Wow, it's hard to describe this trip in one blog post and keep it reasonable in length. So let me just start out saying, look in the LUKE photo album for pictures of our visit with Jake, Rachel, and our "rockin' grandson", and look in the "Travel 09" photo album ( new one I'll be posting) for pictures of the rest of the trip. Which makes it sound like it was a long trip - and it was only an overnight! The purpose of the trip was to have a birthday celebration with Lucas for his 1st birthday. His actual birthday is January 7th, and we wanted to get up sometime during the month of January to see him. It is also Jake's birthday (today!) so that was a bonus, to get to see him around his birthday too. Our visit was on Saturday, between naps for Luke, so we got to Jake and Rachel's place a little
after 11 am and left around 1 pm for the drive home. Luke is just a delightful kid. He's walking now, and really happy about it!
Like our visit with him in December, he didn't whine or cry, just kind of "assessed" us for awhile, but decided we were okay, especially when we started giving him presents! Which he then would give to his mom or dad (generous!). He still seems fascinated with how things work and how things are put together. We gave him a little hammer with lights and sounds when you bang it, and a little drill with lights and sounds when you "pull the trigger' on it.
Then later a toy that you put balls in the top and they go down a maze type thing and come out the bottom. He liked that!
Like our visit with him in December, Luke took a little while to "assess" us, but no whining, crying, or hiding behind mom or dad. He just went about his business of walking and exploring, eating lunch, and didn't mind it too much if I picked him up or held him on my lap. He's a happy, secure, and curious child, and for that, credit goes to the parents. Happy 1st birthday Luke, we sure are happy you're here!
We decided to try to take in some sights since we were coming up to D.C. We came up on Friday and checked in to the hotel shortly after 2 pm. What a GREAT recommendation from Jen and Brett, who had come up a few weeks earlier. The Grand Hyatt was in the heart of downtown D.C., and literally 3 short blocks from the Smithsonian Portrait & Art Museum, which we wanted to see. The hotel itself was great, the rooms very comfortable, and the staff very friendly. The price was right at $89 a night ~ imagine how great that felt when we talked to the concierge and found out that earlier in the week, the rooms were $650 a night with a 4 night minimum for the Inauguration! :-) So the hotel was absolutely great, we'll definitely stay there again!
The Smithsonian was FANTASTIC! There are several buildings, I know, we wanted to go to the Portrait Museum primarily because of the Lincoln Exhibit which is there, which is great, but not as big or as much as I would have expected. But the other thing is that all the Presidential Portraits are housed there, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them. And so much more! The building itself is a work of art! So be sure to check out the photo album (Travel 09) which I hope to get posted today yet.
It was really interesting seeing the different portrait styles. George Bush's portrait has a casual feel and looks like he could be talking to you in your living room.
JFK, on the other hand, is an impressionistic style that is very striking.
I took pictures of quite a few of the portraits, they're in the photo album. Which was another thing that surprised me about the museum, the only areas you couldn't take photos in were the special exhibits (like the Lincoln exhibit), and even at that, I got a few photos before anyone stopped me ~ I really didn't know I wasn't supposed to, but I took most pictures without a flash, so that kept it unobtrusive as well. The Smithsonian was just a great experience, we spent about 3 hours there. While there are a lot of places within walking distance for dinner, it was cold, and our feet and legs decided maybe it would be better to just have dinner in the hotel this time. We can explore another time! So that's what we did, and it was good. Back to the room for a movie and an good night's sleep on the comfortable king size bed, and all in all it was great being in D.C. at the END of Inauguration week, enjoying that good night's sleep for about $550 less than those who were there earlier in the week! It was a great trip, that felt like we did much more than a mere 24 hours worth.