Dino’s and Blossoms

Harper’s preschool teacher informed me that the dinosaur exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in DC was closing at the end of April for renovations so we decided to make a stop there since we were already downtown. The dinosaur exhibit is scheduled to be closed until 2019, and I figured that would be soon enough to visit the dinosaurs again! :)

After checking out the dinosaurs for a bit we went outside to find lunch. We decided to just get food right outside the Smithsonian because Dakota was about to start chewing her arm off. It was like a picnic disaster in a comic book or something. A bird crapped on Harper’s fruit cup, thankfully before we’d opened it, Dakota would NOT sit and eat, drinks were spilled, food was dropped, and stains were made. It wasn’t pretty. But, despite it all, we finished and then started our long trek to the Tidal Basin.

In all my life I have never seen crowds like there were yesterday, with the exception of the trip we took to New York City a few years ago. We were like cattle crossing the streets, and moving along the sidewalks. We were being herded towards the water and trees and there was no escaping; we couldn't have turned around and gone back if we’d wanted to.

Crossing the roads was a huge challenge since there were 8 of us trying to stay together. We had the big double stroller with us too and I think that helped because people couldn’t get right in front of us but had to maneuver around the stroller. The crossing guards really had their jobs cut out for them all day long getting people to move! move! move! across the streets. Once we made across the streets to the water area, we had to go under a chain to get down to the sidewalk. My lord was that a challenge with the two littles and the stroller. But, we made it down and pushed our way through and up to the railing to see those beautiful trees…and, it was worth it.

It was just as crazy and hectic getting away from the Tidal Basin as it was to get to it, but we made it out of there alive. It had been as much fun as we could stand, so we headed towards the Metro to get home. We went where we always go only to find out that they were only letting people exit the Metro from that set of stairs…so, we headed to the other set of stairs and THE PEOPLE!! There were just hoards of people trying to get down to the trains. It was maddening. We made it down to the platform and when the train pulled up I was positive we weren’t going to get seats, but somehow, we did. It was just mind boggling to see so many people crammed onto the trains and the platforms. There was literally nowhere to go but with the flow.

We made it back home, safe and sound and dead tired…and I think we’ll go back about the same time the new dinosaur exhibit opens.