Day 2- DC Disaster or Adventure

One of Leannes' only requests while she was here was to see the Holocaust museum. Seeing as how it was only one museum, I had some big idea in my head that it would be quick and easy and not too hard for me to manage with the kids. So, I decided that I would drive them and go see the museum as well (since I'd been wanting too but not willing to do it alone with the kids). My friend Lynette, was gracious enough to watch Abigail for us, so we only had Carter and Lily to worry about. We managed to find DC alright and even made it to the wharf where we normally park (for free). However, when I attempted to park there, a man told me it was now a bus-zone only and that I would get towed if I stayed there. Sadly, we drove away and tried to find other parking accomodations. I am not a great driver and don't really like driving at all. In fact, I get really scared and uptight in big crazy cities when the other drivers are insane and I don't know where I am going and there seems to only be one-way streets everywhere..... so, we found a parking garage not far from where we wanted to go and ended up paying $18 to park.

Carter was whining crying nearly the entire walk to the museum and made us all want to pull our hair out, but we finally made it. Leanne's dream was about to come true... We went inside and made it through security (which is really strict due to a recent shooting and killing of a security guard there). Once inside we waited in a line to find out that the next guided tour wasn't for another 3 hours, so we opted to do the non-guided things. I think Leanne was bummed, but there really wasn't much we could do about it at that point. The kids weren't going to make it 3 hours, let alone 1, so I think what we were able to do was just about right. We went through the childrens' exhibit called, "Daniel's Story" and learned about the Holocaust through the eyes of a Jewish child. It was sad, as everything to do with the Holocaust usually is, but definitely worthwhile. I kept wishing that I would have left Carter with Lynette, instead of Abigail. He was so poorly behaved it was really embarrassing. I guess I didn't have any clue what to expect, but now that I know I will not be eager to go back with kids. It is such a solemn and sacred place that the kids just don't understand nor appreciate. I hope Leanne was still able to get at least a good taste of what she wanted too. I felt bad that she wasn't able to really take in the whole museum. I had no idea it was something that could consume an entire day in and of itself. I guess some things we just have to learn the hard way.

Outside the museum. I don't know who changed my camera to sepia, but whatever.

Carter was happy and well behaved once we were finally out of the museum and especially once we got out our lunch. We ate as we walked past the Washington Memorial and while we waited for Leanne to buy some T-shirts. Carter responded well to my bribe and didn't cry once on the walk back to the car, so he earned some candy. Little did we know what was in store for us.

We got to the parking garage and the van was literally wedged between two cars and had a truck parked behind it no farther away than the distance of a small car. It literally took 20 minutes and a very good man to help me get out of that tight spot. We couldn't believe we had to pay for that kind of treatment! I guess that's what you get in a big city, a little-persons' treatment. Once out of the parking garage we saw signs for Virginia/Maryland and decided we should follow them, since we didn't really know where we were. Oops. We followed them alright and then found ourselves well into Maryland before seeing anything familiar at all. We finally saw signs for the 495/95 S, which I knew would take us in a circle back to where we needed to be. It ended up adding almost 2 hours to our trip and it was sure an adventure. The kids and Leanne took naps in the car, while Cindy kept opening candy for me to help keep me calm. It was really funny and we just kept laughing about our little adventure. I was so grateful that Cindy was next to me to help me have a good attitude about our getting lost. She is a fun co-driver and it was nice to get to talk to her as well. She is full of wisdom and experience and I always learn a lot from our conversations.

We made it back to the Ercanbracks just in time to get Kaylie from school. I was more than exhausted, having missed my nap time and having driven in scary conditions. I was so grateful that Cindy and Leanne volunteered to watch the kids while I took a little nap. They were watching Bambi when I woke up and then Nate came home soon after. We had some leftovers then made some homemade chocolate fudge sauce to top our ice-cream with. It was yummy. I botched it and Cindy fixed it. What a great team. All in all, day 2 was quite an adventure and really wore me out. We got the kids to bed and talked some more before crashing for the night.