Trip to Washington, D.C. - Day 2

The first order of business on Friday morning was the marathon expo - Dennis and his dad needed to pick up their bibs and sign in for Sunday's marathon.

We headed out to the rather busy expo and picked up the bibs, then headed to the big expo filled with jackets, running gear, etc. Dennis's dad bought a disposable water-proof track-suit there, as the weather was unpredictable. Hurricane Sandy was bearing down on the region.

After the expo, we took the Metro to see the White House. We stopped for lunch first, and found a great little buffet place near the White House.

The park near the White House was beautiful, and we walked up to the fence to look at the grounds. I'll have to figure out how to get tickets for a tour next time, as the kids were a little disappointed that we couldn't go inside the White House!

I snapped a few pictures of the boys by the street sign near the White House. The area is really pretty in the fall.

We walked down the street to find the visitor's center, which turned out to be closed for renovation. We walked to the temporary visitor's center and bought each boy a key chain (their preferred souvenier). As we were walking, we noticed a heavy police presence and the fact that all of the statues in the area were closed off. A helicopter started circling the area and I pointed it out to the boys. A nearby police officer said, "the President is going by in a few moments, if you hurry." We ran down the street just as the motorcade went by. It was really neat to see all the black cars and SUV's rushing down the road!

We walked down to the Mall/Smithsonians next. We had a brief stop at the Museum of American History for their bathroom facilities, then continued on to the Museum of Natural History. Nolan was completely wiped out, so Grandpa and Grandpa L. sat out with him while Dennis and I took him through the dinosaur exhibits and gem exhibits.

The Natural History Museum is really cool.

Ammonite fossil. Reminds me of a cochlea. 

Matt in front of a triceratops fossil. 

Giant elephant statue. 

Tyrannosaurus Rex. 

Matt next to some ancient sea creatures. 

The dinosaur fossils were really cool. 

The Hope diamond. 

Very interesting crystals. 

Matt appears upside down in this crystal ball. 

This stone had aquamarine embedded in it. 

Naturally florescent rocks. 

Rocky pillars. 

 A huge magnetic rock - with paper clips for exploration.

Matt in front of a 3-D molecular structure

We finished touring the Natural History Museum and headed back to our hotel. We met Dennis's aunt and uncle for dinner in Old Town Alexandria. We ate at the Fish Market, and had a really great meal. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and hit the sack - we were excited to see the Air and Space Museum the next day!

Trip to Washington, D.C. - Day 1

First ride on the Metro.

On October 25, we left Western New York and drove to Washington, D.C. for the Marine Corps Marathon. Dennis was going to run the 26.2 mile course with his father, and we were excited to visit the Capital with the boys.

The car ride was uneventful - D.C. is only about 7 hours from our house by car, so it is an easy road trip. We didn't leave until 9am, and were in Johnstown, Pennsylvania for a late lunch. We made it to the Capital by 5:00pm, and spied the Washington Monument from the car window.

We met Dennis's parents at the hotel, and unloaded the luggage and Nolan's gear into our hotel room. We stayed at a Holiday Inn in Crystal City, which was within walking distance of a Metro station. I love D.C. because everything is within walking distance - we walked to dinner at a cool little Italian restaurant, then took the Metro to the Smithsonian station for a walk around the Mall.

We walked to the World War II Memorial, which was beautiful at night. Both of my grandfathers fought in WWII, so it was nice to see such a gorgeous memorial to all of the soldiers who fought in that war.

Each state is represented by a pillar around the monument. The boys quickly found "New York" and posed by our state's pillar.

We took a little break and Matt and Nolan were able to chit chat with Grandma.

After walking around and seeing the sights of the National Mall lit up, we headed for the Metro station for the hotel. We were excited to register for the marathon the following day, and to see the White House!

The WWII Memorial at night.

If you are visiting the Washington, D.C. area with kids, check out the following article: Things to Do in Washington, D.C. with Kids.  There a a lot of fun, free activities in the area, and D.C. should be on every kid's "to-do" list!

Little Jedis

The boys wanted to dress up as Jedis this year for Halloween. Matt found an Anakin Skywalker costume he liked, and Nolan wanted to be Obi-Wan Kenobi.

We wanted to get them Jedi robes to put over their costumes, but the robes were $30 each at the costume store. Dennis pulled out the sewing machine, figured out how to wind the bobbin, and sewed the boys these nifty felt Jedi robes. I'm impressed, because I still have no idea how to wind a bobbin.

I took these pictures before we headed out to Zoo Boo at the Erie Zoo. I have no pictures of the actual trick-or-treating event, mostly because my camera doesn't work well in the dark. They were really cute together.

I have to admit, though, that I am glad the craziness of the trick-or-treating season is behind us. The sugar highs and constant party atmosphere created two very wound-up little boys!

Here's to a quieter November, with its gray days and much more sedate holiday of Thanksgiving.

Port Farms, 2012

Port Farms is located in Waterford, Pennsylvania. We love visiting this farm in the fall. They have slides, pedal cars, a corn maze, a giant "corn box" to play in, goats to feed, hay rides, and a million other things for kids to do.

The boys always love the giant, off-road tricycles on the dirt track. This place is like paradise for kids.

They have pumpkins for sale, but we didn't buy any because my friend dropped off a couple of HUGE pumpkins from her garden. So we just wandered through to the next fun event.

The hay fort is, undoubtedly, the boys' favorite thing at Port Farms. It is also the muddiest after a good rain, but our boys think that just adds to the fun.

The corn box is also great fun. The only downside is the fact that I am finding corn in the washing machine and in the car for weeks after a visit to Port Farms.

The pedal cars and corn maze are just icing on the cake. Fortunately Dennis was willing to take the boys into the maze while I sat and had a chat with a friend (and a cup of hot chocolate).

We ended the day with a stop by the goat pen. We fed them some goat food and headed out to the parking lot.

Goodbye, Port Farms! See you in 2013!