Beginnings of a Spring Break Post

We had the most fantastic (and fantastically needed) spring break! It came after a grueling few weeks where Brad studied from 5:30 am until 10 or 11 pm every day. Yuck! I'm VERY grateful for his diligence in school, but it was not fun to be alone all that time. Needless to say, we were both super burned out and in need of a little vacation.

Brad's parents were not going to be able to use their time share week, so they graciously offered it to us. We looked for anything within a 10-hour radius that looked nice and had two bedrooms. We found our match in Williamsburg, VA. Neither of us had spent much time hoping to go to Williamsburg before, but it turned out to be so fun.

We left on Friday afternoon after Brad finished his test. We made it as far as Gettysburg that night. James, who generally falls asleep at the drop of the hat in the car, cried for the last 2 hours of the drive. But we all made it. We didn't do the Gettysburg sites because we were rushing to see our good friends who are doing medical school in Bethesda. We caught up with them for the morning and it was a pure delight. Every time we get together, I wish that we were next door neighbors instead of 7 hours away. We just hung out, went to a park, and had some lunch, but it was great. We loved seeing them! Here's hoping they get in the mood to do some Church history sites.

We spent the afternoon in DC. We found a great parking spot on the mall and made the most of our meter time. We showed the kids the Natural History museum. They loved it. I can't help but think every time I'm in a Smithsonian how amazing it is that we have these wonderful museums that are absolutely free to the public. What a great gift! I really want to walk by the White House because I never remember doing that before. It thrilled me - I heard the West Wing theme in my head the whole time. I desperately wanted to catch a glimpse of the Obamas, but they proved illusive. We made a quick stop by Fords theater, and then headed further south.

And I mean THE South. Probably the most fascinating thing for me about this trip was that everywhere we went in Virginia, there was a strong sense that this was the South and that they were Virginians first and foremost. Get ready for some good stories coming your way when I finally get around to blogging about the rest of our trip.

(Funny note about this picture: I am not in it because the lady that took a picture of the four of us forgot to include the White House in the picture. The bars are lovely, but really?)