DC Birthdays n' Mother's Day Vacation

My parents visited me here in Maryland last Wednesday for mother's day, my dad's birthday (May 11), and for my birthday (May 15)! This was the first time my mom had ever been on a commercial airline and the furthest she's ever traveled from Utah. She was all anxious about potential motion sickness, the cabin pressure, and so on, but ended up sleeping the entire way. All went well and they arrived safe n' sound!

This past week has been so.much.refreshing.fun. Vacation time with my parents is a rarity, and I almost didn't think it would be possible to get them out here. But it was, and it happened. We have been on a few road trips near Utah together, but never further than California. And right now I have this incredibly unique opportunity to live in Maryland, which makes it the most affordable time for my cute parents to experience DC and this humid, foresty wonderland.

Seriously. The trip took my parents from the usual arid world we're used to in Utah:

To this:

My cute parents at Mount Vernon.

Yeah. There's a bit of a difference.

Overall, I'd never witnessed my mom trek around so much. On day one, she spent over three hours conquering the National Museum of Crime & Punishment.

Ted Bundy's car at the Crime Museum.

Uh oh, my mom got arrested at the Crime Musem!

Hey, Utah made it into the Crime Museum!

My mom learning all about forensics!

The guy in the center really, really looks like my Uncle Blaine.

By day two, her shoes weren't cutting it and she was getting toe blisters. But after we grabbed her a cheap pair of sneakers, nothing could stop her! She trekked and trekked, and then trekked some more. To more museums and street markets and restaurants. To anywhere and everywhere DC has to offer.

Bats!

So much greeeen at Mount Vernon.

The White House was a DC necessity.

Uh oh, my dad found the cosmic ray plaque.

We did take a trip to Virginia to witness Mount Vernon, the plantation home of George Washington (which is "just" 500 of the 69,605 acres he owned by the time he died. WHAT?). This was a necessity, given that the whole plantation thing never made it to the ol' wild west that is Utah. And honestly, it was bizarre. Fascinating, but bizarre. We made sure to go on the slave tour, which was really good. Of course, the guide was extremely careful as I'm guessing it's a potentially explosive topic. She did mention Oney Judge, but nothing about George Washington signing the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act. I should note here that Drunk History did an episode about Oney Judge that may have been a more accurate portrayal of George Washington than 96.4% of what I saw at Mount Vernon.

Overall, this week was so much fun and I can't wait to be reunited with my amazing family again this August.