13 Things to Do with Kids in DC

I know it has been a while since my last update.. I have been busy planning our Spring break trip to DC. It has been overwhelming with all the information... What to do, where to stay, where to eat. Well, I think I have done all I can and finalize our plan. Here are a few things we plan to do during our trip.

1) Tour Capitol Hill - This has to be done in advance. We called our senator and requested tickets for the tour. We also did the same for White House tour but unfortunately we didn't get the tickets. Apparently, we picked the busies week to go there. It will be the Cherry Blossom week in DC.

2) National Museum of Natural History - There are so many museums in DC that it can be the case of too many choices. So I narrow it down to a few museums that will be more interesting for Miss J and Mr. Z. Nothing will beat seeing a big Dinosaur and other types of fossil.

3) National Museum of American History - Miss J has learned so much as a first grader. I hope that she will enjoy checking out this museum

4) National Zoo - We love animals especially if we don't have to take care of them ourselves. :)

5) National Air and Space Museum - I admit I think I'm as excited or even more so to check out this museum than my kids

6) Old Post Office Tower - A lot of reviews mentioned that this is much better place to view than Washington Monument. Plus great place to have quick lunch.. hmmm.. someone mentions food?

7) Union Station - I think Mr. Z will be happy with this choice. Can't miss Union Station when you have train obessessed kid.

8) Cherry Blossom Lantern Walk - One of the perk about visiting DC during Cherry Blossom week is variety of activities available. I'm looking forward to night tour.

9) DC By Foot - I have read about this free tour guide (tip only). I can't wait to check them out. They will provide the tour for the monuments..

10) White House Visitor Center - Eventhough we didn't get the ticket to the White House, a visitor center will provide plenty of information for us to get started.

11) Arlington National Cemetery - If we have enough energy left, I would love to see the change of guard at the Arlington. It will be a great tribute for the fallens.

12) Rent Paddle boat at Tidal Basin - And if we have energy left from all above activities, it will be a fun afternoon to rent a paddle boat at the Tidal Basin

13) Visit Old Town Alexandria - We will be staying in Crystal City which is only 1 stop from Old Town Alexandria. It will be neat to go check this old town out one evening.

These are just things that I have planned for our 5 days visit. I didn't realize how many things we can do in DC. Maybe we might need the revisit trip in the future as well.

Weekend in Gatlinburg

This past weekend, we had a short weekend trip with a group of our friends up the Great Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg. It started from a quick conversation of 'would it be nice to go skiing and stay at a cabin'... The next thing we knew we were packing for our weekend trip up the mountain.

We stayed at the Vista Hermosa Manor in Sevierville, TN. It's about 15 minutes drive to Gatlinburg.. The cabin is top notch with all the amenities we can think of. The kids had a blast running around in the basement and watched movie in the theatre room. The adults enjoyed the view out in the wrap around patio and big dinning table.

The next morning, we headed to Ober Gatlinburg for snow tubing. Ok.. It was 70 degrees but they did have snow.. Where else can you go snow tubing in t-shirt and sweats like a pig! It was the end of the season so it wasn't that busy. I lost count how many times we went up and down that slide.. But by the end of the day, I was wiped out!

On the way down, I took Miss J and Mr. Z on the Aerial Tramway down the mountain. It was nice seeing the whole town from the bird's eyes view. The ride was short but memorable.

The last day in Gatlinburg, we didn't get to spend a lot of time there. Since we now knew that we would have to drive through the Smokey via the curvy road, we want to make sure we get through that part before dark. So we just had a couple quick stops in town. First, we headed to the Track in Pigeon Forge. It was a cool go-kart ride for the whole family. I rode with Miss J and Mr. Rojo rode with Mr. Z. The ride went up and down the wooden track which makes it so cool and so much fun. It took a while to convince Mr. Z to leave... Oh.. We even got discount by merely mentioned that we saw coupons for buy 2 get 1 free and she just gave us the discount without the coupon itself. Nice!!!

Then we headed downtown Gatlinburg for another stop for Miss J - Ripley's Guinness World Records. It just happened that Miss J just checked out the Guinness Book from her library last week. So it's something that she was really excited to see things from the book come to life. It wasn't something I will write home about but for her it was really great experience..

After a quick stop to KFC for our lunch on the go, we headed out of town.. Bye bye.. Gatlinburg and see you soon.

The drive home was as much fun as the experience in town itself. We stoped at a few lookout to take pictures and check out the gorgeous view of the Smokey. I couldn't imagine how much nicer it will be in Fall. We just have to come back and find out, huh? :)

All in all, we truly enjoyed our small trip there. We already think about next year. :)

Where Have I Been?

That's a million dollar question, isn't it?

Well, I'm still kicking and living here in the C-Town. :) But I just have been too busy reading. That's right my friends.. I read for a change instead of tuning to the TV.

It all started when I picked up Twilight book and can't stop since..

Well, we have been busy planning a few trips as well. So I promise to update as soon as I can put my books down.

So far we have several trips in the work.

- Last minute ski trip to Gatlinburg
- Spring break trip to DC
- Maybe.. Disney trip to Mr. Rojo's Birthday

Till then...

The 2008 Review

Ah.. The year end review.. I don't like to look back in the past but rather focus in the future. But there is one thing that I don't mind looking back often. I love to review our travel trips from the past to relive the fun and treasure all the memories we have created with all those trips.

At the beginning of 2008, I have made a list of Top 10 Weekend Trips that we could do from our homebase in Atlanta.. How did I do..

We did take a trip to Helen for our anniversary. It wasn't the romantic getaway that we were planning for but nonetheless it was the fun family trip that my kids are still talking about.

Then in September, we took a day trip to Chattanooga for the fun full day at the Creative Discovery Children Museum and Tennessee Aquarium.

And to celebrate my birthday in October, we went to Destin for a few days.. Oh!! This will be one of my annual trip as long as we can afford it. The beaches are gorgeous.

So we managed to check off 3 out of 10 from our list. Not too bad. In between, we also went to the Carribean on Carnival cruise. It's yet another one of our favorite vacation type. I already start planning for the next cruise.

I can't wait to start planning for 2009 trips.. So far, one is already in progress.. Stay tune for our next adventure.

The American Girl Bistro

This Christmas Miss J got a brand new American Girl doll. Ok.. I know.. I know.. American Girl doll is a bit (maybe a lot) expensive doll. For $90 per doll, it seems kind of excessive for a 7 years old girl. However, I love their concept of the girl with character. I really like how they tie history to a doll character with books. Maybe it's my childhood dream to own one that push to get the American girl doll for Miss J this Christmas. I can't be sure..

So a couple days ago we took her to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro for a night out with her new friend. It was so cute. She got matching outfits from Grandma and Grandpa. Her new friend had her own chair.. The bistro is nicely decorated with the modern style in there. It was very nice atmosphere. The menu is pretty much straight forward. The price is fixed per person.. At $14.50 per person, I think it's way too expensive. But I guess most of the time, it's for special occasion.. With that you gets the choice of one appetizer and one meal. The food is pretty decent but small in size. I guess they don't expect girls to eat much. After the meal, she got to stroll around the store and checked out all other accessories. Now she just has to save up her money for those if she wants any.. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!!

I was planning to write up this long post about how proud I am of myself to celebrate my first Blogniversary. But I just don't have it in me today to do so..

So to me, Happy 1st Blog-niversary. I have enjoyed my journey and met several new friends. I hope this year journey will be more fun and greater than last year.