Trip to NYC and DC

E. asked me if he could go to New York City for his birthday.  I said, "Sure, why not!"  The only caveat was that he would have to wait until school was out to go.  That is what started this family vacation.  A couple of weeks later, R. told me all the things he learned in school about the Lincoln Memorial and the White House.  He then asked me if we could go there one day so I said, "Sure, how about this summer?" 

We had plans to go to Florida for the summer, but decided to take a road trip to New York instead.  We, as a family mapped out all the major landmarks we wanted to stop and visit.  We are definitely not shy when it comes to driving long distances, but this one would definitely be the longest drive we ever made with all four kids.

My hubby and I drove 26 hours straight.  Yes, straight!  It ended up taking us 27 hours to reach NYC because we needed to get an oil change along the way.  What's a trip without an oil change right?  We did make it though.  Our hotel was a block away from Grand Central station making it so convenient to go anywhere.

We took a ferry to see New York along the water.

 

Can you spot the Statue of Liberty?

Here's a closer picture.

A little bit of the city.

 

One of the days we were in NYC, they had a fair along the street.  It was great seeing all the vendors.

 

A. just had to have his roasted corn.

 

 

We went up the Empire State Building.  The sites were amazing from above.

One of the kids favorite places, which they certainly put on their "to go" list was Nintendo World at Rockefeller Center.

 

After visiting Time Square, Battery Park, China Town, and all the other major attractions, we headed to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell.  We tried Philly Steak Sandwiches at Pat's.  Sad to say that we were not impressed.

We then headed towards Washington D.C.  After driving hours in the rain, it was nice to see the sun out.

 

We walked passed the capital on our way to dinner.

 

We stayed only a block from the Smithsonian Museums which was perfect.  Even though the Metro was downstairs from our hotel, we didn't even need it.

 

We visited nearly all the museums.  One of my favorites was the Butterfly garden at the National Museum of Natural History.  

They landed right on you and wouldn't fly away.

 

We saw the White House.  If I'd plan the vacation 4 months prior, we could have requested tickets to go inside.  That's what happens when you do everything last minute!

 

The National Monument was under construction.  There was a scaffold all around the building due to an earthquake creating some damage.

 

We went to the capitol while it was pouring outside.  We snapped a picture a few moments after the rain had subsided.  That's probably why there were no other person insight (except for the lady in the black dress in the back).  Everyone was hiding from the rain.

 

One of the favorites for our kids was the Postal Museum.  No one ever thinks to go there, but after visiting Union Station, I wanted to check it out.  It was a great Children's museum.  Since everything was interactive, the kids had a blast.

 

They scanned and sorted mail.

 

Look at all the different kinds of mail boxes around the world.

 

The grand finale was visiting the Lincoln Memorial.  This is what R. came to see.  

 

The trip ended with a big bang!  We camped out on the capital lawn to watch the fireworks.

 

I've seen fireworks in D.C. three times now and it never ceases to amaze me.  

 

The best part of the evening was NOT having to take the metro home.  We walked a block back to our hotel, ending our perfect evening.

 

We saw and did so many things and when I ask my kids what their favorite part of the vacation was, everyone said the fireworks!  After driving another 23 hours home, my husband and I suggested to the kids that perhaps our next family vacation could be a little closer to home :)

Sea World Sleepover

For Spring Break, we decided to take the kids to Sea World for a sleepover.  We've been to Sea World a dozen times, but this time we would be going to the Sea World Camp and spending the night.  I looked online everywhere to find out what really happens during the Sleepover to better prepare, but there were no details on their site.  During the camp, I discovered that Sea World does not disclose what goes on during their camp because each sleepover is different.

Therefore, I thought I would take you on our Sleepover adventure at Sea World.  A little over a month before our sleepover date, we submitted all the necessary health forms and paid for our tickets.  Each adventure can include 1 day pass, an over night stay, a behind the scenes tour and a parking pass (it really just depends on what you want).  Typically, a camper arrives at 5:00 in the evening to check-in, stays overnight, goes on a behind the scenes tour (around the park before it even opens), and then can enjoy the rest of the day at Sea World with the day pass.

Since our sleepover was a Saturday night, and we were headed back to town on Sunday, we did things a little out of sync.

We used our day pass the day before the sleepover.  This turned out to be a great idea because we were there all day.

 

We watched all the shows.

Played paper, rock, scissors while we waited in line.

Paper beats rock Dad!

We rode rides (well, I didn't ride any since I am a big wimp).

Kids ate A LOT of cotton candy.

We had a great time.  The next day, we arrived for Sea World Camp.

Each person received a matching t-shirt and water bottle.  This was an excellent thing because as it got dark, it was a lot easier to keep track of all the kids.

We learned about the animals.

Got to see a momma nurse her baby.

We smiled at a Sea Lion...

And one smiled back....

We walked a lot.  A. even held the tour guides hand the whole time which is quite abnormal for him.

We got private seating at a show.  A. stood up and waved so that we could be noticed.

So he was noticed and landed on the big screen!

We watched Shamu jump.

After the show, we went in the back to see the belugas and dolphins.

Then we sat out front and learned about them some more.

We went to the penguin cave and discovered all the many kinds.

We made special ID bracelets like the ones they have on the penguins.

Afterwards, we headed to our camp in the Shark tank.

It was absolutely beautiful to sleep among them.

Since it was close to midnight at this point, we were beat tired...at least I was.

The kids were out in no time.

The next morning, we woke up at 6.  We got to see the Coral tanks.

They were amazing.  

As was the shark tank.  I couldn't believe how big it was.

It was so nice to view them from above.

We walked through a lot of different spaces...looks like a kitchen?

Which reminds me that we need to eat breakfast.

A. asked his pal Jonathan if he could take a picture with him because he was his new favorite person.  My hubby and I were pretty much non-existent during the camp (which was great!).

After breakfast, we walked through the park.  It was still dark so all the lights were on.

We got to the dolphin feeding area where they were so happy to greet us.

This was my FAVORITE part of the trip.  We got to hang with them for 45 minutes!  It was just our little group..no crowds, just us..which made it quiet...and perfect.

 

We didn't have food just yet for them, but the came to the surface and allowed us to pet them just the same.

That or they demanded a high five!

 The fish finally arrived!  A. was SO careful to not drop his fish.

They certainly opened their mouths for food.

So we fed them and had fun doing it.

After we washed up, we walked behind Sea World to see the stingray breeding tank.  The babies were SO cute.

Each person also was able to take home a stingray tooth.  A. is using his stingray tooth to make a mustache.

We saw so many dolphin tanks.  Who knew there were so many animals behind the park.

We saw the shark breeding tank as well.

We were also able to pet a baby shark.

After our tour, we sat down to learn all about sharks.

Our camp concluded with a mustached smile picture.  Oh, and you can say thanks to A. for that.  He wouldn't pose any other way, so they made everyone do it. :)

We had such a great time and would probably do it again.  The day before when we were at the park on our own, my kiddos complained of being too tired to walk.  During the camp, I heard NO complaints.  A. was more than happy to sprint ahead just so he could walk next to the tour guide.  The tour guides were fabulous and they held all my kids' attention the entire time.  That in itself was worth the trip.  I would have to say it was so much fun.  If you ever get the opportunity to go on a Sea World Sleepover, take it.  I promise you won't regret it.