A week back from Washington DC now, I'm through my post-vacation work scramble for the most part. As usual, the week before and week after a trip completely nullify the rest benefits of the actual trip, which is why a real vacation needs three weeks: one to decompress and two to actually feel it.

The trip itself was a real marathon as well, though in the good "I choose this" way. Paula decided to take her spring break convention trip by herself, so Isabel and I decided to go to Washington to take in the sights. Paula was also there for the first three days of the seven. We took the bus & train down, which was pretty cool.

By marathon I mean "ten to five" solid walking & pushing. My calf muscles are still sore. We did the Aquarium the first day, the Natural History museum the second day, the Capitol the third, the Air/Space museum the fourth, a puppet show & the American History museum the fifth, the Mall & Tidal Basin & Washington Monument the sixth, and the Zoo & Lincoln Memorial the seventh. We stayed near the White House so several days we saw the front and back, along with the occasional helicopter and motorcade. Didn't have security clearances so couldn't get in.

Highlights for Isabel include the Spark Lab and Invention rooms in the American History museum. At one point I was trying to get her to leave and she started yelling, "I want to do science! I want to do science!", which was quite effective. I let her stay. She also really like the video rollercoaster thing in the basement. Dinosaurs and rocket ships were of course a hit, as was the Zoo.

Most of all though, she loved the DOZENS of little kids she met and played with all week. She played tickle tag for an hour in the aquarium, she held hands with a Peruvian boy from the Jefferson Memorial to the Washington Monument, she held hands with another boy on the way to the zoo, etc, etc. Isabel's got a real knack for bringing out the kid in kids. She can get a group having a good time in seconds, whether its on the subway or on the mall or in the Capitol cafeteria.