I didn't plan for the trip to begin with a trip to the emergency room!

You plan and plan and then life throws you a curve ball. Thursday night after I had packed, I was writing down some phone numbers and directions and I heard Haden crying. When I went to check on him he said his ear hurt. I think in his 6 1/2 years, he has had one ear infection.



Our plan was to leave by 7:00 am Friday. I knew this earache had the potential to throw a kink into my well laid out plans. So Haden and I made our way the the ER about 11:00. By midnight he had a dose of antibiotics and a prescription, and we were home. In bed by 12:30 am. Needless to say, I did not rise and shine as early as I had planned. So we were ready to roll by 7:30. Not too bad, just 30 minutes late. But then we had to get Haden's medicine. By 8:15 we were finally off.

And we drove and drove,..........and drove and drove.....and drove some more. And it rained and rained...and you get the point.

Finally, about 10 hours later we reached our destination for the evening. We stayed with my cousin Glinda, and her husband, Bill and daughter, Natalie in Mebane, NC. I was so excited to see them and catch up. It had been way too long. She fixed wonderful North Carolina BBQ, slaw and a potato casserole to die for. The kids enjoyed watching a movie, playing cards with Natalie, and harassing, I mean playing with their dog Bella. After a much needed good night's sleep we were on the road by 8:30.

We were so glad to see the sun. We had about 5 hours to travel, but compared to Friday, it wasn't that bad. However, we did find the rain along the way, and it brought with it wind and cooler temperatures. Even so, we were very glad to finally arrive in DC about 1:30.

After unpacking all of our worldly posessions (see earlier post) we were off to the metro. I guess we looked clueless (and we were), because the attendent quickly came to our rescue. We now have our metro passes for the week, so we don't have to worry about that any more. After one afternoon of riding the metro, we are getting the system. I think we'll be okay.

Our first stop in DC was Union Station. We were looking to take a bus tour, but the one we wanted was no longer available because it was so late in the afternoon. So we grabbed a late lunch, jumped back on the metro, and headed for the Smithsonian stop. As we ascended from underground we immediately saw the Capital in front of us and the Washington Monument behind us. What a sight!

We began our walk down the National Mall because Whitman was dying to get close to the Washington Monument. We walked around it, touched it, took pictures. We hope to go up in it later. We then began to make our way to the Lincoln Memorial. On the way we stopped at the WW2 Memorial. It is truly a magnificent memorial. I can see why they are having the honor flights so the veterans can see it. It greatly honors their service to our country.

Finally we walked along the edge of the reflecting pool (and I do mean on the edge) to the Lincoln Memorial. It is breathtaking! Lincoln is so grand as he sits and looks out over Washington. Haden said, "Mommy, was he really that big?"

We decided to make our way back to the metro and to the hotel. As we walked back down the mall, we stopped at the Korean War Memorial. The soldiers are so life like. It amazes me how they can make all of these monuments and memorials so unique. They are all so different, but they express the same emotions of graditude and repect.

So we made it back to the hotel a little after 7:00 and decided to just chill in the room. We ate a late lunch so we just snacked for supper. Everyone was (is) pretty tired so maybe it can be an early night. Today was a get acclimated day. Tomorrow we will hit the ground running.

Whitman's favorite thing that he saw today was the Korean Memorial. Haden's was seeing a black duck in the reflecting pool and "that big old thing" aka the Washington Monument. Jody's was the Lincoln Memorial. My favorite was the WW2 Memorial. I also enjoyed getting to experience these places with my kids (and my husband).

A few side notes:

The kids did extremely well considering we drove 14 hours in 1 1/2 days. They watched movies, colored, played the DS. Haden even put together a puzzle. We played a few family car games. We had time to do alot.

Haden discovered a new pasttime. He is now text messaging. It was so funny watching him sound out the words and trying to spell them. He actually did pretty well. I apologize to those who received many posts from him this morning. I want to apologize in advance to everyone else. If you know Haden, you know he loves a phone. There is no telling what he will do with his new texting skills.

You all know how kids love to explore hotel rooms. Well, Whitman was trying to figure out the television. In the process, he managed to buy a television show. Thank goodness it was family appropriate. The nice lady at the front desk took care of his little accident and I don't think we will have to worry about him doing that again. The look on his face when he realized he had just purchased a show was priceless!

I am sorry that this post is so long. I've been without internet since we left town. Also, I am probably doing this blog more for me that anyone else. I want to record what we do and when we do them. If I don't do it day by day, it will all run together by the end. I also won't remember all of the funny ( and not so funny) things that are said and happen to us.

So tomorrow is Easter. We are off to the National Cathedral for Easter service and Arlington Cemetary tomorrow afternoon.

I'll give you the details later.

Until then......