The Independence Day report

On Saturday, the Fourth of July, we went down the road to see the festivities at Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington, our first president of the United States.

They had a band concert in front of the home, followed by daytime fireworks overlooking the Potomac river. My husband encouraged the children to sit down in front of the standing crowd so they could see better. After the brief sky smoke display, the crowds parted to reveal only two of our three children. Every parents worst nightmare commenced.

Thankfully, after tracking down a security guard and showing him a picture I'd just taken with my iPhone, he located another security guard who had found our child. Unfortunately, we were not the only parents to experienced child separation episodes. There was another family frantically searching for one of their sons at the same time, and when we left with our child, safely in tow, calls for this boy were still being made. I'm quickly starting to see the upside to child leashes.

We promptly went home and ordered I.D. bracelets (and necklaces) for the kids. Though a GPS tracking device is looking very tempting too.

Then, gluten for more punishment, we ventured out again to the metro, so we could see the National Fireworks on the Capital Mall. I didn't want to go, but my husband felt I could just stay home if I was too tired, I decided it would be better if I went since he was so set on going with or without me. Thanks to my Brother/ Sister-in-law we were able to slip into a nice spot, and enjoyed a couple hour wait till the big display, which started just as my husband had to usher two children to the port-a-potty, lucky man!

Once that was over, we waited a couple more hours for the crowd to die down enough so we could make our way back to the metro station. The metro is probably easily maneuvered by many folks. However, it's an absolutely terrifying place to go with children. It's certainly easier with more adult hand to hold, and less crowd to content with.

And I must also mention it's a lot more expensive for our family to ride the metro then to drive or own car. It cost us $30 to get to the mall that night. But a couple weeks ago it hardly cost $10 to drive down there to visit the Smithsonian ($4 parking, $2 or less in gas...). So, while the public transportation might still be a very valid form for an individual...I'm not convinced of it's a superior mode for families. And I feel our minivan is very efficient because I can transport far more people for less money, in less time too! My daughter also pointed out that the train didn't have any seat belts...or child safety seats. Which was the same argument I always had against school buses when I was a kid.