Master Ring Goes to Washington

Saturday, Owen and I had our first Baby-Parent swim class at the Y. It was lots of fun to dance and sing, splash, play on a foam float and jump off, slide in from the side, and crawl through a floating tunnel with all the other babies. Right after our class, the whole family hopped into the car and headed to Washington to visit our friends, Tracy and Ben.
Owen really loved the train ride into the city. He wanted to stand and walk as the train was moving, but no one wanted to chase him. It was much better than a car trip as we headed into an arts festival at the Kennedy Center. He enjoyed the touch and learn about musical instruments area, playing drums, (mostly enjoyed) watching some Chinese puppet theatre, a really great clown, and meeting the Kennedy Center Cat, Mosby. He was also pleased to announce each take-off and landing of a "plane" at nearby Reagan National Airport. Back at Ben and Tracy's apartment, Owen was a little less successful at befriending their real cat, Honeydew, although he did make more headway than I did.
Sunday we went on the "loud," "train, train, train" to the National Mall and saw a Jim Henson's Muppet exhibit including Kermit, Ernie, and Bert at the Smithsonian's International Gallery. Then we headed for the Air and Space Museum to see some real planes REALLY close. Owen enjoyed going through a plane and using the unmanned aircraft controls (which didn't seem to actually be working - no worries! - Owen didn't even notice).














Dear, tired little fellow that he was, he fell asleep nursing in the sling part of the way through outer space.














After lunch and a walk through the Native American museum, we headed down the Mall where we rested our aching feet in the fountain at the National Sculpture Gardens before looking at the "bones," animals, and other interesting things at the Natural History museum. Then, we had one last train trip back and dinner and had to say goodbye to Ben, Tracy, and Honeydew. It was a really fun weekend, and Owen slept great after all the travel and adventure!