I knew it would be very hard to make it to all the sites on our list, Friday night we asked the boys if they wanted to do the zoo (it was open late until 8pm), but their feet were too tired. I told them we probably wouldn't be able to go then. The next morning, I had set the alarm for 8 am so I would have time to pack up. When Peyton woke up he asked if we were going to zoo, and I told him there wasn't time because I had to pack up (and there was somewhere to be at 10am), but my mom offered to take them while Asa and I took care of packing and loading the car.
So, they all headed out and took the metro up to the zoo (thanks again, mom!)
I sent my camera along with Peyton, so I did get some pictures of the event.
The boys even took really good pictures of the pandas!
Obviously, the panda exhibit was a must-see, as there aren't many zoos with panadas. The buildings were still closed though, so Peyton was a little bummed he missed out on the reptile house.
I hear they did get to go into the Butterfly house though!
While they were gone, I packed everything up and sent Asa for the car. He drove up to the hotel so we could pack it up, and then dropped it off back at the parking garage. (Another mile on the Asa pedometer) Knowing they had to be back by 10, mom paid for a taxi to get back to the hotel from the zoo. It was the boys first time in a taxi!
The reason everyone had to be back by 10 am, was for the start of the Passport DC, where 54 embassies opened their door for open houses. It was all totally free, and an event I would LOVE to do again.
The boys were really excited about this too, they loved when we did culture week last summer, the Olympics were another favorite, and they all like memorizing flags and capitals, so this was right up their alley. Another bonus: A couple of the embassies were just steps from the hotel!
Our first stop was Argentina.
They were handing out all kinds of pastries (I was just ok with them), juice and tea.
For entertainment, they also had a guy swinging these wooden balls into the floor in rhythm. I really wish I knew what they called this, but it was really crowded in the room and we just got the tail end of it. Still, certainly cool.
On the way out, we noticed they had a picture of the pope (I believe he's the first pope from South America, so it's a pretty big deal), and they gave everyone Argentina hats. I was not expecting any of it, I really thought we were just getting a walk-through of the embassies, so I was impressed.
We walked across the street to the embassy of Botswana. Peyton is just about to get to Africa for flags, so he was excited to learn this one ahead of time.
Botswana gave us all some cool bags with an info book about their country and gave a little presentation. Apparently, they are great for safari's. Their strict anti-poaching laws have kept Elephants plentiful.
They had some very cool woven baskets they use mainly for carrying grains.
And this nice gentleman from Botswana told us all about Kgotla, basically their form of democracy where everyone gets a voice- kids included.
They also paint ostrich eggs for decorations, though people used to commonly hallow them out and use them as a sort of water bottle.
Outside they had ginger beer, a kind of carbonated drink that was very heavy on the ginger. Hayden loved it though.
They also had a sampler plate, pretty much everything is just plain- meat, corn, beans- all boiled.
Next door to Botswana was Mozambique. It was probably the smallest of all the embassies we visited.
The boys each got a pin, and a flag. (This should be another easy one for Peyton and Calib when we get to it)
They had on display a very cool musical instrument the boys all took turns playing.
Our next stop was the Embassy of Iraq. The large flag outside made it easily identifiable.
They had a room full of very ornate objects from Iraq, along with some very cool pictures of their country. The boys all got posters.
Artwork is big in Iraq, apparently. Something I wasn't aware of.
After walking through the embassy, we were directed outside behind the embassy for some food, and souvenirs. The boys all got a pen, and a keychain. We skipped the food, though it looked good, the line was really long and we were trying to make it to as many embassies as we could before we were onto our next scheduled event.
Our next stop was Trinadad and Tabago. Let me tell you, this embassy was a huge party. There was a band out front, and costumes everywhere.
They had a huge table of products from their country, and some samples. We got some hot sauce, and then picked up some pans, lanyards, and scarfs.
If Trinidad and Tabago was a party, the Philippians was Mardi Gras. They had people dancing, some game involving two pieces of bamboo, and music blaring.
They were giving out sampler plates, and lime juice. It was all delicious and the boys favorite food of the day. The little pork rolls were particularly good. They were selling the sauces they had over various foods for $1 a bottle. We bought one of each.
They also had some guys showing off their carving skills... using fruit. It was very impressive.
We also got to try on some super fun hats.
And on your way out they gave you mung bean popsicles. The Philippians totally rocks!
At this point we had walked back to near where the car was parked, so Asa went to the car to put in all our goodies from the various embassies while we all went to wait in the Australia line. It was around the corner, and took us about 20 minutes just to get in. But, they were totally prepared for this. People were handing out free samples of sunscreen, and Australia bags. There was also water, and waiters coming along with Australian food to sample. I steered clear of the Veggie Mite, but I did try the sausage.
When we got inside, this lovely Australian was greeting everyone.
And they had temporary tattoos of the Australian flag.
After getting a couple of pens, pins, and stress balls, we were treated to some lamb (which was delicious, by the way!)
And for the kids, Australia had on display a couple of reptiles found in their country. This helped make up for the fact the boys couldn't go in the reptile house at the zoo.
Australia was the biggest embassy we went into, and they totally lived up to the wait. We even got free wine and cheese.
Unfortunatly, our time at the embassies was cut short because we had a 2:30 pm timed entry to visit the Capitol Building. I didn't find out about Passport DC until after I had booked the tour. It's something I would love, love, love to go do again. It was my favorite part of the whole trip.
Knowing the car was packed full of stuff, Peyton and I took the metro, while Asa, Mom, Calib and Hayden drove over to the Capitol Building.
As a bonus, we took the metro to Union Station (on National Train Day even!), so Peyton got to see that, before we walked over to the Capitol and waited to meet up with everyone else.
I didn't realize getting tickets on a Saturday meant we wouldn't be able to go into the House or Senate chambers, but we still got to see a lot of the building.
The tour starts out with a 13 minute video. It covered a lot that I had covered with the boys before we got to D.C as did the tour guide.. the boys were impressed they knew most of what he was saying. (You know, things about the Senate and House and such)
After the video, you are paired up with a guide who hands you out these handy dandy headphones so you can hear what he's saying along the route.
First you go under the rotunda, and get to see the columns that hold it all up.
And that star right there is said to be where all the streets in DC originate from. (Also, George Washington was supposed to be buried here, but he chose mount Vernon instead, so there is an empty vault below this)
We got to pass through the doorway the President passes through on Inauguration Day.
(This is the stairway he walks down to go outside)
We went upstairs into the rotunda, which had been closed the last two weeks for paint touch ups and stuff (apparently they pick this time of year because it's the least humid). It wasn't exactly in it's full glory, but we got to see it.
Fun fact: the statue of Ronald Reagan in the rotunda contains pieces of the Berlin Wall. (That's Peyton checking it out)
We did get to go to the wing for the House of Representatives. It's the room where they have the inauguration luncheon. It also houses statues from every state. Florida's is of the guy who invented air conditioning!
We walked right past the Speaker of the House's office. I'm glad I taught the boys things like who the Speaker of the House was, and what he does before we got there. (They loved the pop quizzes in which they earned smarties and plinko chips for the right answers!) It made it so much more interesting to them.
After the tour, my exhausted boys ran up and down the hill, while Asa went to get the car to pick us up.
We had plans to get a snack at the fish market on our way out of town, but parking was horrendous, so we decided just to go to Arlington. It was probably for the best, though, as we were already cutting our timing of places to be- close. We also noticed on the way out of town, people were on the paddle boats! Ugh! So list of things to do next time: PADDLE BOATS, Fish Market, Ben's Chili Bowl, a not-under-construction Capitol tour, and some stadiums!
We did get to Arlington in the late afternoon. We walked up to Taft's grave. Everyone know's JFK is buried at Arlington, but Taft isn't quite so popular, or extravagant.
I think Arlington was a good experience for the boys. I was worried they wouldn't be respectful (I mean, they are good kids-- but we've gone to a lot of cemeteries in Peyton's quest to see all the President's graves, and you don't have to be quite so reserved in the others). They really seemed to grasp the importance of the place though.
We climbed the hill and got to JFK's grave. Peyton has now seen 11 out of the 44 presidents. (Four of which are still living), so he's moving along in his quest.
We took some time out to look at some of the headstones here too.
I knew everyone was very tired of walking miles and miles for the last few days, and I knew it was a hike to the tomb of the unknown soldier (I've been there a handful of times), so I asked who wanted to go up to it. To my surprise, everyone said we should make the hike. We got there in time to see the changing of the guard. The boys were all quite, and paid very close attention to what was going on. I was so impressed.
We walked back down the hill, and took it all in. If you have never been to Arlington and have the chance, you really should go see it. It's a sight to be seen.
We dropped mom off at the airport on our way out of town. No worries though, we will be seeing her in a week when she comes down to Florida, and drove to our hotel in Glen Allen, Virginia. I had booked the hotel months ago, when I knew we'd be spending all of Saturday in D.C, but mom wouldn't be there. It was nice to all be able to spread out for the night. There was a bedroom, a living room, a huge bathroom and a small kitchen.
But perhaps one of the biggest unexpected perks was the Complimentary Evening Reception. We didn't really have lunch, we had just had the samples at the embassies, so we were all pretty hungry by the time we got there.
We had bowls of popcorn, cheese and crackers, hummus and pita chips, and pretzels in a really yummy honey mustard sauce, along with totally free (well, except for the tip) drinks.
If theres anything I, as a mother to three boys, appreciate, it's free food.
We took full advantage of all the snacks, and felt like that would tide us over until we had a late dinner.
We took the boys to the pool. I was disappointed there wasn't a hot tub, but the boys were happy to splash around for a bit.
Then I started the repacking process. Because we had gotten so many things at the embassies, the car was a mess, and I knew a re-packing was in order. I even got out all the sauces we had gotten from various embassies to put in the cooler, because I knew there was space in there.
Here is just a sampling of the things we picked up at the embassies, all of them give-aways.
Each embassy also had stamps, so we added them to the extra pages in the back of the boys National Park passport books. I hope they have these into adult-hood, and it'll be something very cool to look back on.
Packing, and re-packing was the name of the game this trip. But, I got it so everyone had lots of room in the car on the way home (and we even had a spot for the blueberry bush from Mount Vernon)
We heated up the chili, it was a good idea to freeze it, it was my ice pack almost the whole trip. It was still good on day 7 of vacation so it was perfect for our late dinner.
When my mom had taken the boys to the zoo, she also let them all pick out stuffed animals. They boys had quite the story going with these guys, and we're having a great time all playing together. I don't know how many kids their age still make up imaginary stories with stuffed animals, but I hope they do it forever, it's SO fun to listen to.
They tucked themselves in and put Wreck it Ralph on before passing out for the night. I will say this for the walking everywhere, nobody had any trouble falling asleep the whole trip!
Next Up: Home Sweet Home
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