Once upon a time...: Summer Fun

Washington DC

Summer started off in the fast lane for the O'Neal family. Devlin went to summer camp, then it was Alex's turn, 3 hours after she got home we (Alex, Devlin and I) took off for Washington DC.

My oh so awesome sister Christie drove us in her sleek black BMW, but let me tell you this was no ordinary Beamer. She is full of attitude and features, which only added to our experience on our long voyage. Let me explain...first of all my nephew DJ (cutest baseball player you ever saw) named the GPS system Gips. At first all was well, we would tell her where we wanted to go and she was very polite and told us the way. When it was time to fill up on gas, she was not pleased with us getting of the course she had chosen for us. She would calm down though when we she got her way. Our first stop was Montana, I know Montana is right next door but we did not get on the road until 3:30 on Saturday. Gips was still being pretty good at this point. Once we put in the final destination she was hot. Warning Restricted Area she would repeat. My sis lives on base and she didn't like it one bit. I must admit that overall I really did like her, her help out weighed her attitude.
Along with the GPS the Beamer had the bluetooth capabilities through the speaker system. Family would call just to entertain us along the way as we all could participate in the conversation (mostly mom and Aunt Kathy).

Alex, DJ, and Devlin walking out of the hotel in Montana.

Our next stop was Mt. Rushmore as requested by Alex. I was surprised at how smooth the faces were, they always seemed rough and jagged in pictures I had seen. The kids look like they just woke up, I guess that's what happen when you ride in a car all day.

Soon we were on our way again. Our road trip took us from Idaho to Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and then Virginia. Whew.

The Mississippi River.

While we were in Chicago we stopped for some world Famous Pizza Pie at Giorginos Pizza. This was a stop all for me as I wanted the kids to experience pizza like never before. I love their pizza...their city is a little scary tho.

"Gips" had helped us find the Pizza place so we had to re-enter destination. After hearing the warning... according to her calculations we could be at my sisters by 3 am. We were so excited to be so close we drove (okay I slept from time to time) all the way to DC. My sis drove through the night and into the morning. I had good intentions to stay awake the entire time with her...I did my best what can I say. Well Gips isn't as good as she thinks and cannot always predict sitting in traffic for hours so we arrived at 11am, only 8 hours later.

We enjoyed two days of pure DC. We walked from one place to the next and time flew by. My sister and nephew were so kind to press on, as I knew our days were short and we had to pack in as much as we could. Here are some pics of what we saw...

Alex, Devlin and I in front of the Washington Monument.

Alexandria striking a pose at the Archives of the United States of America.

My very animated, very fun sister and daughter Christie and Alex are checking out the gold bathrooms at the Archives.

A quote from FDR in DC. It touched me as I think about the next president and what a disgrace Bill Clinton was.

Gold Star Wall

A closer view of the Gold Star Wall. Each star on the wall represents 100 Americans who died during the war. There are 4,000 stars on the wall. At the base an inscription reads "Here We Mark the Price of Freedom"

WWII Memorial.

National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC

4th of July in front of the Washington Monument.

Alexandria isn't as excited as I am about Alexandria, Virginia.

On a whim we decided to go to the ocean, living near the Pacific Ocean, I thought it would be a great chance and experience to see the Atlantic. My sister's husband, Jeff, loaded up the 5th wheel and we were off to see the Atlantic Ocean.

Devlin and DJ playing in the ocean.

As our trip was winding down, we headed to Six Flags for some more fun. My sister Christie swooshed quickly down the ride with DJ and Devlin on the Tornado.

Below, my sis and I kinda tricked the kids into riding this very large roller coaster and yes I am a chicken and didn't go on it, but I don't want my kids to be.