A Jam-Packed Day in our Nation's Capital

For anyone who has been patiently waiting for DC adventures/Part 2, I’m sorry for the wait and here goes!  Last Thursday was our only full day in DC.  With just one full day to bask in the glory of our nation’s capital, we naturally decided to cram in as much as humanly possible.  It started something like this:  Look Kids, Big Ben, Parliament!

Recall that great scene from European Vacation with Chevy Chase where they drive in circles for hours.  Well, that was us -- just replace Big Ben and Parliament with the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial and you'll have a pretty good sense of how we spent most of Thursday morning.  It was almost lunchtime by the time we found a parking spot but dammit, we would not be deterred.  We were going to get up close to those memorials no matter how many other overwhelmed tourists were in our path.  We loaded the triplets in strollers, loaded our bag with snacks, unloaded everyone from the car and were on our way.

“Big tower!  BIG tower!”  That was the triplet’s assessment of the Washington monument.  You may call it an obelisk and that would also be true but, from the perspective of a trio of two year olds, it is indeed a big tower.  As for Lincoln’s memorial, well, I think Ciara put it best – “we saw this chair that was GINORMOUS!!!!!!”.  Yep.  Never mind that big guy sitting in it and all that he accomplished, that chair is huge!

Children enjoying/escaping Lincoln Memorial

Children agreeably posing on Lincoln Memorial, artfully framed with Washington Monument in background (& sun in eyes!)

After trotting our tribe to and fro among the monuments, we did what any right-minded parents would do.  We took them to The Irish Times, one of the nation’s “top 10 Irish pubs” for lunch.  At 2:30.  Which I mention to illustrate that we were clearly WAY off our typical schedule and, I think even a two year old would need to be famished to truly enjoy the food at The Irish Times.  From what I can tell – and Des confirms – they pour a perfect point of Guinness but, while I enjoyed the Frito Pie I had for lunch (this is true!  Frito Pie!  Essentially nachos on Fritos – an indulgence that can and should only be enjoyed on rare occasions.  Like lunch with your five kids in a bar!), it was not exactly a culinary inspiration.

Proud papa with his pride o f Lyons Cubs outside National Landmark

With the pub-lunch behind us, we headed to our next destination – The National Zoo.  We did our best to drive by the White House en route so we could cross another Tourist Top 10 off our list but, I gotta say, they make it pretty hard to do a drive by of the President’s house.  I’m thinking this must be deliberate. 



We arrived at the zoo at 4:00 -- about two hours after our own little “Cubs” usually go down for a nap and two hours before it closes.  Time was of the essence and we needed to prioritize.  Those famous pandas were at the top of the list, followed by lions, tigers, elephants and gorillas.  Of the two pandas we saw, one was sleeping (leaving a skeptical Liam to wonder “are you SURE it’s not a stuffed animal Mom?”) and one was enjoying a stick of bamboo.  On his back, on a cement floor, behind a thick pane of glass, looking slightly tranquilized.  You just couldn’t feel good about those pandas.  

(only way to feel good about the pandas: photo op!)

By 5:30, we were eager to leave the zoo behind.  We were tired, thristy, cranky and in general agreement that as zoos go, well, we wish this wasn’t the “National” zoo. It just doesn’t represent the best our country has to offer in terms of caged animals given that so many of them were sleeping, missing or having their “houses” reconstructed!  That said, I will be forever grateful to the "Big 'Rilla, ate poo!" since this fun catch phrase sums up the kids fondest memory of DC.  I'm even more grateful that this neat little view into the dining habits of our gorilla friends wasn't captured on film.  I'm quite sure you are too!

It was 6:30 when we got back to the hotel.  While dinner, baths and bed would have been the sensible progression of events, we added in an evening swim (what was the point of a hotel with a pool if you’re not going to use it?!) and, get this, another pub!  Please don’t call child protective services – we just went out to meet one of Des’ pals for a beer so they could recall their glory days in DC almost two decades ago.  We had a drink, the kids had ice cream and we were all home by 10:00.  And asleep at 10:01, dreaming of our jam-packed day and what tomorrow might bring… more monuments?  Museums?  Stay tuned to find out…

An Impromptu Visit to DC: 5 kids, 2 days and no notice: Part 1

Last week was Spring Break in our school district and many others.  For our family, this meant that we had a "bored" first-grader and a pre-schooler with "nothing to do" whining from morning 'til night while Mom and Dad tried to get some work done while explaining that we too would like to "go to Hawaii like EVERYONE else" but it just couldn't be done.   "Why?  Why can't we go to Hawaii? or Florida?  or even Washington D.C.?!  There are THREE kids in my class going to see the Washington Monument and we NEVER get to go ANYWHERE!"  we were told. More than once.  Which started the wheels turning.  Hawaii and Florida were clearly out of the question but why not D.C we wondered?  

And so it was that we spent last Monday and Tuesday night searching online for a place to stay.  Trust me when I tell you that finding affordable accommodations for a family of seven during a week that encompassed not only Spring Break but Passover and Easter as well was no easy task.  But, always up for a challenge, we decided to give it the old college try.  I have to admit, at one point it was looking pretty grim and I made a reservation for a night in Conshohocken, PA, which is about 20 minutes outside of Philly, and 20 minutes away from Villanova, my alma mater... back in those days, we called it Consho'Rockin! (cool, huh?!) due to some fun frat houses that were expelled to the outer limits of campus life.  Somehow I was never able to convince the rest of the Lyons Den that the Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross House were more alluring than the Lincoln Memorial and Air & Space Museum so, despite my most rational appeal ("But it's only a four hour round trip vs. a TEN hour round trip for 48 hours away!!!!!), we ended up driving south toward our nation's capital.  The events unfolded something like this...

• Tuesday: 4PM:  My boss approves my request to take Thurs/Friday off
• Wednesday: 2PM:  My Consho'Rockin dreams are dashed as Des confirms reservation for the Marriott Residence Inn in Old Town, Alexandria -- about 5 miles outside of DC
• Wednesday: 4:30PM:  I arrive home from work.  I don't know if I'm sweating due to a panic attack or the packing frenzy that follows.  I am anal.  I am not spontaneous.  This trip defies the logic I live by:  plan, prepare, make a list and check it twice. There is not time for this.  I shove things in bags, kids in the car, and before I know it, we're on our way.
• Wednesday:  5:15:  Our car pulls off our street.  In less time than it takes to prep for church on Sunday, we're headed away for 48 hours.  I'm officially frightened.  And still sweating.
• Wednesday: 5:16:  The back seat requests for meal service and entertainment begin.  We are literally on Main Street in our town.  It's going to be a long ride.
• Wednesday: 7:16:  We are in traffic on the New Jersey turnpike.  I am still sweating.  I realize it is because I never got the AC in the car fixed at the end of last summer and the outside temperature has reached 81. I can't help but think "if we were going to Consho'Rockin, we'd be there by now!"
• Wednesday: 9:45PM:  We arrive at the Residence Inn.  It is good.  Although, much to my dismay, after i just spent almost five hours straddling the back two rows of the minivan disseminating goldfish, PB&J, juice boxes, grapes, cheese & crackers and fruit snacks, the kids are asking for dinner. Seriously.  Despite the temperate AC in our well appointed room, I start to sweat. Again.
• Wednesday: 10:30 PM:  Kids are tucked in.  Des appears with a Corona.  Or, as I called it that night, dinner!  Even without a lime, it was stellar.  We settled in, exhaled, and passed out.  Vacation had begun.

Without days of planning and packing and prepping, we had somehow arrived in D.C.  I started to think that maybe I've been spending too much time sweating the small stuff. Or perhaps just simply sweating!  Stay tuned to see what the next two days brought and some key takeaways from our impromptu getaway.  Thus far, that old college try was well worth the effort and proved that if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish pretty much anything... including a last minute trip with five kids six and under during a peak travel week!

President's Day: Roadtrip & friendship

What did you do this weekend?  It's a perfectly natural question, especially on the heels of a long weekend.  Around here, it's school vacation week, so many folks are away for the duration... off skiing or to Florida or some other sunny destination.  As for us, we had the good fortune to visit friends in Boston... which seems to evoke a fair amount of awe from most folks.  I'm pretty sure they're not stunned to discover that we actually have friends (I'd like to think that we're a fairly affable bunch!) but rather, that we packed up five kids six and under for a four hour car ride for a three day weekend; I think it's our sheer numbers that send most folks into a tailspin.

But this trip was an easy one.  In fact, it's the lightest I've packed since long before Kevin, Declan and Cormac arrived on the scene.  A typical weekend away relies on the following checklist:

• One Swagger Wagon packed to the gills
• Two strollers -- either two doubles or a double and a single, depending on our destination and available cargo space
• Three pack & plays (with sheets) and three portable high chairs
• Four DVDs (At least -- our passengers have grown accustomed to "in-flight entertainment")
• Five kids (a frequent head count ensures they're all present and no one gets left "home alone")
• Six varieties of snacks (to ensure that "in-flight service" can be maintained from our front door to arrival at our destination and account for potential traffic jams)
• Seven water bottles -- one for each of us. Yes, even Mom and Dad get to drink water!

The list goes on and on... diapers and wipes, blankies and "wawas", books and games and on occasion, even Finn, the family pet, who weighs in at 90 pounds and likes to travel with a stuffed dog as big as he is. 

But this past weekend was different.  We didn't bring the highchairs -- at almost 2 1/2, we figured the triplets could get by without them for a few nights.  We didn't bring the pack & plays -- our friends borrowed them (and had them assembled awaiting our arrival!).  We didn't bring two strollers -- we knew we could borrow one if we needed it.  And, we left Finn with Aunt Fiona for the weekend, which really freed up some room in the minivan!

All we packed was our bags... which were admittedly overflowing over with onesies, pull-ups, pjs, jackets, boots, Liam's entire baseball collection and more than a fair share of Ciara's "babies"... but, even so, this was nothing given what we're accustomed to.  What might typically be ten trips to and fro with tots and bags was reduced to just a handful.  This past President's Weekend, we were treated like royalty and couldn't be more grateful to our friends and their extended family for taking us in. 

We arrived in the midst of a violent thunderstorm -- which, in the middle of February in the Northeast is not only unusual but just didn't feel like a good omen!  Alas, all worked out in the end though -- for us, anyway.  I swear that our kids finished off at least a gallon of milk, several boxes of cereal, several dozen chicken nuggets, a couple of pizzas, pancakes galore and pasta aplenty.  While the thunderstorm subsided, we left a torando of crumbs and toys in our wake.  We didn't even pack away those pack & plays! 

I guess I'm not stirring up a lot of positive PR for the Lyons Den as houseguests but ,that's not the point.  The point is that we are truly blessed to have friends who lighten our load both literally and figuratively.  And, friends who against all odds have offered to have us back again.  I have to say, I'm looking forward to a return trip and Aud, if you're reading this, next time I'll do my best to remember to pack socks and a coat!  Needless to say, I left these crucial items off my own packing list and was lucky enough to borrow them... because hey, that's what friends are for right?  May we always be so lucky!