Washington DC

Q was selected to participate in a research and policy forum at Georgetown University this month. Thanks to the excellent timing of my mom's trip here, Baby G and I were able to join him while leaving the other two kids in excellent hands. We did some sight-seeing and shopping, but my favorite part was simply laying around on the hotel bed while reading a book. That's right, I READ A WHOLE BOOK! It was fabulous. Baby G was at the perfect age to be my traveling buddy. He was content to roll around smiling next to me on the bed, be carried in the wrap or sling as I wandered, sleep whenever and wherever, and be so low-maintenance on the planes, train, bus, and metros. There must not be many babies in the DC area, because everywhere I went we were being stopped by people commenting on Baby G -- a bus driver even jumped off their bus to comment on how sweet he looked. It's true.

2 DC Suggestions:

1. Bring walking shoes -- I always forget how much walking there is to do between sights and to metro stops. I was VERY grateful that I didn't have 2 kids dragging behind me -- I was having a hard enough time convincing myself that I could make it a little farther.

2. Sign up EARLY if you want to see the White House. That was the one touristy thing that I really wanted to do. Who knew that you have to go through your Congressperson 6 months to 30 days in advance?

We were also able to have dinner and stroll around the Georgetown neighborhood with a good PoliSci friend of Q. Tom was delightful and made a great impression -- especially because he was so enamored by our sweet baby.

The final stop on our trip was to see Karene. The last time I visited her it was on the opposite coast, so it was fun to see them settled in their new home with their brand new baby girl. We had a fun date-night with some incredible Indian food (any suggestions for the Columbus area?). This was the only shot we got (as we were racing to catch a bus thanks to a DC Temple pile-up of at least 7 cars).

I came back feeling rejuvenated after a great week. I did feel a little guilty for leaving my mom without a stove or oven (a 5 de Mayo casualty), but she and the kids survived and had a great time with us out of their hair. Thanks Mom!!!