Mountains, museums and the very first Metro ride

Hey dad, let me take the wheel! I'm so happy to say that we've broken Odie in! He has been wonderful in the car for the past several days. Very, very few tears, lots of sleep and an overall feeling that peace has been restored during our car time!

Hotel buddies for life

After spending a few consecutive nights in hotels, we were incredibly happy to pull into Brevard, North Carolina where we were greeted by my dear friend Carolyn, on the doorsteps of her beautiful home. Perched on the mountainside and surrounded by nature, the home has been built over the past several years by her husband and it is truly a work of art. Carolyn is a friend of mine from when I attended Susquehanna University in '98-99. Another great friend from those years, Emily, lives only an hour away in Asheville. It was wonderful to catch up with them both and spend a few days in this remarkable part of the world.

Pisgah National Forest is the 'Land of Waterfalls'. Hiking with Carolyn (and Cale's trusty pirate flag)

Rooftop Patio at Carolyn's. Caleb's favourite place in the State. We had a Equinox party and bonfire up here one night. 

Father and son bonding time at the Asheville Pinball Museum. $7 for all you can play!

From North Carolina, we continued on through Tennessee and into Virginia on route to Washington, D.C. We knew Caleb would love seeing the national monuments and especially the wonderful Smithsonian museums. Most people may not be willing to take a 6 month old and a 5 year old into a big city for a day of viewing museum exhibits, but it was well worth the journey. Cale was ecstatic to ride on his first subway, and then he whole-heartedly absorbed as much as he could at both the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. He is such a sponge and now officially knows more than I do about outer space, rockets and satellites! 

Natural History Museum

Riding the Metro!

The thing I am enjoying most about our trip is the time we are spending together as a family of 4. This is our first chance to just be together for an extended period. Each day we have so much time to talk about things, laugh, play, cuddle and make memories that I will always treasure. I'll miss this feeling when we get back to our regular life next week.