We woke up early for White House tour try #2. We booked a taxi to pick us up at 7:45 to take us to the Metro. While we'd now walked it plenty of times, I thought it best not to start off the day that way. The taxi ride would ensure we could get to the metro and through the commuters' rush down to the WH in plenty of time for our 9:30 tour.
The kids found riding the Metro with the commuters to be a very different experience. While on our other rides they were able to choose their seats, at 8 a.m. we rode for awhile standing in a mass of people before they could sit down. But we made it in plenty of time. We stopped to use a restroom at a Starbucks where the line was too long for coffee-addicted Mom to buy a fix. Then we walked to the White House. We arrived at the Southeast gate before 9 and were surprised to learn that we could go right in.
The White House tours are "self-guided," meaning that you can set your own pace but that no one is narrating for you. However, the staffers who worked each room were extremely knowledgeable and very happy to answer questions. We learned quite a lot from listening to others' questions and the answers that were given, and we got to ask a few of our own. The stories behind the furnishings and portraits in each room are fascinating. And it is amazing to stand in the State Dining Room and think of the many world leaders and famous people who have been there.
We were unable to bring a camera, of course, but once we were outside and allowed to turn phones back on, I took a few pictures with my phone. I am not sure I can transfer them, but I will try later.
We were actually through with a fairly leisurely tour at about the time we expected to start. We walked to the Metro, rode back to Bethesda and walked back to Alex's house, arriving while the coffee date that she and our friend Jane were having was still in progress. :)
The kids rested and played with Frederick when he came home from camp, then we all went up and rested and packed up when he went up for his nap. Later that afternoon, we went over to Jane's house and visited with her and Abby and Caroline, which was wonderful.
We went back to Alex's and had wonderful pizza and salads delivered from a great Maryland chain called Mama Lucia's. And we got everyone to bed at a reasonable hour. I headed upstairs by 10:30 and had my head on the pillow by 11:00 which was by far the earliest night I had all week.
Friday, July 20th
I got up early in the morning to be able to get ready and load the car in time to leave for the National Aquarium in Baltimore by about 9:15. It was the first morning I was dressed before anyone else, though, and I completely forgot about the motion sensor alarm, which went off and took about 10 years off my life when I attemped to go down from the 2nd to the 1st floor. Yikes!!
When Emma and I went out to load the car, we found it was a beautiful, dry, cool morning. She asked why we couldn't have had weather like that to walk around DC!! Oh, well... We headed for the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, caravaning with Alex and Frederick.
What a fabulous aquarium! My kids have been privileged in the last couple of years to visit several major aquariums (though we haven't made it to the nearest major one in Atlanta yet). But I was really impressed with many things about the NAIB -- particularly its emphasis on preservation and habitat. We loved watching the divers feeding the marine life in many of the tanks throughout the facility. (At one point, Will announced that he wanted to jump into the one where the diver was feeding the fish lots of shrimp. LOL!) Will particularly loved the frogs exhibit where he got to see the vibrant colors and huge variations in many of the species he'd read about in his Reptiles and Amphibians Dictionary.
We headed out of the aquarium about 1:15 and walked along the pier towards our car. It was absolutely beautiful out, and we would have loved to spend more time on the harbor. Maybe next time...
Fear of ever-increasing Friday afternoon traffic kept us moving, though, and after paying the exorbitant fee they charge for parking in the Inner Harbor, we headed towards I-95 North and Grandma and Grandpa who were waiting. The traffic on the NJ Turnpike was a bit ugly, but it could have been a lot worse (i.e., we could have been driving SOUTH)! We made it to Edison just before 5 p.m. to a couple of very happy grandparents not to mention a great-aunt who had driven in from Toronto. :)
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