First Trip with the Grandparents

Elina and Eli are such lucky kids!  My parents (Agong and Ama) decided to go to DC to see the cherry blossoms this year...and they asked if they could take Elina and Eli along with them.  What awesome grandparents, right??  Needless to say, the kids were ecstatic and went on and on for weeks telling all their friends and teachers about their upcoming trip.  It was so cute!

We totally prepped the kids for the trip by watching videos about DC.  We got the kids a Mission Washington DC book to use in the museums and at the memorials.  (It's an awesome book that provides scavenger hunts at each location to prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.)  Elina interviewed teachers at school to find out what was worth seeing in DC.  The cool thing is that Eli is studying American history this year.  He was John Hancock for his independent study project.  He just finished learning about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln.  It couldn't have been more perfect!

We did so much research that I wanted to join them on the trip.  But I know all this good stuff would be lost on Eulee, so we're going to wait to go as a family when Evie is in 2nd grade studying American history.  Then it'll be more worth it.

Here were the highlights--

1. PHILLY

The kids flew into Philadelphia on a late flight on Friday and then spent the weekend with my cousin ML and her husband and baby.  They visited Independence Hall (right up Eli's alley) and even took a horse-drawn carriage ride with my parents.  Man!  My parents never took ME on a carriage ride!  The kids thought it was the greatest thing.  (And yes, both the kids brought their own cameras, so they truly looked like Asian tourists wherever they went!  Ha!)

2. BALTIMORE
On Monday, they drove from Philly to DC, but they made a quick stop in Baltimore to check out the Inner Harbor.

3. DC: GARDENS
They finally made it to DC in the late afternoon, so they briefly visited the US Botanical Garden and saw the orchid exhibit.

4. DC: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
The next morning they went to the National Archives Museum to wait in line to see the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.  Eli couldn't believe he saw the real Declaration of Independence after he learned all about John Hancock!

5. DC: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

This has Elina and Eli's name written all over it!  They had to visit this one twice because they didn't have an incredible amount of time the first day (since I had scheduled an afternoon bike tour for them).  They loved the insect zoo and the Hope diamond and the Dom Pedro Aquamarine.  Although they had to admit that the Hope Diamond was smaller than they had imagined.

6. DC: BIKE AND ROLL

So I had to find a way for both the young and the old to efficiently and fully enjoy the National Mall area.  I knew they couldn't walk the whole thing, so I found the perfect bike tour for them!  This Monuments Tour covered 4 miles on the western part of the Mall, including the Tidal Basin where a lot of the cherry blossoms would be.  My parents were a little worried about biking it, but I assured them that it would be memorable and awesome.  Well, it was definitely memorable!  It was about 42F that day when they started the tour!  My parents and kids were all bundled up for this adventure.  They even had to purchase gloves to keep their hands warm on the handlebars.  Even though it was shockingly cold (for Texans), they all thought it was the best part of the entire trip.  The tour guide was great...the stops were long enough to take pictures and enjoy the area...the guides provided water and snacks...and they covered all the main highlights.

They were blown away by the size of the Lincoln Memorial and the MLK Jr. Memorial.  They couldn't believe how big they were!

And they loved being able to see the Washington Monument from all different perspectives.

Eli is a strong bike rider, so he was up in front, 2nd to the tour guide.  He loved it!  

Elina and my parents brought up the rear with the 2nd tour guide at the end.  At the end, they had to ride up a slight hill to get back to the office and my mom said it was rough.  But I was really so very proud of my parents for agreeing to do the bike tour with the kids.  Seriously.  What troopers!

7. DC: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY

The kids loved seeing the big Star Spangled Banner, Lincoln's hat, Michelle Obama's dress from the Inaugural Ball, and Jefferson's portable desk.  It was a brief visit, but they enjoyed it.

8. DC: NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

The kids thought this museum had the "wow factor" but they found it too overwhelming because all the planes looked the same to them.  They are not huge plane fanatics, so everything sort of blurred together.  And I think since it was the last stop, their brains were probably shutting off by then.  They still thought it was neat place, but nothing totally stood out to them.

This was definitely a trip the kids will remember forever.  And they also learned a few things along the way...

1. Missing school is actually not a totally awesome idea because there is a lot of work and homework to do during the trip and when you return.  The kids were constantly doing work--on the flights, at my cousin's house, in the hotel room--and yet, they still didn't manage to complete everything when they got back.  It was painful for all of us, especially my mom because she was on homework duty while they traveled.  (Thanks, Ama!)

2. Ama snores a lot.  Elina shared a bed with her in the hotel room and Elina didn't sleep well at all.  I already warned her about this, but she didn't think she would need earplugs...boy, did she wish she had taken those earplugs with her!  But we still love this lady...snores and all!

3. It is hard to time a visit to see cherry blossoms.  The kids missed the peak of the blossoms by a week.  They had just gotten some warm weather and then some rain, so all the blossoms were virtually gone.  Agong said there were more blossoms at the Dallas Arboretum than in DC!  Ha!  They DID manage to find a few trees with leftover blossoms during their bike ride.  But my dad pointed out that these are the trees no one would ever look at if everything else were in bloom.  It's better than nothing, I guess! We still thought it was very pretty!!

4. All the coolest things can't be photographed...or can't have flash photography.  Elina was really bummed she couldn't take a pic of the Star Spangled Banner and the Declaration of Independence.

5. Cameras are very entertaining when you are on a road trip...here is just a mere sampling of what we found on their memory cards...

Can you tell that these kids had such a wonderful time!  We were all so thankful to Ama and Agong for wanting to share something like this with Elina and Eli.  What an amazing opportunity!  Ama and Agong said that the kids were really well-behaved and were good listeners.  I sure am thankful the kids made it a little easier on them.  We love Ama and Agong!