June in DC - Day 5, departure day

Day 5:

Today is, sadly, departure day, but I will have a nice long break before I need to get to the airport, so I plan to do some more sightseeing and, most importantly, some eating! I requested late check out, so even though the conference ran until 12:30, I had plenty of time to go pack up my stuff. I left most of my stuff with bell services and started out on another adventure before my plane. When I left the hotel, it became clear that this was the kind of weather DC is known for – very hot and muggy, definitely the hottest day of my trip.

My first stop was in Chinatown, via the red line, to get Ramen. I had done a lot of research on Yelp and other sites. Ultimately, the spot I picked, Daikaya, got mostly good reviews. Every popular place also has its detractors, and since this was conveniently located, I decided to give it a try. I am glad that I did. It was very easy to find, and I was seated at the counter

Cool lighting in the ramen spot

overlooking the kitchen right away. The service was excellent, and they had huge pitchers of ice water at each seat that I was grateful for. The inside of the restaurant was very cool – lots of bare lightbulbs hanging, light wood tones, casual furniture. The ramen is available on the first floor, the upstairs is the Japanese tapas spot, known as izakaya. I was also interested in trying some of those dishes, but decided I was craving ramen more.

The very hot and very busy kitchen

DC in June: Day 4

Day 4:

Again, the day began with conference presentations. Because after all, that’s really why I was here. Breakfast was coffee and an apple muffin from the continental breakfast they gave us. The big thing today was that we had to switch hotels for the night. The official conference ended today, but an extra day was available for those who chose to stay. My boss was presenting and gave us the option. Of course, I took it since it meant a bit more time to enjoy this city that I have completely fallen in love with.

At the NGA sculpture garden, expresses my feelings for DC perfectly

DC in June - Day 3

Day 3:

More conference in the morning, with a nice lunch break for me to go up to my room and enjoy my leftovers. Things were actually almost as good cold, though the hummus needed to be brought to room temp before it could be eaten. I bought some pretzel crisps to use for it. After eating, I took a nice long walk to the National Gallery of Art. I was particularly interested in looking at an Edgar Degas / Mary Cassatte exhibit that I had heard about on NPR. I know next to nothing about art, but I once read a novel that involved Degas, and the NPR story had really piqued my interested in these two. I would highly recommend a trip to the NGA just for the building alone. It has several little courtyards that are lovely. And it is truly awe-inspiring to see famous works of art in person. It makes the art seem both more incredible and more accessible all at once. In addition to the Degas/Cassatte exhibit, they had a brand new Van Gough (along with several old ones) and Wyeth exhibit, all recommended to me by the very helpful docent at the front desk. She also recommended the sculpture garden and café, which I did not have time for today but planned on checking out tomorrow.

I didn't take pictures of the actual art. It was a bit unclear what was allowed as far as photography and what was not, but I decided that taking photos of great works of art felt a bit gauche to me. I did, however, capture the images below in some of the open spaces and atriums in the museum - the building itself is a work of art.

One of the Rotundas

Outside fountain between east and west buildings

View looking up in the rotunda

Inside courtyard garden

DC in June, Day 2

Day 2:

I had to be at my conference for 8 am. I slept as late as possible, and headed downstairs. I did have a break between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm, so I made a brunch reservation (I actually made it the night before) for a spot in Chinatown called Matchbox. 

DC's Chinatown - all signage must be in English and Chinese characters

Washington DC, June 2014 - DAY 1

Preface - this trip combined work and fun. My husband joined me for a quick weekend before a work conference. Much of the entries are focused on eating in DC, along with a few tourist attractions that I had time to sneak in.

Day 1:

Let me start by saying that I have never been less prepared for a trip than I was for this one. My goal had been to leave work early on Thursday to get everything done that I needed to get done before picking the kids up from the their last day of school before summer vacation. Instead, I worked late and had to run and get the kids. Friday was a day off for all of us, but instead of doing the boring responsible thing and packing, I took the kids to Six Flags! We are season pass holders and met up with their cousins who are also season pass holder. It’s a super cheap, fun way to spend a day, but pretty exhausting even when you are taking it easy. Following Six Flags, I rushed to get my son to an appointment. We didn’t get home until about 6:30pm. At that point, I had nothing packed, had not grocery shopped so that my mom, who would be staying at our house with the kids, would have something to feed them, and had not even printed out my boarding passes. Cue full on panic mode. In short, I ended up using a method of packing that I have dubbed “throw as much clothing in the suitcase as will fit and hopefully have stuff you need.” It was mostly successful.

Mini Getaway to Vermont: Review of Bromley Mountain Adventure Park

In early June, we did a mini getaway to Vermont where we stayed with my in-laws Friday night through Sunday morning. In addition to visiting and spending time with family, which was the real purpose behind going up, we also visited Bromley Mountain Adventure Park.

We arrived in Brattleboro, VT on Friday night, inevitably later than we intended to be. It was close to bedtime for our kids when we arrived, but we let them stay up a bit extra late to get some quality time in with their grandparents. I believe that my mother-in-law fed us when we got there, but I can't remember right now what we had to eat. I do remember delicious vodka drinks with fresh strawberries that we all indulged in. After the kids went to bed, we watched a couple of episodes of the second season of Orange is the New Black, one of the few shows that I think we all love. Season 2 had just come out on Netflix. Love how they release everything all at once.

We headed out to Bromley on Saturday. During the winter, Bromley is a moderately popular ski area, but it has done what other ski areas have tried and not always succeeded in by finding a way to make money in the summer. When I was a kid growing up in the area, I loved going to the Alpine slide at Bromley. The park has grown considerably since then, adding several fun attractions that the kids and adults enjoyed. For me, the slide is still the star of the show.

View from chairlifts on the ride up the mountain.

Washington, DC - April, 2014

A strange confession: although I have traveled to Europe several times, China twice, and all around the U.S. and Canada, I did not visit Washington DC until I was 33 years old! I had the opportunity to go last November to a work conference and was joined by my mom. We got in a ton of touring and eating (she more so than I, at least on the touring, since I was at the conference during the days). I should have written a trip report, but I am not sure if my memory is good enough at this point to do. However, what I do know is that I completely fell in love with the area, and I promised myself that my own children would get to see this city before their third decade. So, for Easter weekend, I found a great rate at the same hotel I had stayed at in November. We packed up our car and hit the road on Thursday night for a nice long weekend. Here's the report.

Disney 2014

The main characters: Me, a slightly manic and completely Disney-obsessed mom of two; my husband, who tolerates and maybe even enjoys my love for the parks; my 9 year old son, who loves baseball and pokemon; and my six year old daughter, who loves princesses and trying to burp the alphabet. Guest starring: my mom, recovering from a horrible foot injury and the ensuing surgeries, who still complained less about her feet hurting than I did.

Here we all are

The latest trip and topic of my inaugural post is our recent trip to Disney World in Orlando, FL. It was the fifth trip together for most of us, fourth for my daughter. When I was growing up, we did a few trips as well - I think a total of five between ages 5 and 15. So, my kids are way ahead of where I was at their age.

This trip was the longest that I have ever done - nine nights and ten days. The excitement leading up to the trip was almost as fun as the trip itself. Being a bit type A, I spent a lot of time reading, planning, and thinking about what we hoped to do on our trip. It definitely paid off, IMHO. I am usually playing the role of tour guide - no one else really pays much attention to things like scheduling fast passes, booking dining reservations, or even just the best way to get around the parks.