D.C. Trip - Day 5

Our extended stay hotel Chase Suite Hotels, gave us a welcome good night's sleep. It had a door that divided the kid's space from ours that allowed us to put kids to bed and still plan the next days activities. The king size bed probably had something to do with it too. The breakfast buffet got us off to a great start in the morning as well. They also had apples at the front desk that made a morning snack for the kids effortless.
If you haven't had a chance to, you should take your kids on a major city's mass transit system like the Washington D.C. Metro. That is exactly what we did Friday morning. It was a great experience for our kids considering they hadn't ridden a train in a long time, let alone one that went underground. It also gave them a good chance to interact with people who would strike up conversations with them.
We boarded the train at the Shady Grove Metro Station in Maryland and got off at Metro Center in order to walk through some of the Historical Downtown of Washington D.C.
We went to The Castle first to gather general information regarding all of the National Mall museums. This is the main information hub, but there are also a few exhibits in the building. If you have time, I recommend wandering around a bit. This is a very beautiful building inside and out. It was also the visit that started our security checkpoint educational training. If you are heading to the museums in D.C., prepare to wait in some security lines.
Next stop - The National Museum of Natural History. We headed to see the gems and minerals first, no surprise since our oldest is a girl who likes everything sparkly. I think my son was willing to go along because he was looking to match the gems that he mined in North Carolina.
We decided just to eat in the Museum Café to keep things simple when it came to preparing for the day. The food was actually much better tasting than we anticipated. It was little expensive, but we expected that after talking to some friends who had recently visited The Museum of Natural History. There were many options, so the kids were happy and the parents were less stressed. (Chicken fingers for child #1, Pepperoni Pizza for child #2, Sandwich for mom and Chili Dog for dad. Toddler enjoyed trying a bit of everything before settling on child #1's french fries.)We let the kids call the shots when it came to deciding what to do for that day. They tempted danger in the prehistoric wing. They did investigative research on Elephants (special information booths about elephants spread throughout the museum). They also started trying to figure out what things could have been in the movie Night at the Museum 2. This particular activity continued during our consequent visits to all of the Smithsonian Museums.
Our goal was to keep the first day easy going. We decided to just visit one museum and then to head back to Rockville, MD. The Metro ride back to our car was a little less exciting than the trip into D.C., but we all really liked the idea of just sitting in an air conditioned train car for a while to recover.
We tried a local chain restaurant for dinner, Chicken Out Rotisserie. Our decision was based on deal information that we found at mykidseatfree.com. It was a family style roast chicken place that served a meal much like Thanksgiving dinner. My kids weren’t all that excited about it, ironic isn't it considering we went there based on the idea that kids eat free. I guess our kids would have been free anyway. It must be stated that my kids are very picky eaters and that must be considered when using their personal opinions about food as guidelines.
After dinner we retired to the hotel for the night. We made sleeping arrangements, pulled out the hide-a-bed and then all crashed in front of the T.V. and Phineas and Ferb for an hour before turning out lights for the night. You might ask, "Aren't you a little old to be watching Phineas and Ferb considering you had your own T.V., away from the kids?" Why yes, yes we are.
What the toddler enjoyed: Looking for monkeys, looking for bronze statues, and beating bronze statues of monkeys. She also enjoyed a little pole dancing.

D. C. Trip - Day 4

Thursday morning we decided against the hotel breakfast that the kids would refuse to eat and just checked out. By the light of day, we realized that Lynchburg, VA looked like it would be a fun place to explore. Our hotel was actually located right at the end of their Historical Downtown Area where there were many fun looking shops, including what looked to be an old car museum. We actually found an indoor farmers market and decided we would stop there for breakfast. I was a little disappointed that the bakery was not open yet, but there were a couple of diners that were open for breakfast. The best part was when we asked what was on the breakfast menu and were asked in return, "What do you want for breakfast?" So we all had our breakfast made to order. The kids and I walked around the booths while we waited for breakfast to be ready. It was fun and relaxing. My 9 year old daughter even stopped to talk to a doll clothes seamstress and was given a sewing demonstration.
We left Lynchburg after breakfast and headed to Charlottesville, VA, home of the University of Virgina and it's founder, Thomas Jefferson. I remember visiting Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's Home, with my family when I was in High School. It was impressive to me then, but coming back when I have a longer attention span and a greater understanding of modern conveniences made Jefferson's Home even more awe inspiring. Everything about the house and grounds fascinates me. All things had a purpose and a place whether it was in his home or on the grounds. The vegetable gardens and vineyards were planted meticulously for consumption as well as educational purposes. The gardens are maintained the same way that Jefferson and his household would have maintained them. The house has many little details that Jefferson put into it that reflect his personality and love of learning; the clock/calendar in the entry, Jefferson’s study with all of his books, the polygraph, the alcove beds built in between the rooms, the dinning area with the dumbwaiters for food and wine, the parlor's conversation pieces all the way down to and including the floor, the cellars, the breeze way built under the house that connects the privy and other essential rooms to the main house, the cold storage, bath/laundry house, etc. The home is under constant renovations in order to restore everything back to its original state down to the paint color.
On a more personal note, the most exciting part of our visit was when our 2 year old decided that she needed candy right in the middle of the house tour. She had seen me put the bag in my pocket and decided she didn't want to wait until the end of the tour to eat. Skittles went skedaddling across the floor and of course under the large armoire. Thank goodness for agile kids and kind Samaritans willing to dig Skittles out of small cracks and crevices before we got too many dirty looks from the tour guide. The Monticello workers were glad to see the back of us considering the Skittle Skedaddle, Ben insisting on carrying Sarah on his shoulders despite constant "warnings" from the staff, and my son wanting to tell a personal story every time they asked for questions.
The house and grounds are much the same as they were when I was younger, but there is now a separate visitor’s center with a café for a quick lunch or snack, a much larger gift shop for spending money, a larger parking lot for the parking of cars, and a very inspired Discovery Room. The kids got a chance to explore what life would have been like in Jeffersonian times. They even have a website so everyone can play along at home.
What the toddler enjoyed: the open spaces, being able to run around a little in the under area of the house, the discovery area, the service bell under the house and of course the Skittles.

D.C. Trip - Day 3

Usual morning preparations and a few arguments with the kids out of the way, it was decided that the kids would ride a horse before we left to tour Old Salem. This turned out to be one of the true highlights of the trip.
Our driving tour started with some of the older Moravian structures that are not in Old Salem proper. It was after weaving through streets to get to the different places that I realized having a local history teacher as a guide was a definite advantage. We didn't have to worry about directions, wrong turns, or trying to gather any historical information. The best part was that our tour guide brought a handy helper, which meant that the adults sitting in the front of the van got a more detailed, fact oriented tour while the kids in the back of the van got a tour that was directed to their learning level and they were able to ask all the questions they could think of and they tought of quite a few. Kudos to my cousin and her quick thinking to answer them all.
We also had a driving tour of the R. J. Reynolds estate, Reynolda Gardens. I would have liked to explore this estate in more detail, but time did not permit. Next time we head to North Carolina, I am making a point of exploring the learning gardens and the main house that is now an art museum. Both of which are maintained the local university, Wake Forest University.
When the driving tour was finished, we stopped in at the Old Salem Visitor's Center before we walked over to the artisan shops. We were able to listen to the largest surviving pipe organ built by David Tannenberg. The kids actually lasted for 2 full pieces before we had to excuse ourselves, it helped that the 2 year old was asleep.
We walked over to Historical Old Salem. Once again time was short, so we decided not to get tickets for all of the museums, something I would also like to do on another visit, but we did get a bit of a walking history tour. We walked by the Moravian Church and it was explained to us that the Moravians are still a very active people. If you get a chance to visit around Easter, I understand it is well worth your time to be a spectator/participant in their celebrations. The members spend much time and effort to scrub down all the white marble headstones in the cemetery. As part of the Easter Morning worship service, everyone watches the sun rise over the gleaming white headstones and it is said to be quite a moving experience.
I can also highly recommend the Bakery. Everything that I tasted was very delicious. They even have samples that you can try to help you make up your mind. In my case, the just made the decision more difficult. After taste testing, I wanted everything. My kids liked the lemon cookies and I really enjoyed the onion bread, but we also had some sugar cake that was very tasty. If it is a hot day, they serve ice cream in the upstairs level of the Bakery. We wanted to go there, but our kids had melt downs before that could happen. We knew at that point that they need some lunch more that they needed ice cream. The picture of the Old Salem Bakery taken by Cybjorg from Wikimedia.com.
My cousins recommended that we enjoy a fabulous Italian food before we headed up the road. How do you resist fabulous Italian food? The restaurant that we went to was called Little Italy and it was fabulous. The food and service were great. My favorite thing that we ate was a tomato, fresh basil, and mushroom pizza. My husband would recommend the combination pizza. My kids of course enjoyed their usual half cheese and half pepperoni pizza. I am looking forward to trying some of their pasta dishes next time. I wish I could find a website so that you could have more information just in case you are ever driving through King, North Carolina.
After lunch and a many good bye hugs given by my kids, we headed back out on the road and had an uneventful drive to Lynchburg, VA. The kids were tired from the morning activities and settled into the drive with movies and naps. It wasn't until we got to our hotel in Lynchburg that the drama began again. Once again it was over the pool. This time the pool was filling. I guess the typical opening weekend for out door pools is Memorial Day weekend and we had arrived a few days early. The kids eventually settled for McDonalds food and the Disney Channel. I am not a huge fan of McDonalds, but it is nice to be able to offer the kids their idea of comfort food no matter where we may be.

D.C. Trip - Day 2

Mining for buried treasure was a big hit with the kids. We started by sluicing on the sluiceway. Basically, that means we got a bucket of dirt, dumped it into a sifter of sorts, and then put that sifter into a trough containing running water. They gave us a small garden shovel and a big grooming brush to help us with our task of sorting through the dirt to find our precious stones. We found beautiful stones. Whether they were precious, semi-precious, or duds, the kids valued everyone of them as unique and valuable finds.
After sluicing, shovel and bucket in hand, we headed off into the forest to dig for ourselves. We hiked to the designated digging spot, realizing on the way that Florida has done us no favors with low elevation and flat terrain. We are definitely out of hiking shape.
We filled our 25 gallon bucket and then realized that carrying it back was going to present a problem. There was only a thin metal handle that cut into fingers when carried due to the weight. My husband, being the boy scout that he is, figured out that if we used a stick threaded though the handle of the bucket that two people working together could carry the bucket with ease.
We dragged our bucket back to the sluice way and sifted our way through the mud. There were a few finds, but we honestly had more luck with Emerald Hollow Mine's prefilled containers. By this point, we were all covered in North Carolina clay, so the next mining technique, creeking, was a welcome one.
We gathered the kids, a small shovel, and a sifter and headed to the creek. It took about two minutes for the kids to have their shoes off, pants rolled, and be waist deep in the water. It is true that rolling up the pants had absolutely no effect when it came to keeping clothes dry. We eventually stripped the 2 year old down to the diaper and let her splash free in the "pool." The creek bed did offer up some good finds, but by this point the only ones looking any more were my husband and I.It took some time to gather everyone to the car, replace wet clothes with dry, and start on the road again. But it took no time at all for the moaning and groaning of hungry munchkins to start. We found the closest McDonald's with a playground we could. The kids fill themselves up, ran themselves down, and quickly fell asleep in the car. Oh, the joy of peace and quiet.
One nap later, the kids found themselves at a cute little farm filled with a lot of love and attention, not to mention dogs, kittens, horses, and plenty of room to run.We enjoyed a fabulous home cooked meal with family. Afterward, the kids took some time to explore inside and out, walkie talkies in hand, while my husband and I sat back and chit chatted. By the time the kids headed to bed, they had decided that we should just spend our whole vacation in Tobaccoville, NC.

D.C. Trip - Day 1

My dad started every family road trip with a rousing verse of Willie Nelsen's "On the Road Again." I started our trip with "On the road at last..." After months of planning, we were finally on our way and on the road all day.
We had a good laugh at our first gas station, but they had the cheapest gas prices and the bathrooms weren't too bad.
We found a pretty good BBQ place for lunch. It was a little mustard heavy for everyday eating at my house, but still tasty.
We divided the first drive length into 2 days. We told everyone we did this for the kids' benefit, but after an hour on the road we realized that we had been lying. Dividing the drive was definitely for our benefit. 7 and a 1/2 hours of "He's bugging me," "Leave me alone," and "Stop touching me," were more than enough for the parents. We figured that we could let the kids get all of their travel anxiety out in a hotel swimming pool. We checked into the Americas Best Value Inn only to find out that there was no pool. We, being the good parents that we are, found an alternative activity. We threw the kids back into the car and dragged them out for ice cream. We arrived downtown only to discover that most of Old Town Rock Hill, S.C. is closed on Monday nights. We did find one real thing of interest, a light pole with a sock or maybe it was a scarf. Any guesses?
So, we went to one of our favorite standbys instead. The kids eventually recovered from the pool disappointment.

Washington, D.C. - Local Recommendations

I love having insider information. With it, you don't have to worry about whether or not restaurants will be good or the entertainment will be age appropriate.

I mentioned before that my sister-in-law and brother-in-law lived in Washington D.C. for a summer. I also have a friend that currently lives in D.C. All of them gave me the exact same recommendations for restaurants, so here they are:
Cosi
au bon pain
Potbelly Sandwich Shop
There will be something for everyone one at these restaurants considering that the recommendations came from those with and those without kids. I like the idea that I won't have to compromise on taste in order to keep my kids happy.

My D.C. friend also recommended the best museums to visit with kids.
National Museum of Natural History
National Air and Space Museum
National Building Museum
The National Building Museum is not located on the National Mall, but close to it and I understand it is worth the slight detour. D.C. friend also recommended going to the Eastern Market to get a real for the city and buy "cool food." The market is also located off the mall to the east of the capital building and it has a Metro Station of it's very own.

Some Cheaper Eating Options

While traveling, one of our biggest expenses is food. Some of the ways we've found to save money are:

Extended Stay Hotels
If you know that you are going to be spending 3 days or more in one place, extended stay hotels are a great option. The kitchens or kitchenettes provide a great way to prepare your own meals at a fraction of the cost of eating out. Preparing meals can even include picnic lunches. With kids that are particular eaters, making your own meals provides a way to give them nutritious meals that they enjoy eating.

Kids Eat Free
Many restaurants have nights that they let kids eat free with entree buying parents. There are even websites that keep track of these restaurants. Here are a few websites that I used when planning our Washington D.C. trip. These websites let you put in zip codes or addresses, so you can use them for more than just travel. Find deals close to home and enjoy a night out with your family.
Coupon Divas
MyKidsEatFree.com
Kids Eat For

Coupon Books
Look into getting local coupon books for the areas you will be visiting. This only works if you are planning on staying in an area for at least a week and you plan ahead with enough time to receive the books before you leave home. Coupon books provide coupons for local places that you wouldn't even know about otherwise.
Entertainment Book

Our D.C. processional...

We will be staying in Rockville, MD for our 6 days in D.C. We chose to stay outside of D.C. proper to save a little on the hotel stay. My sister-in-law, who lived in the D.C. area for a summer, suggested we do this and use the Metro to access National Mall. Our family of 4 can get 7 day unlimited Metro passes for $188 and have full access to Washington D.C. for our entire stay.
During our time in Maryland, we planned to spend most of our days in Washington D.C. with a side trip on Sunday to visit friends in Virginia. Our first thoughts were to spend our 5 allotted days all at National Mall. This is definitely doable considering the number of museums and memorials that are located there. The fact that admissions to most places are free also made that option very attractive. But once we realized the possibilities that the Metro pass offered, we looked for other options.
We debated visiting Arlington National Cemetery. It is such an impressive sight, very awe inspiring. It would also be a chance to really give our kids an idea of how many men and women have died in service to our county, our rights, and our freedoms. A friend suggested that it is much more impressionable if you find a person from your own family history that is buried there. Arlington National Cemetery is just a short distance from National Mall and has a Metro station nearby.
We talked about going to The Pentagon. Friends told us that the 9/11 Memorial is something to see. Part of the memorial can be view from the outside, but there is another part that can only be seen when touring the inside of The Pentagon. By the time we were thinking of doing the tour, all of the reservations for the entire time we were in D.C. were gone. If you plan on doing this tour, try to make your reservations as soon as you can.
We did decide that we needed to visit the National Zoo. We believe it will be a fun break for the kids to see living things for a day. The National Zoo is run by the Smithsonian Institute, so like most of their facilities, admission is free. If you are choosing to dive your own car, there is a parking fee. If you are using the Metro, there is a station located just outside the entrance.
We also decided that we wanted to see all or most of the memorials located at National Mall. When I mentioned this to a friend, she suggested that we see some of them at night. Most of the memorials have 24/7 access. However, Rangers are only on duty from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. for questions and if your kids are like mine, they like to ask people questions. Another important tidbit is that if you plan to go to the top of the Washington Monument you must have tickets. Admission is free, but you must have a ticket in order to reserve your time. Tickets can be obtained online for a small processing fee. Order these as soon as you know you are going to reserve your spot or they might sell out.

Proceeding on...

To drive straight to Charlotteville, VA, after a day touring in North Carolina, would leave no time that night to actually visit Monticello. We tossed around the idea of staying another night in Winston-Salem, NC, but that might make our drive the next morning a little lengthy. So, a decision was reached to find a mid point for the night. A stay in Lynchburg, VA would give us a shorter drive that night. A little drive the next morning would give the kids a chance to really wake up before the explorations began. When we were finished in Charlotteville, our extended stay hotel in Maryland would be a little over 2 hours away.

Still processing...

After choosing our buried treasure's location, I proceeded to call family members and arrange times to visit. A cousin of mine graciously offered her home to us for a night and her husband as a tour guide the next day while we visited Old Salem to learn more about the Moravian Culture. We knew that Old Salem, NC could take a few days to explore in depth, but we also knew we still wanted to spend most of our family vacation in D.C., so we chose the short but sweet visit with the Moravians. We would be able to get the condensed version of history with an expert tour guide (my cousin's husband) in our employ. We were determined that we needed more adventure in our lives though, so we opted to take a day to visit the home of Thomas Jefferson, Monticello.

The process continued...

Lucky for us my husband has a very flexible work schedule, because once we started telling family and friends the plan, they all had ideas of things we could do along the way. Friends from church suggested gem mining in North Carolina and my parents suggested visiting extended family in North Carolina. So...we decided that it would be a good idea to spend a couple of days in North Carolina on our way to D.C.
First, I stared researching gem mines. I never imagined I would be a treasure hunter, but it sounded like fun and there are so many options. My husband and I finally agreed upon Emerald Hollow Mine because it is the closest location to family and it seemed reasonable in price. Other mines that we looked at were: Emerald Village, Gem Mountain, Old Pressley Sapphire Mine, Elijah Mountain, Cherokee Ruby and Sapphire Mine, Gold City Gem Mine, and Rose Creek Mine.
The only problem with our mining scheme was that we needed to be well rested in order to dig for treasure. Tired kids digging for treasure might not be any more fun than bored kids raking leaves at home. So it was determined that we needed a resting point along our drive. Rock Hill, SC looked good for the final resting point (at least for day 1 of our trip). It shortened day 1's drive and it's not too far from buried loot.

The process...

My husband and I decided we wanted our kids to see and experience some historic places they had studied. When we moved to the East Coast from Denver, CO, we were presented with an awesome opportunity to do so.

We knew from the beginning that our main focus was going to be Washington D.C. Starting with that, we found the most basic route from our home in Florida to D.C., determined the amount of time it would take us to get from point A (home) to point B (D.C.), and booked the extended stay hotel. We used Expedia.com because they have a rewards program that will help us with our future travels as well as give us good deals. There are more options though: Priceline.com, Hotwire.com, Travelocity.com, and Orbitz.com. If you happen to have a Mypoints.com account, you can earn point for travel there as well.

The Beginning

What ever happened to the Great American Family Road Trip, where the adventure relied as much on the travel as on the actual destination?

My family has been planning our first true road trip from Florida to Washington, D.C. for the past few months. It started with a basic drive from our home to our extended stay hotel in Maryland, but when we started to tell our friends and family about our plans, they helped us create a true adventure.

It's true that our initial 13+ hour drive to Maryland has now turned into a 3 day journey, but in that 3 days we will be treasure hunters, honored guests, and true historians.