Since an 8-month-old baby might put a crimp in any big travel plans next summer, Gabriel and I treated ourselves to a one-year-early 5 year anniversary trip in July. Jonah and Manny were graciously hosted by Pop-Pop and Gangee in Michigan, which was a lot of fun for them and a nice break for two young parents. Even if we did miss the kids, I'm confident that driving 1600 miles in 7 days with them would've made our trip into nothing that remotely resembled a vacation. While the boys enjoyed pony and tractor rides, a trip to the zoo with Grandma Camille and Auntie Angie, a beach trip and a visit with their cousins, Gabriel and I embarked on a rather patriotic-themed journey to Gettysburg, Washington, D.C. and Monticello before our return to Chicago.
Gettysburg: A audio tape-guided driving tour with took us over four hours. While there was more to do in Gettysburg, we lacked both time and energy. The audio tour was more than enough, though, and gave us a great perspective on the battlesite.
If I remember correctly, there are something like 2,000 monuments around the battlefield, marking the armies' positions during the battle and sites where men were killed; others have been erected as memorials to people, states and army divisions (or battalions, or regiments, or whatever else have you). A Gettysburg fanatic could spend years walking thru the battlefield this way.
Our next stop was Washington, D.C., where we attended a friend's wedding. We stayed for a couple nights and days and so were able to do some site-seeing of our own, of which I actually have no real pictures. Here I am, though, standing in front of some trees in front of the White House. Just picture a panoramic shot with the White House far off to my left. Great, huh? This is supposed to be a picture of my pregnant belly, but the black dress is doing me a favor and minimizing it. I think that I'm past the point of "minimization" now.
One of the great things about D.C. is that all of the Smithsonian museums are free. Free! I went to the American Craft museum, where I saw this amazing sculpture. It's a clock covered in a sheet, but the sheet is carved of the same piece of mahogany(?) as the clock base. It was amazing. I couldn't believe that it wasn't a real sheet, even from six inches away. I was very tempted to ignore all the "Please do not touch" signage, but I managed to control my hands.
Gabe and I decided to have an adventure and save a little money by camping. It was a mild disaster, but I did manage to set the tent up almost all by myself, with a little help from Gabe. It stayed up all night. Moral of the story, though, is "Don't camp when 5 months pregnant, unless maybe you have an air mattress." Lesson learned!
If I had to pick a highlight of the trip, maybe I'd pick Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's plantation. The gardens and grounds are amazing, as is the house and all custom-made Jeffersonian peculiarities. Whatever his shortcomingss may have been, Jefferson clearly had an amazing mind to design and build Monticello, not to mention write the Declaration of Independence.
I didn't know that this is how artichokes grow!
Outside the house, after our tour.
The happy couple. After not-so-happily taking the wrong path and having to turn around and re-hike it to the right one, but who remembers that now? At least we're still smiling.
Many thanks to those who cared for our kids for us, so that we could have this Americana vacation!
Jonah has had Fuzz the blanket (shortened long ago from "Mr Fuzz") since he (unwillingly) gave up his paci at age 6 months. He used to jam as much Fuzz as possible into his mouth and suck on it; happily, that habit has been retired. Whiff the pup joined our family not terribly long ago, but he is Jonah's second comfort, after Fuzz.
