Week 10- Arlington, VA (This time for real)

Hello Family and Friends,

Our return to Arlington started off a little rocky start. We returned to the same hotel we were in the first time we were in Arlington, because it was a true long stay hotel. It has a full fridge and kitchen, laundry on site, storage for clothes and a great snack bar. It even has a hotel restaurant, which most long stay hotels don't have. Yes, Brett did get sick at this hotel the first night because we were in a room without air conditioning, but once they moved our rooms, we were all good. We planned to start with a room with air conditioning this time. Well it is now a little bit warmer in the DMV, 85 degrees fahrenheit, and the air conditioning was not keeping up. We were there for about five hours where we waited to see if the room would cool on it's own; waited for maintenance because the room was not cooling; waited an hour after maintenance overrode the system and reduced the temperature to see if the room would cool; waited for the front desk to change rooms because the room was still not cooling; and then come to find out that the air-conditions blows at a constant 72 degrees fahrenheit and there is no individual room control. Brett needs to sleep at 68 degrees fahrenheit at the highest. At 8pm we moved to a new hotel. Brett was super pumped because we got to try out a new hotel chain. We have now stayed at Hilton, Marriott and now Hyatt. I figure by the end of this trip we will have stayed at every major hotel brand there is in this country. I'm really trying to get Brett not to apply for a credit card for all of them no matter how many points we can earn (too late).

Speaking of warmer weather we have started to trade our winter sweaters for some summer shorts. I put shorts on Atlas for the first time since he was a baby and he was so confused as to why they didn't cover his knees. He tried to pull them down past his knees. I just laughed out loud!

Brett also turned another year older back in his hometown. The day started off with an unexpected return to the doctors office for Atlas' cast. You see, the night before Brett's birthday, I accidentally pulled Atlas cast off. He was not very happy with me as his cast offers him a lot of security and comfort. Atlas never sits still, but while I was at CVS to get more material to wrap his hand, Brett told me he sat still on the bed for the full 45 min. We got Atlas' hand all wrapped up again, but the doctor wanted to see us right away. So instead if waking up and going to breakfast for Brett's birthday, we went to the orthopedic clinic. I did make it up to him. We saw a play, Shear Madness, at the Kennedy Center. It is an interactive whodunit and the longest running non-musical play in US history. We then followed that up with dinner at the historic Watergate Hotel. It was really great to be able to celebrate another year of my life with my favorite man in his favorite place.

Brett and I at the Kennedy Center before seeing Shear Madness

Brett at dinner with his birthday dessert.

A beautiful blueberry cheesecake served at the Watergate Hotel.

We capped our week off with a visit to the laundromat (mom, I finally did my own laundry). Atlas was very helpful with the laundry as always. He also enjoyed pushing around the laundry cart.

Atlas is very serious about his laundry cart duties.

For all of Atlas hard work at the laundromat, we rewarded him with a trip to The Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus, The Greatest Show on Earth (Brett memorized and made me type the full name). Remember I told you that Atlas will not sit still except for when his injured thumb is exposed, well, we found another thing that fully captured Atlas' attention, the circus! He may not have sat the entire 2 hour performance, but he was fully engaged. Brett and I were so pleased by how much he was enjoying the performance.

Atlas forgetting to eat his nacho chip and fully engaged in the circus!

Some circus performers casually jumping rope while in a 3 level pyramid.

Balancing on a chair while also balancing on a tightrope.

Atlas yelled "FIRE!" during this performance.

There are no more animals at the circus, but there is a dancing robot dog.

Of course, the best part of the circus are not capturable on a camera. If you ever get the chance to see the circus, even as an adult, I highly recommend it. As far as children, it is great that real life can still completely capture their attention.

Me and my clown hat. I tried to share with Atlas, but...

...he hated it!

Since we are still in the DMV area, Brett and Atlas decided to enjoy more Cherry Blossom festivities. They went to see fireworks! I stayed at the hotel and had a great time. Bruce and I had quiet and were able to read, uninterrupted. Best night yet!

As for North Arlington as a place to live, It is spectacular! It is almost perfectly what I am looking for. There is this one area where a highly rated school is located a block away from this super cute neighborhood. The neighborhood has a variety of homes. Some are big and some are small, but all are well taken care off. The neighborhood is super quiet with nice little yards. However, a block away is food and stuff: Whole Foods, Lifetime Fitness, Vietnamese, Indian, Chipotle, Cava and Tatte. I mean, everything is just right here. Although, I did tell Brett that I rated it as an 8/10 for the vibe. It didn't get a 10, because even though it has everything in a very good way, it is a little sterile. It's still has that very much DC/political feel; not a lot of soul.

Next week we will still be in the DMV, but on the Maryland side; we head to Bethesda.