Travelling to Educate - the Civil War

You always see these videos online of parents who surprise their children with trips to Disneyland which always seem like so much fun for everyone.  I've never been super big on theme parks, but a trip that educates - that's my kind of fun!  Somehow we did manage to keep our massive trip to Washington DC under wraps even though we had plenty of slips. Within hours of our flight Kent announced to them on my phone of our plan.  This was the grainy video I caught with the Ipad.

I had only been back 5 days from the wedding trip but luckly I had packed their clothes before I left. We picked up the last few items, Kent got home and we drove out to the airport.  Despite all my careful planning we left behind one backpack with the iPad.  Bubby had a rough time without his main entertainment on the plane but we managed to land at midnight mostly happy, but tired.

We drove straight out to Gettysburg from the airport and stayed in a darling Airbnb.  To see Little Round Top and the Devil's Den impressed upon us the difficulty each side faced during the Civil War.  There were monuments everywhere and both the views and weather were wonderful.
 


The kiddos earned the Junior Ranger badge from the Gettyburgs.

Since we were so close to Hersey, we drove up to have a little tour of the chocolate factory.  We also found a pizza place that was particularly accommodating to special needs and our little Bubby.  We ate here twice that made our little man extremely happy.


We headed back to Maryland for a few days to stay with my old roommate and her family.  As in our last visit the kiddos connected and played to the wee hours of the morning.  We also managed to see the new Bible museum.  The technology used there made it for a really interesting experiences and the illuminated manuscripts were amazing.

A picnic lunch right by the Reagan Airport right on Gravely Point.  Bubby was fascinated by the airplanes passing so closely overhead.  Kiddo had fun climbing trees and chasing birds.

Dinner out at a Taiwanese Cafe.  The food was so good and I'm sure I gained a few inches around the waistline that night.

Bubby got so comfortable there that he'd go into their freezer and get ice cream for himself.  His excited giggles as he brought it to us to 'ask' if he could have some was hilarious.

When friends were in school we saw more of DC and did a boat ride on the Potomac.

More fun with friends.  There was no way to catch all the fun in pictures.

We took in as much asian food as possible, sashimi, yellow dragon fruit, snacks and treats.

We also took a few days to drive out to New Jersey and stayed in Jersey City to see the Statue of Liberty.  Kent was geeking out about the whole experience and it was pretty awe inspiring to combine that experience with the Immigration Museum on Ellis Island.  A lovely bakery by our Airbnb supplied our breakfasts for a few days.

We took a full day to go into New York to see the 911 memorial and a few special sites in Lower Manhattan.  It was a cold windy day for us and we were grateful for the wagon to pull the little ones in.  It was a memorable experience.

 The girls loved the SeaGlass carousel in Battery park.  I imagine its much more magical in the evening but we had fun all the same.

That evening we drove back to Maryland and had a late dinner at an Nepalese resturant which was a interesting experience.  It was a blend of Asia and Indian cusine which we enjoyed all except the littlest two.  By the time we go into DC it was about midnight and on a whim we went out to see some of the monuments.  There's a different feel to it when you go at night, a quiet reverence and while it was exhausting (especially the following day - good thing everyone slept in) but it was thrilling, especially for the kiddos who never really stay up past 9.

With all our studies on the Civil War we couldn't miss seeing Ford Theater.  Previous to going I had Isaac read Killing Lincoln that details the final hours leading up to his assasination and the eventual capture of John Wilkes Booth.  It really made it come alive for us

We had some time afterwards to hit the Natural History Smithsonian where we split up and the boys did the gem and minerals and I took the girls to see all things creepy crawly.

You could tell that our last night with friends was something they never wanted to end.   Even Bubby was comfortable enough to go into their freezer and ask for ice cream which is says more than most know.  There were games, bracelet making and a group determined to stay up all night watching movies together.  It about killed all of them in the morning but somehow we made it.  Pumpkin was a huge helper!

There's still so much more we need to see and do in that area that we will just have to save up again to go.  It really was an amazing trip and we still geek out over being there. Until next time!