The flight was long! From Salt Lake we flew to Chicago and my mom caught the same connecting flight from Chicago to Washington D.C. All in all the kids did really well and enjoyed looking out the window at all the clouds.
We got in that evening and went to visit my Grandfather at the rehabilitation center. It was so nice to see him and my Grandmother. McKenna was a little worried about his roommate most of the time but we finally got her to stop peeking through the curtain at him.
The next day my mom, uncle, Dave, McKenna, Reeve, and I went to Baltimore to go to my favorite pizza place. We decided to take the little foot ferry that runs on the Inner Harbor. There is this one point when you are on the boat and pass a sugar factory and you can even taste the sugar in the air. We loved being in a city that had so much history and beautiful architecture. (I loved eating my favorite BOP Pizza.)
Later that day we were able to go and see my Grandpa again. McKenna had warmed up to the rehabilitation center by this time.
The next day was D.C. I had been there once before but Dave hadn’t and we saw a ton (even with two kids).
We started out at The Washington Monument.
The Smithsonian of Natural History (which was McKenna's favorite.)
The White House (where we actually saw the President walking his dog!)
The reflection pool between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial (where Marine One even passed by.)
The Lincoln Memorial
The Vietnam Memorial Wall
It was so amazing to see some of these beautiful monuments for the first time. Just to stand in places that history has and is being made is kind of surreal.
The next day was Salisbury Day! I really mean it. We went to Salisbury, MD. It was really fun to see our last name all over everything… Salisbury Fire Dept., Salisbury Police Dept. We went to Salisbury University and bought a bunch of sweatshirts, t-shirts, and so on.
After we left we headed for Ocean City. Dave had never been to a real east coast beach. It was supposed to rain that day but it turned out to be beautiful. McKenna and Reeve loved digging in the sand just playing outside.
They had these really cool toys made of wood there for all the kids to climb on. Between the beach and the toys I don’t think McKenna ever wanted to leave.
One awesome thing Dave and I loved was the Firefighter Memorial they had there on the beach. They even had a portion of a T-beam from the World Trade Center. It was amazing and emotional to touch this piece of metal. To know how many had been lost that day. It’s hard to describe but both Dave and I felt how amazing it was to be able to see and touch it. We of course topped it off with some ice cream and headed back. It was a wonderful Salisbury family day!
The next day my Aunt Debbie had a big BBQ at her house and all my aunts and uncles and their families were able to make it out. Why this of all days I forgot to take pictures I don’t know. (I kick myself all the time for forgetting!) It was so wonderful to spend time with all of them. My cousins are all teenagers now which was a huge shock for me. The last time I had seen them they were all little kids. It was so hard to remember to talk to them like adults. It was one of my favorite days there and I am so thankful that we were all able to be together.
The following day we went out to see my Uncle Leo and his family. Rui (my uncle’s wife) made us the best lunch ever. McKenna was especially attached to Anna (my uncle’s step-daughter). She loved following her everywhere she went and is still so excited to wear some of the clothes that Anna gave her.
That night we were even able to go and see a family that Dave had grown up with when they lived in Hawaii. It was hilarious to hear some of the stories about Dave when he was growing up.
Our last full day there we decided to take the kids to the Baltimore Aquarium. They had such a blast looking at all the fish and sharks. We even went and watched the dolphin show.
When we got home we decided to go see my Grandfather. It was nice to spend time with him and my Grandmother. They are such amazing people and I love them so very much. I am so glad that McKenna and Reeve were able to see and be around them. My Grandfather even played the piano for us, one-handed and all.
The day we left we had some time before our flight came in so we decided to go to Arlington Cemetery. By this time the cameras battery had run out (and I of course forgot to charge it) so we have no pictures. Needless to say it was such an amazing place of reverence and peace. To physically see all those that had given their lives for our country just made me feel so grateful. Next to the cemetery is Pentagon and we drove around it and saw the portion where the plane had flown into it. Just seeing that image even after it has been mostly fixed was still very emotional.
This was an amazing trip that I'll never forget. It was full of fun, history, adventure, but best of all family.
