Family Field Trip: DC Aquarium edition

Lately, I've been wanting to pull my hair out because I'm sick to death of going to the same crappy playground in my neighborhood and same walking trail. I am fairly certain Henry feels the same way. I also feel like we don't do enough cool things as a family. We go shopping. If we get really crazy, we go to Petsmart. If only there were something a family could do together in the DC area... oh, wait.

Now, I've lived in the DC Metro area for 17 years, and I can count the monuments, museums, and attractions I've been to on two hands. Barely. Unless you count bars, and then I don't have enough appendages. I wanted to go somewhere that none of us had been to, which was quite easy for Henry and I, but not for Ryan since he's lived here since first grade and his mom was an elementary school teacher and educational trips were a monthly event. And then it hit me: the Aquarium!

The DC National Aquarium pales in comparison to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, which seems a bit misleading if you ask me. However, I was not looking for a day long event. We needed to be able to go and be back in under three hours. It would take three hours just to go through the Aquarium in Baltimore, so the DC aquarium was perfect.

Also perfect? Henry loves trains and this was his first trip on the metro!

No tears on this trip! It took a little longer, and Ryan insisted on Cloroxing everything and Wet Wiping Henry every 10 minutes, but it was totally worth it!

When we got there, Henry was a wild man. The size of the DC aquarium was perfect for just letting him run loose. Of course, Mr. Marine Biologist Daddy decided to teach Henry what each tank contained.

Henry looking at the electric eel. 

A stingray. Watch out for that tail! 

All in all, it was a great first family field trip. I'm going to make a concerted effort to do cool stuff with the family and, you know. Get around this city I live so close to.