Washington, DC 2016

I dragged my family around the National Mall because I love DC so hard. They don't share these feelings, but too bad!

If you look carefully the Washington Monument is behind us!

Smithsonian Castle. See you later, Miranda.

We figured the National Museum of Natural History was the most kid-friendly, though we took them to the Air and Space Museum and the Portrait Gallery before. There was the most exciting development! After years of the dinosaur exhibit being closed- there were two dinosaurs on display again! There were also some other smaller fossils.

National Museum of Natural History NMNH

Whale!

Creatures camouflaged in coral

James looking a little worried about Tyrannosaurus

Three Irish peeps with Triceratops

Looking at mummies

Playing the bug information game

Holding a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach!

Fountain at National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

Moondog, by Tony Smith1964, 1998 – 1999, painted aluminum

Visiting Wendy and Clark Upstate 2013

We arrived Monday afternoon. First, let me show you what it looks like around Wendy and Clark's house. It kind of makes you wonder why the rest of us are doing everything wrong. Haha! No, really.

The forest all around their home

James making himself at home - notice the forest outside all the windows.

James taking notice of his two-day obsession, the record player

They live on the New York border close to the Berkshires in Massachusetts. So after some cheese and bread snacks, we drove into the small town of Stockton, MA to go for a walk and to give Jame some time at the playground.

James in Stockton, MA

Stockton playground with beautiful view of the mountains

Possibly the last roundabout in America- Kevin is trying to keep James from falling

Clark had work on Monday, but when he got home we had a delicious dinner Wendy made. James ate a little and then played on the dining room floor with some toys Wendy got him while the rest of us finished. After James got a bath in the deep bathroom sink and went to bed, we all retired to their studio. It's huge and filled with instruments and sound equipment. It was one of their main requirements for a house, and it's really impressive. And since they live in the woods, none of the neighbors can hear them practice. It's the perfect setup. We had a good time relaxing and talking.

Tuesday, James and I got up early and it was pretty chilly, so I grabbed my car-snuggie and put him inside it kangaroo-style. Haha. Clark took off from work so we could hang out all day, so mid-afternoon we set out for Great Barrington, MA which is also in the Berkshires. We did a little window shopping and got some ice cream at Blue Marble because we recognized the brand from Brooklyn.

James loves Great Barrington

Clark checking out some threads

 
Rock n' Roll

On the way to Great Barrington, we passed the Circle Museum in Austerlitz, NY, and I demanded we go on the way back and check it out. Again, I love this crazy stuff. (If it makes for a fun picture- pull over! I need to go to there!)

Wendy, James, Kevin, and me at the Circle Museum

The sculpture garden has a great view of the mountains

James is either looking in, or blowing the horn

Clark was the chef this evening. He made several delicious pizzas from scratch, and even got Kevin involved picking out all the toppings for one. We all ate tons more pizza than we needed because it was so tasty.We picnicked outside which we really enjoyed. Although James was pretty determined to go jump in the bog in their yard or at least break their grill,so Kevin had to run a lot of interference. Thank you for a lovely two days, Clark and Wendy! We love your new neighborhood. (Sorry we never visited you in the Bronx!)

Clark making awesome pizza from scratch

Kevin adding toppings to the pizza

Wendy opening some wine

He looks a little out of it but James loved the pizza and said yummy yummy while eating

Clark and Wendy had just returned from visiting Clark's father when we visited. Sadly, Clark's father passed away from cancer this week, very close to the anniversary of Wendy's mother passing. Our hearts are with Clark and his family: Wendy, his mother, and his sister.

Grandma Visits- August 2013

While Grandma was here for the weekend, we decided to go to the Nassau County Museum of Art. It's very small and a little underwhelming. There was a small amount of art inside an old mansion, but our favorite part was the small sculpture garden. James spent a lot of time with the 8-headed snake tree, and then running around picking sticks.

Beautiful grandma

Heading over to the snake tree "dragon"

What?

Hello, blog readers!

Kevin and James arriving at the museum

They're dancing

Playing with Dada and Grandma in the parking lot

On Sunday, Grandma suggested a trip to Ikea, and I'm always down for that. James struggled a little. First because he didn't want to stay in the shopping cart, and then because he didn't want to leave the kid's section. We did buy him this awesome tube though.

Playing at Ikea

Visiting Michele in Richmond, VA 2013

Kevin had a break from school last week so we took a little roadtrip to the South. We started by visiting Michele in Richmond. Michele moved back to Richmond in November, and along with her friend Susan is starting the Richmond Food Cooperative. If you live near Richmond in Virginia, you should check them out! And whether or not you live nearby you can buy their awesome shirts in support of the Coop. Anyway, we had such a good time visiting that I have the absurd problem of having too many good pictures to reasonably post in one entry.

James photo bomb in Maymont Park!

We arrived in the afternoon on Sunday. James was pretty good for the first 5 hours of the drive but then he wasn't so good for hours 6 and 7. Nonetheless, we were excited to make it from Long Island to Richmond in just 7 hours with just a few stops for sanity and food. When we got in, Michele suggested we take James to the park so that he could get some energy out after sitting in the car all day. She took us to Maymont Park, a big beautiful park with a children's zoo. We toured the whole thing and got some fresh vegetables for dinner from the vegetable garden volunteers. Michele's family was nice enough to invite us to dinner.

James loves Maymont Park

Tuesday we had lunch at a delicious sandwich shop called Chiocca's and got everything on our sandwiches from prosciutto to liverwurst and anchovies. Yum! James ate some of our sandwiches but he was mostly interested in stealing all of our potato chips and drinking out of a straw.

At Chiocca's enjoying some crazy sandwiches.

Potato chips make him thirsty.

We grabbed some coffee after lunch and then headed over to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Both the outside and the inside of the museum is lovely and impressive.

Michele and I outside the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

James is concerned that this giant lady is falling

Michele in the Eastern art section

Enjoying the interplay between the sculpture and the canvas

Tuesday night we had dinner at Michele's family's home again. Besides the company, my favorite part was the sweet tea vodkas with fresh mint from the garden Michele made each night.Yum! The weather was so nice the whole time we were there that it was very pleasant sitting outside, especially in the evening.

Sweet tea vodka on the porch. I could get used to Richmond!

Hanging out on the porch with Michele's brother and mother

Kevin used to visit one of his friends in Richmond all the time before we met, but I had never been out in Richmond before, so Kevin offered to stay in and watch James so that Michele and I could go out for drinks. I was thinking like the parody song "32" says,"It feels like one of those nights I'll have like one drink." But we went to a Cuban cigar bar and ordered mojitos and they gave me the biggest mojito I've ever seen, so really, one was plenty. 

Havana 59 Cigar Bar in Richmond

Wednesday, we finally went to Buz and Ned's. I have been dreaming about it basically since last time I went in 2006 or 2007. It held up to my expectations more or less since my BBQ roadtrip of 2012 dramatically increased my BBQ expectations. I would have liked it more saucy, but that was the only critique I had. The hush puppies, beans, and apples were divine. James strongly approved of every portion of the meal.

Kevin and I with scary portion of food at Buz and Ned's

Michele feeding James some beans

Group self-photo outside of Buz and Ned's- cute times 4!

At my suggestion we walked through the large famous Hollywood Cemetery. It's a little weird, but Kevin often checks out famous graves at cemeteries anyway, and I had my sights set on the pyramid I saw listed in the Richmond Wikipedia entry.

Pyramid to honor Confederate soldiers in the Hollywood Cemetery

After lots of exercise in the hilly cemetery, we went to Hardywood Brewery to cool off with some local beers. The main part of the brewery was closed for a law firm event. Figures. But the Brewery also had a large outside area with a farmers market. They provided some chalk as well, which was all James needed to be entertained for hours.

At Hardywood Brewery

James artistically expressing himself at the Farmer's Market

Finally, since I'd expressed an interest in getting a good view of the James River, Michele took us over to Libby Hill Park. James loved playing in the fountain until he was soaked. Water hoses and fountains are a huge passion of his.

Libby Hill Park fountain

Michele taking a photo of James who is about to use a stick to make a wish 

She made us a delicious dinner on Wednesday night. We left Thursday morning, but only because Michele was leaving for her brother Matthew's college graduation in Vermont. Otherwise, she might have had some trouble getting rid of us. We took her to the airport so that we could spend every last second with her, and we miss her already!