Phew.  Just thinking about writing this post has me tired already after last week’s activities.  You see, we were not in town for a few days so, my blog fell silent until my return to normal existence.  Having fun is tiresome!

What did we do?  We took a girls road trip to Washington D.C. and Maryland.  For Christmas my husband and I decided to surprise our oldest with tickets to see her favorite singer, Taylor Swift.  She is an eight year old swiftie; my husband a 32-year-old one.  She was stoked but we had to wait six long months before our trip could even begin.

After a weekend of painting our entire kitchen we packed up our bags and headed out on our two-day vacation.

We drove up to Washington D.C. that morning in the chaos that can be 95 North (at least we stopped for ice cream). We were accompanied by my mother, Elsie, so she could have a mini vacation too!  After navigating through the city we made our first stop on our list, the zoo.  I would have preferred the air conditioning of the Natural History Museum, but it wasn’t my trip it was Caitlyn’s.

We got to see about half of the zoo before she was worn out from walking and shopping.  I think we may have spent more time in the gift shops looking for trinkets for her siblings than actually looking at the animals.  My favorite animal that we did get to see was the Maned Wolf.  It looked like a large fox, with extra big ears and thin deer like legs.  The two brothers we saw were at the D.C. zoo until they could find a mate and move to a different location.  Until then, they would enjoy hanging out in their sanctuary and eating fruits and veggies.  Next on the list, was the elephant who loved to swim and the panda who loved to roll down the hill.  All in all, it was worth the cost of parking to see a smile on Catie’s face.

We made our way to our hotel for dinner and to freshen up before the concert.  Catie was excited she was going to be able to ride in a cab for the first time.  She was disappointed to learn that Uber isn’t a yellow taxi, just someones everyday car.  Sorry kid.

Finally, the main event was upon us and after a 45 minute cab ride that should have taken eight minutes…we were ready.  We walked into Fedex Field excited for a great show.    It was loud, it was bright, it was full of fireworks and pyrotechnics!   She loved every minute of it while plugging her ears at the explosions and bass.  Taylor puts on a great show.  She sang so many songs we love and a few Catilyn had never heard because they are from Taylor’s earlier years.  She was impressed by the music and the dancing and the snakes!  We ate $12 pretzels and drank our $6  and snuck out two songs early to grab some merch and get the heck outta that parking lot before the masses.

When we got back to the hotel, we got to fill Grandma in on all the cool things she got to see and were still too excited to fall asleep.  Eventually she crashed and we listened to the rattling of the ac unit in the hotel room until early the next morning.

Next on our agenda was a drive to Annapolis, Maryland.  Caitlyn was actually born in this city as her dad worked at the Naval Academy.  She had requested, since we would be so close, to see where she was born.  This impressed me.  I feel like my daughter finally had taken an interest in what I love to do.  I love to learn about my history, my family’s history and more…

So, we drove her passed the house she lived in for her first month of life and passed the Naval Academy where her dad had worked and then we went down town to enjoy the views of the water and the beautiful houses that line the streets in the historic area.  I love Annapolis.  From the brick lined streets to the college campus that was established long ago.  It is a very pretty place to visit and has a ton of great restaurants and shopping down town.  Good ol’ Naptown didn’t disappoint.  We spent the morning strolling by the harbor and stopping in souvenir shops before enjoying lunch.

With my husband being in the military, we drove down highway 2 from Annapolis into southern Maryland.  We may be getting orders here soon and I wanted my mom to be able to see where her grand-babies would be if we go.  The drive was nice through rural cities with great big farm houses and rolling hills filled with rows of corn.  Finally, we made it Solomons and the bridge that carries us over the water towards Pax River.  It was a nice drive back into Virginia and the country as we made our way home.

Between the constant “Are we home yet?”, “I don’t want to be on the road any longer.” and “What accident in the tunnel?”, we safely returned and got to share our adventure with everyone who was waiting for us at home.

Girls vacations are the best vacations and making memories for my daughter to share with hers one day is what this life is all about.  Thanks for taking the time to read about our adventure.  There will be more to come!

A-