacks to keep them occupied. They were remarkably well-behaved but super chatty due to all the excitement. It was really very cute. They charmed many of the passengers and crew members.
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J left us the rental car while he was in class on Thursday. It was just me and the boys with the entire day laid out in front of us. I decided to take them over to National Harbor to do some exploring. J had heard that the ferry over to Old Town was something that the boys might enjoy.
Luckily the harbor was nearby and easy to find. It is a relatively new place with lots of shops and restaurants. Some of the waterfront buildings are still under construction as indicated by the cacophony of power tools.
We stumbled upon this neat, half-buried (what I believe to be) Neptune statue at the water’s edge.
The boys enjoyed climbing all over the statue pieces but the metal quickly got too hot in the morning sun. We retreated to the cool of the Peep Store for a bottle of water. Did you know there were such things as Peep Stores? I had no idea.
When our water and Peep samples were consumed we headed over to the dock to board the ferry.
As expected, the boys thought the boat ride was awesome! They couldn’t make up their minds what was better: being in the cabin getting drinks out of the water cooler OR checking out the sights on the bow. Both activities were probably about equal in their eyes. Personally, I enjoyed being outside. That’s where I took all my photos 🙂
We were starving by the time we set foot in Old Town. It didn’t take us long to find a quaint little restaurant with a Chicago-style pizza buffet. The boys and I made quick work of our pizza and salads then set out to find the King Street trolley.
The boys noticed an ice cream shop while we were waiting for the trolley. We hurried over to buy a couple of cups before boarding. I wasn’t sure if the driver would let us take the ice cream with us but he did.
The King Street trolley is free and took us all the way up to the George Washington National Masonic Memorial and back down to the water. It was a nice little ride around Alexandria. The boys weren’t too keen on walking around in the heat so it was the perfect solution.
We took the ferry back across the Potomac to National Harbor to retrieve our car. By the time we got back to the hotel the boys were wiped out. We all took a little nap while we waited for J’s friend to bring him back from class. I am proud of myself for navigating through unfamiliar territory with my children and not getting lost! We managed to have a great adventure just the three of us.
Adventures of Four 