A memorable vacation is not measured by where you go, but by who you are with. Back in January and February when we normally would have been renting a house for summer vacation, our children's schedules were tentative. As a consequence, we planned a home-bound holiday.
To insure the days together would be fun, we researched age-appropriate activities--catering to the one-year-old, two-year-old, and three-year-old.
It all began by renting a van to pick up our daughter in Bethesda (Her husband joined us later.) and our other daughter's family who flew in from the midwest to the Baltimore-Washington Airport. We ate lunch at our favorite haunt on Federal Hill.
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| Regi's American Bistro, 1002 Light Street, Baltimore, MD |
Then, the men took Will to the National Aquarium located on the Baltimore harbor.
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| http://www.jtwebs.net |
Meanwhile, the ladies toured Patrick Sutton's interior design studio which is just a stone's throw from the aquarium.
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| http://patricksutton.com |
Later that evening, our son and family arrived from Virginia.
The next day, although temperatures topped 100 degrees, the preschoolers' excitement for Dutch Wonderland wasn't dampened.
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| The plume ride provided a bit of relief from the sun. |
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| Two honeys in a honey bee. |
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| Three-year-olds like driving heavy equipment. |
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| Two-year-olds do too. |
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| One-year-olds, the same. |
After that sauna the next day, we purchased seats in the Strasburg Railroad pullman car which is air conditioned!
We made time for a visit with the great grandparents.
Of course, Gigi had a present-a-day for each child to open.
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| "Boys may like balls, but girls like Madeline," Caroline said as she opened her present. :) |
To minimize the number of times I had to set the table for eleven people, we had a meal prepared by a Haitian lady with whom Bill works. Another day, we ordered sandwiches-to-go from Isaacs just down the road from the railroad. And, on Sunday, we ate brunch at the Cork and Cap Restaurant.
My conclusion after the stay-cation experiment: A trip to a far-away place is exciting, but a few days at home with the family is priceless.
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Isn't it amazing how easy it is to think we have to "go" somewhere when we live at a destination all its own? This sounds like a lovely time. The children certainly seemed to have a great time. I see a resemblance to you in Caroline. So cute!!
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