Sit Back, Fatback

This year we decided to take our summer vacation in Washington, DC.  Its something we've always told JJ we would do, and now seemed like the right time.

The thought of trying to keep up with Abby on a beach just seemed exhausting, and we beached earlier this year and thought we were beached out.

Day one of DC vacation, I was second guessing my reasons.  But, I made the best of it and had a great time despite the lack of relaxation.

We saw as many things as one could see in a week, hitting all the major spots.  And, Abby hung in there like a champ.  She did not get one formal nap for a week.  She often napped in the stroller, only after finally succumbing to exhaustion.  It was usually on a transition from one place to another and the scenery wasn't much to look at. 

She pleasantly slept through the nights while sharing our room. (Only because JJ refused to share the living room space with her).  She also slept in every day, allowing for us to catch up on our exhaustion.

She playfully enjoyed all the exhibits in the museums, but her favorite was riding the carousel outside of the Smithsonian Castle.  The minute we got our tickets and stood in line, she was in awe.  She gladly sat on a horse, got strapped on, and held on.  Once it started moving, I thought she would panic, but she didn't.  Her face lit up.  She smiled bigger and bigger, the more it went round and round.  And then it started to slow, and I could anticipate what was going to happen.  Finally the ride stopped and we had to get off. 

And she cried.

And she cried.

And she cried.

Oh my, it broke my heart.  She did not understand we couldn't ride it forever.  But the video we have of her riding it will always be a good back up.

I was anxious about how well she would travel.  She's done distance before, but nothing of this magnitude in a while.  She doesn't sleep as much in the car as she use to.  Heading up, we split the trip in half so it wasn't too bad on anyone.  But coming home, it was a straight 9 hours.  She did really well.  She slept a lot.  And looked out the window a lot.  She liked riding in Gene's truck because she can see out better.  She would wake when we stopped for gas or lunch.  She got a little fussy asking to play the ipad. 

She only likes to press the home button on the ipad, so its not very fun for anyone else who has to keep taking it from her in order to keep her from messing it up.  I tried using Guided Access, but it managed to get locked on a barney movie, and then not work at all.

Overall, it turned out much better than I thought it would.  Everyone had fun, everyone learned something.  It certainly wasn't just rest and relaxation, but there are plenty of other days for that.