
Before I put up part 2 of my California trip, I wanted to share my excitement about another trip coming up quite soon: Washington, DC!
The girls like to explore Google Earth on their computers sometimes, and recently Hermione was looking around and made her way to DC, where she noticed the Smithsonian Castle. She sounded really interested in going there, so we got to thinking about it and decided that I should take her up to DC for a quick trip sometime soon. Heather's not really interested in going--she's not a fan of busy cities, feels like she's been there/done that anyway, plus Amy's too young to be dragging all over the city to museums and whatnot. But we did decide Hallie could go and enjoy herself too. I had almost enough frequent-flyer points to get the three of us there and back for free, so we're all set to head up there for a long weekend at the end of the month. Fun!
So now I just need to settle on a hotel, and draw up at least a loose itinerary. I think to some extent we'll wing it, and just stay at each spot as long as it holds their interest. Obviously for a short visit (and given the girls' interests) our focus will be on the big Smithsonian museums (American History, Natural History, Air & Space, and I really want to check out the new Udvar-Hazy Center) and monuments. Oh, and maybe the National Zoo. I didn't realize the Washington Monument was still closed from the 2011 quake--it's expected to reopen this spring, but maybe not in time for our visit. Hopefully the rest of the scaffolding will be gone by then, at least. And hopefully there will be some cherry blossoms too, though with the cold winter they may be delayed a bit. Regardless, I think we'll have a blast riding around on the Metro and checking things out for a few days!