Mission Trip: Ranger in Austin

Recap by Ranger, "I got on a bus and we drove about 4 hours to get to a small church in Austin, Texas where we stayed. That night we figured out our mission trip groups and where we were serving. I was in a group with a volunteer named Devon as the leader. We served in an old people home called New Hope all week. Some things we did was help decorate for 4th of July, talked with the residents during meals, setup and ran activities for the residents, and helped keep the gardens they have in shape."

It sounds like they had a great trip! They stayed at Twin Lakes Fellowship Church in Cedar Park, TX and they had a fun evening on Tuesday at Austin's Park which Ranger said was really fun. Sounds like the group got along pretty well and I enjoyed seeing some videos of their Lip Sync Battle where Ranger and some other boys "sang" Parked By The Lake by Dean Summerwind. 

I was especially proud of JR because he had to leave for the trip on Sunday around noon right after we got back late Saturday night from our East Coast trip. He did this quick turnaround with a positive attitude. Thanks for serving others JR! We love you.

Day 9: One final full day and heading home

The kids did a great job getting ready to go on Saturday. We made it just in time to wait in a LONG time into the White House for an 11:30 tour. It was our first hot day, but the kids did really help, and it helped that a nice lady in line behind us shared her chocolate chip cookies. It is still pretty amazing that they open the white house up to the public. We had to go through 3 different security checkpoints and it did feel organized, but still, it is the White House! We walked through a long, greenhouse style hallway that was part of gardens designed by Jackie Kennedy. We saw multiple parlor-style rooms with color themes - the green room, blue room, and red room. We also saw the dining room and then walked out the front steps. 

As we were leaving, there was a lot of commotion and secret service starting to block off streets. We waited on the street outside the White House for about 20 minutes and got to see the President leave the White House in his Presidential Motorcade. It was like a parade! So many motorcycles, vans, suburbans, etc. We even saw the President wave! We told the kids Dad organized that just for them.

After the White House, we drove to Mount Vernon. I loved getting to show the kids all the different little houses and places that it took to run a big plantation back then. Kitchens, blacksmith, laundry, sewing room, guest quarters, stables, etc. It is very well run, probably because it is privately owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. They bought the property in 1853, I believe from some of George Washington's nephews. 

We went straight to the airport for an evening flight and Big John picked us up at the airport. Travel went smoothly and we were all glad to get home and have a buffer day to regroup before work and regular life started again on Monday.

Another epic Walsh adventure complete!

Day 8: I am fading + Capitol Tour

I didn't start out strong on Friday and it didn't get all that much better throughout the day. Grant had gotten us tickets to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum which is the only current Smithsonian museum that requires tickets. I know it is an awesome museum, but I woke up with a headache and wasn't feeling good overall. I got up and helped with breakfast and then dropped off Grant and the kids right in front of the museum. While I think they liked the curbside service, I know they wished I would have come with them. I do not regret my decision. I went back to the hotel, took a long shower, rested for a bit, and had some more coffee. I needed a break. The kids teased me when I picked them back up and said, "This was the BEST morning EVER!!!"

I went and picked them back up in front of the museum and we drove a super short distance and then parked for our Capitol Tour. Grant had worked with our senator, Beth Van Duyne, to arrange a personal tour with one of her interns. It was actually the interns' first tour of the summer! She was super nice and Grant shared a lot of facts with her from his time interning at the Capitol in Dick Army's office. 

After the Capitol, we tried to make it to the final shuttle at 4pm at Arlington National Cemetery to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We missed the shuttle by about 3 minutes. Grant did the walk, but the kids and I only walked a short way, browsed the museum, and then headed back to the hotel. Grant was disappointed that we didn't make the walk to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At the hotel, I took the boys to swim and there was a young man teaching all the boys at the pool how to do different jumps and splashes and the boys loved it. I read my book and the boys swam for about 3 hours. 

We walked to dinner at a local crepe place and then crashed for the night. Check-out day tomorrow!

Day 7: Hello DC!

Grant went to his firm meeting in the morning and the kids and I ate breakfast at the hotel and took it a bit slower. We took a Lyft and met him at Ford's Theater for a 2pm tour. The tour was really good and included a basement level museum all about Lincoln and then also entrance to the boarding house across the street where he actually died the next morning. The park ranger who did the talk in the theater was really good and informative. 

After Ford's Theater, we were not exactly sure what we wanted to do so we looked at what was near us and we were able to easily walk to the Smithsonian American History Museum. We stayed there exploring until it closed and then took another Lyft to Purple Patch, a Filipino restaurant in Mt. Pleasant, to have dinner with Tasha, Evan, and Rory. The food was delicious and we had a wonderful time catching up. Grant even sent a really fun "then and now" photo of the 4 of us together from dinner and from their wedding almost 18 years ago!

We rallied for a night walking tour of the monuments in the rain. It was more drizzly than rainy and we saw MLK, Eisenhower, and Lincoln. We wanted to see Jefferson too, but the kids and I were getting a little tired. Colton really enjoyed seeing a mom and baby dukes swimming in the Capitol Reflecting Pool. I was proud that the kids recognized the significance of the boulders at the MLK museum and how he led the walk in "making a way" for others.

Day 6: Philadelphia Highlights

We enjoyed breakfast at the Home2Suites and then had to rush a bit to make it to our noon tour at Independence Hall. We actually didn't make it to the noon tour, but they let us join the 12:20 tour so it was no problem. After Independence Hall, we saw the Liberty Bell, toured the Mint, and then went to Betsy Ross' house. 

Grant then went and got the rental car and we loaded up our stowed luggage from the hotel. The kids and I snacked and browsed at the Reading Terminal Market while Grant went to his Philadelphia Office meeting. We then met Grant and his local partners at ElMei at 6:15pm for dinner and then the Chinese Latern Festival. The kids did great, even though they didn't love the food. It was delish though! It was a drizzly evening, but the Chinese Latern Festival in Franklin Park was still so beautiful. We stayed until about 9:30pm and then started the drive to DC. 

Grant did a great job driving and we rolled into DC around 1am-ish. We all crashed at the Embassy Suites George Town and slept great.

Day 5: Good-bye New York, Hello Philadelpia

We were able to sleep in until 10ish on Tuesday which felt good to all of us. We had a small hustle to get packed up and ready and then headed to Penn Station where Grant had lunch with his New York partners and the kids and I camped out at the train station for about an hour reading, watching netflix and resting. Ranger even made a bit of a fort in the train station. Our train was a bit delayed, but went smoothly once we finally got going. We all got a snack in the dining car and Colton really enjoyed the train ride. 

In Philadelphia, we Ubered to the hotel, got settled, and then headed out for an evening ghost tour! We picked up some chicken on the way because I was hangry, but once I ate and hydrated, I rallied. The ghost tour was fun and we learned all about the ghost of Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, and others. Colton thought it was interesting that the tour guide said there is an indent in the bed in Betsy Ross' house where she sits at night. He insisted we visit her house the next day and there was an indent! Spooky!

We walked back to the hotel after the ghost tour, but not before stopping for some rolled ice cream. It really was good!

Day 4: Central Park Zoo, Summit, Blue Man Group

Monday morning we slept in and then rode the Subway to Central Park Zoo. It was another beautiful day. The kids enjoyed seeing the musical coo-coo clock (specifically the Hippos, according to Ranger) and the bears were really active which was fun. We also saw little red pandas resting in a nest. 

We strolled through Central Park just a little bit and the boys climbed some of the big rocks. After the zoo we went straight Grand Central Station where Ranger remembered the "ninja" scene from John Wick that was filmed there. That put us right next door to One Vanderbilt where we did the Summit experience. All the kids thought the room with the big silver balls was fun. The views were spectacular, which we were grateful for since just a week ago New York was covered in orange smoke from fires in Canada. 

After Summit, we got Joe's pizza, had a short break in the hotel room, and then went to Blue Man Group. Cadie wasn't very impressed with the Blue Man Group nonsense, but the boys thought it was fun. Both boys liked the toilet-papering at the end. Grant even did a surprise encore in the hotel room afterwards and threw toilet paper around the kids room! Grant and I made a quick dinner stop at O'Donoghue's again and it was just as good on night two! We were all pretty tired so we went to bed a bit earlier on Monday evening and we were all asleep by 11ish.

Day 3: Happy Father's Day!

We got to celebrate Grant with a view of Lady Liberty during a harbor cruise, waffles in Bryant Park, and 3 Broadway shows! Grant did some late-night tour booking and woke us all up at 9:30am for a 10:30am Harbor Cruise departure. We were all pretty groggy, but we hustled since it was Father's Day. The weather was perfect and I was glad we went. After the Harbor Cruise, we walked back to Bryant Park for waffles. Ranger said they might have been the best waffles he has ever had.

We went back to the hotel, cleaned up a little bit and then parted ways - boys and girls. Cadie and I went to Six together at 2pm while Grant, Ranger, and Colton went to Aladdin at 3pm. I traded with Grant at intermission so he and Cadie could then go to Moulin Rouge at 5pm. The adult version of a roller coaster baby swap! I enjoyed seeing the second half of Aladin which included the flying carpet scene. After Aladdin, I took the boys to Madam Tussaud's where we saw all the famous people. Even Ranger had fun taking pics with celebrities.

Grant surprised Ranger with a visit to the real-life Hotel Continental from John Wick. We got there just as the sun was setting and got a few good pics. We had planned to go to a restaurant near there, but a number of places were closed since it was Sunday and the place we had thought would be good ended up being super expensive and without good options for the kids. A burger was $47! So we changed plans, went back to Times Square, got Five Guys burgers for the kids, and then Grant and I went exploring to find some decent food for ourselves. We stumbled upon an Irish pub called O'Donogue's and it was absolutely delicious! Lots of beers and a great cider on tap, Chef's specials that were so fresh, and warm apple berry a la mode for dessert. We had snacked during the day, but didn't have a real lunch so that made it extra yummy because we were so hungry. Plus, after a few days of 100% togetherness, I think we were all glad for a few moments where the kids could rest and chill in the hotel room and Grant and I could have some time alone.

Here is my Facebook Father's Day post in honor of Father's Day, "Happy Father's Day Grant Walsh! One of the perks of being married to GW is that he is the most amazing travel planner. Perfectly located hotels, curated itineraries, picture perfect selfies - he does it all and the kids and I just show up and have the best time. So how fun is it that we are in New York celebrating Father's Day with Lady Liberty, Broadway shows and waffles in Bryant Park. We love you GW!"