Updates

Last month we took a trip to DC/VA for DH's job. He had to delivery some food for the DC commissary so his boss offered to put us up in a hotel for the night. We jumped on the opportunity for a free trip to DC :).
We stayed in a hotel in VA, and the 2nd day of our trip we went to George Washington's Mt. Vernon estate. It is huge! It was also hot, but we had a really good time. Such a beautiful place, and very educational. We all learned a few things abt. the first president.

His house (above) was restored to it's original look. It is a pretty big house with a wonderful view of the Potomac river.  The tour took us through his house as a group, it was enjoyable.  We have plans on going back when school is in session next year. Less people and the weather will be cooler.
We also went to the National Zoo for a little bit the first day.        
The kids and I love the zoo, and this is a big zoo, for free! We are able to view all of the animals closer than at the BX zoo, so we try to go every time we go to DC.

The giant star fish and the bio luminescent jelly fish are always a favorite.  These pics are from our second trip to DC in a 3 week period. This time DH had a series of meetings so we tagged along again. Did I mention that he has a wonderful boss! The company put us up in a hotel again, which was not the greatest experience for the price they charged. Since DH had to work both days he dropped us off at the zoo again, this time for about 4 hours, then we took a walk around the neighborhood outside the zoo. Got some lunch, explored the train station. The escalators are something else! We went down about 3 stories!
As always we found a library and went in to do some reading while we waited for him to pick us up.

The giant Panda was sleeping so this was the best shot, we did get to see it walking around later on in the day but it was a little too far to get good pics. The baby gorilla as well as the adult gorillas were out for feeding/playing time. My son took this pic, while I had A on my shoulders for a better look. They are one of her favorite animals.

   The giant Pacific Octopus is my favorite animal to look at. It is amazing and fast!  I am always amazed by the variety of animals that are alive, how different but remarkable they all are.  
Our second day the kids and I took the metro train to DC. It was abt. a 30 min ride, mostly underground, but still really nice. I got a better understanding of how tourists must feel when coming to NYC for the 1st time. It is all so confusing, crowded and fast paced. But once you do it a few times you get the hang of it. :)
The train fares in DC are based on how far you are traveling, a 2 stop trip will cost you any where from $1.25 to 1.80 depending on the time of your trip. (Rush hour times are more)    
It cost us $24 round trip!  They do offer monthly unlimited cards for $230. Not sure if I will be doing any more complaining on how expensive it is to ride the subways here in NYC!
We went to one of the Smithsonian museums that are free in the heart of DC. The Air and Space museum. it had AC :), which was a welcomed thing seeing as it was in the mid 90's the second day! We got to see a lot of interesting things and learn a few things about the way things fly.  A favorite was seeing Amelia Earhart's plane that she accomplished 2 of her record flights in.  It was a great trip, and all in all we spent about $150, for dinner, the train and lunch. Can't beat that. :)