Norfolk Naval base and Washington, D.C. begins

The boys awoke about 6.30 the next morning, so we were able to go for breakfast by 7.30.  The dining room was fairly small,but we were able to get enough food to make everyone happy.  We went back to the room and packed up, while I went back to the breakfast room to get  coffee.  It was really busy by now!

I had looked up in advance about doing a tour round Norfolk Naval Base.  We were there in plenty of time for the 10am tour.  These tours run year round, you can check here for times.  The naval base was erected in its current site after the Jamestown Exposition of 1907, though building did not begin until 1917.  The member of services leading our tour was very thorough, and knew her stuff. We were given so much info, I wish I could remember it all!  For a more thorough history check out the wikipedia page.

The tour lasted 50 minutes in total.  Here are 3 of the big aircraft carriers currently stationed there.  We were not allowed to take photos from right in front of them, but were ok to from a distance.  We are pretty sure that 2 of them were the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Harry S. Truman 

As I said earlier, Norfolk Naval base was originally the site of the Jamestown Exposition of 1907.  High ranking officials agreed it was the perfect spot to built a naval base.  The Jamestown Exposition commemorated 300 years since the founding of Jamestown.

There were many awesome houses to look at, if you look closely at the photos you can see which state they represent.  

There are many memorials around the base to commemorate servicemen and women who have lost their lives

All around the base there are helicopters and aircraft.  So awesome for the boys to see.  Below is a F14 tomcat, the Top Gun plane

The tour took about an hour.  It was really well narrated and lasted the right amount of time for the boys. Good value for money.

Then it was onwards and upwards to Washington, D.C. It was about 3 hours from Norfolk 

Out hotel was pretty central.

Seb was actually quite happy to be back in a cot

We took an afternoon swim on the rooftop pool.  It was soooooo hot!!!!!

Paul had found a famous restaurant to go to, The Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington's oldest saloon  so we walked over, passing the Washington Post on the way.  The boys were a bit taken aback by the old style printing press displayed outside.

Typically the place Paul had found was heaving busy, so we walked around in the blazing heat looking for somewhere else to eat.  A couple of blocks away we found MXDC - Cocina Mexicana.  I went in and asked if there were tables, luckily there were.  We were seated in the lower area of the restaurant.  MXDC is a Mexican restaurant specializing in Mexican food with a modern touch.  The place wasn't too busy, and the service very attentive.  Paul and I went with typical mexican beer, while we perused the menu.  We decided on the Kabra quesadillas for the boys.  These contained 3 different types of cheese, with a chili aioli which we asked for on the side, plus plenty of tortilla chips and dips.  I went with the Grilled Terres Major+, a 10oz steak with chipolte corn on cob and grilled avocado.  Paul also went with a steak, but after looking at the menu since being home, it is not on there anymore!!!

I must say, the food at MXDC was delicious, and although Isaac only ate the chips, the other boys finished theirs off.  It is always nice to go out to eat when the kids finish their meals!!! This is not the most family friendly restaurant, but I don't think the time of day helped that (it was about 6.30 when we went in).  It does not have a kids menu, but our server was happy to recommend food that was kid suitable.  

After dinner we took a walk around Washington.  The restaurant was about 10 minutes away from the Washington Monument and the White house.  

I was glad we were there midweek, when nothing was happening.  It was busy, but not a bust your balls, I can't move busy.  We were able to get good photos of the White House.

When we were at the pool in the afternoon, we had noticed this house from the roof. I don't know its historical nature, but it must mean something, as the building to the right was very new, and built around the old red brick house.  I know its the nations capital, so they are probably pretty hot on preservation, but is is nice to see it in action.

We headed back to the hotel, weary from our days adventure.  Day 2 of the holiday and we had seen one of the largest naval bases, driven to the nations capital, swam in a roof top pool, eaten at a very nice restaurant and seen the White House.

What will the next day bring????

The big trip is here!!!!

As the title suggests, we set off Tuesday morning.  We even managed to leave the house before 7.30!  The journey was pretty uneventful.  We traveled along I85 though Charlotte NC, and across the top of North Carolina, before crossing into Virginia.

We stopped for lunch at a McDonalds off I85 near South Hill Virginia.  Here is where Oliver broke his big burger virginity.  He had a quarter pounder deluxe meal, and pretty much ate the lot.

This is one of the most *special* McDonalds I have been in.  The air conditioning barely worked, there were flies everywhere, it smelled weird and had some thing growing near the drinks machine.  Not at all nice.

It has been very hot in the south east corner recently, and we saw our first 100 degrees Fahrenheit while heading to Norfolk.

We made it to the hotel about 3.30 and were able to check in to the Best Western Hotel and Suites.  I purposefully picked this hotel as it was right on the beach.  It was really nothing special, a room with a separate bedroom and a sleeper sofa, plus a kitchenette that lacked in crockery.  No matter, we gave the boys their kindles, and they played while we sorted out their beach stuff.  We got them dressed  for the beach and headed out.

The beach was lovely.  It sits at the bottom of Chesapeake Bay.  I don't know if this made a difference to the water temperature, or it was just the general heat, but the water was really warm, even for me!  Below is a picture of a plane flying very low over one part of our hotel

As I say, the water was really warm, and a consistent depth to quite far out, though we kept the boys relatively close.  They all had a great time splashing and playing.  We even saw some crabs!

Paul went out and got us Papa Johns pizza for dinner.  It worked perfectly.  He even had to pick up some plastic plates as the hotel too didn't have any.  This is a picture of the hotel.  Nothing special, but perfect for one night stop.  We didn't even go in the pool, it was a little busy, and the beach was great for a run around after a day in the car.

The kids went to bed a little later than usual, it is holiday after all!