Going up north before winter is always a good idea. An even better idea is going in the fall when the colors are changing to visit family. Sean’s cousins Patrick and Ali live just outside of Washington, D.C. and had a baby boy less than a year ago that we had yet to meet. So off we went one sunny October weekend.
Our flight was delayed by a couple of hours so we got in late and didn’t get to meet Caleb until the next morning. Not only is he an adorable baby with awesome hair, he is the sweetest and most “go with the flow” tiny human I’ve ever encountered. I’m going to recount our day and start by saying that we were gone for over 12 hours with a baby who fussed maybe once and just napped a little here and there when he got tired. Incredible!
Caleb loved his “drunkle” Sean!
Patrick and Ali took us out to Northern Virginia to spend the day in the beautiful hills. We started at a farm that was having a fall festival complete with a corn maze, super slides and pumpkin cannons. Yes, you read that right. Pumpkin cannons. And yes, it was as fun as it sounds. 😉
After the farm, we went over to Cardamon Vineyards, a winery that Sean and I discovered on our trip to Northern Virginia last year for our friends’ wedding. The winery is very small and lovely – and unique. They make all sorts of different salsas to pair with their wines. Last year when we visited they were serving wine out of shed on their property, but on this visit we were sipping our vino in their new and beautiful tasting room. Perfection!
Patrick and Ali, not forgetting Sean’s love for beer, took us to Adroit Theory brewery which never does the same beer twice. Very interesting concept! We tried a few brews and then headed over to Leesburg so Patrick and Ali could catch some of the Michigan football game (Go Buckeyes!).
Downtown Leesburg was adorable – lots of quaint shops, cafes and restaurants and all walkable. We had dinner at The Wine Kitchen. We all had nice meals, but the standout for Sean and I was the many wine flights the restaurant offered. We all ended up with wine flights which made for a very fun experience and lots of different tastes. And Caleb had fun too – he ate so many vegetables. And mushrooms! I was impressed.
I feel asleep on the car ride home and was trying like crazy to stay up longer and visit when we got back to the house, but I went to bed soon after. Patrick and Sean stayed up late, catching up, playing board games and drinking good beer. So glad they had such a great time.
On Sunday morning, we went in to D.C., met up with Sean and Patrick’s other cousin Katie (so much family, I love it!) and had brunch at Ted’s Bulletin in Capitol Hill, a very busy, very tasty and very cool restaurant. They make their own poptarts! I haven’t had a poptart in years and loved my strawberry one with sprinkles. Yum!
After brunch we walked a few blocks to our next activity – an escape room with Escape Artist DC. I’d never heard of this before, but Patrick and Ali are big fans. The concept is that you (and a group of people) are put into a room where some kind of crime has been committed and there are clues throughout that lead to more clues. You have to solve the mystery in a certain amount of time. There is a leaderboard so there is incentive to get out as quickly as you can. You can ask for “hints” if you get stumped.
Our escape room theme was “Museum Gallery”. I’m pretty bad at solving puzzles, riddles, etc. but the others were really good at it and every person seemed to crack at least one clue to move us along. It was a good time!
Taking advantage of the gorgeous day, we walked over to Eastern Market after we successfully solved the case and “escaped” from the “Museum Gallery.” I’d never really been to this area of D.C. before – it was beautiful and very cool!
We kept walking and before we knew it, we were close to the Library of Congress and a nice view of the Capitol building. We all hung out in a nearby park and played with Caleb before heading back to the car and then to the airport. A wonderful weekend was had and we can’t wait for this awesome family of three to visit us in Atlanta next year!
