natural wonders

We got a wild hair today, and decided to go into DC for an educational field trip. We've been stuck at home most of this week since Logan was sick. So we were up for an adventure to get us out of the house for several hours. I don't think he's quite up for the pool yet, and any kind of shopping is pure torture for both boys. So when I asked what they wanted to do today, they said Let's Go See Something Cool! Like at a Museum!

We hadn't been to the Museum of Natural History in DC for quite a while, and I figured that was our best bet. They have an insect zoo inside the museum, dinosaur bones, animals and maybe we'd even see stuff from Night at the Museum II (which we haven't seen yet, but it was filmed here).

To make the adventure even more of a nail biter, I decided Logan would wear big boy underwear. He's been doing pretty good with it at home, and I wanted to see if he could do it. So armed with a picnic cooler, spare shorts and underwear, off we went!

The new Sant Ocean Hall exhibit is where we spent most of our time, taking in all the underwater wonders.

Next favorite was the Insect Zoo, especially the live bee colony and the tarantulas.

In the Smithsonian Institute building (which I had never been in before, after living here since I was 8), we got to see the prop Pile of Loot from Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and it includes replicas of such famous artifacts as Archie Bunker's armchair, Fonzie's jacket, and Dorothy's ruby slippers. I've lived here almost my whole life and I still can't believe we have access to all these incredible museums with free admission.

Then it was back to the car to retrieve our cooler, find a shady spot and settle in for a picnic lunch. Followed by peeing on the tire, and the voyage back to Virginia.

A sidebar from our adventure, and a travel tip for anyone trying to park in DC. I personally can't stand riding Metro. I think its painfully slow, expensive and just not a great way to get around with young kids who can potentially have the chance for naps and movies in the privacy of our own car. Also, there was that little incident a few weeks ago that makes it all a little nervewracking. Throw a stroller into the mix and its a nightmare, because half the time the elevators are broken. However, parking in DC is a catastrophe, especially during summer tourist season. We drove around forever before I finally spied a metered spot about four blocks from the museum. Parallel parked (on the first try, thank you very much) only to discover the parking meter was broken. Damn, foiled again! Except I noticed there is a parking meter hotline phone number you can call to report broken meters. Which is exactly what I did. The lady gave me a confirmation number to write down, said to stick it on my windshield and that would prevent me from getting a parking ticket. Wala! So basically, my plan the next time we venture to DC is this -- find a metered spot, jam some pennies in there, report it as broken and enjoy free parking for our duration. Just kidding. Kind of.