#thewanderlist

[mrjyboy]

As requested @ivytanaw wahahaha. #giveUaKingKong #pharaohentertainment #thewanderlist

[mrjyboy]

带你们去沙滩玩！#pharaohentertainment #thewanderlist

[mrjyboy]

Ivy又在拍摄什么好玩的节目呢？？*暂时保密* #pharaohentertainment #thewanderlist @ivytanaw

[diana-rdrgs]

The Rods in DC, Day 2

We woke up well-rested on Easter morning. The first activity of the day was Easter brunch, once again at the hotel steakhouse.  We left the hotel and walked to the Marriott, down the street, which was the pick-up location for our Big Bus tour.  I'm not a fan of bus tours, but Mom wanted to try it, so I went along with it.  I, personally, am not a fan of them.  I prefer wandering around a city and walking the streets with locals.  The Marriott is one of the stops on the Yellow Loop.  We took this Loop until Union Station, the last stop.  We then transferred to the Green Loop, to heard towards Georgetown.  We took a river cruise along the Potomac for 45 minutes.  The cruise was included in our 48-hour bus package, as was admission to Madame Tussaud's DC Museum (more on that later).  We passed underneath some of the most well-known Potomac bridges.  We passed by a number of well-known monuments, as well, including: 

the Lincoln Memorial, surrounded by two sets of bronze statues on either side; 

the Washington Monument (still closed for renovations at the time - it opened this past week after our trip; 

the Jefferson Memorial; and 

the infamous Watergate (which was considered a modern building at the time of its construction during the 1970's).

After the cruise, we took a little walk around the streets of Georgetown.  We passed by the original Georgetown Cupcake, of "D.C. Cupcakes" fame on TLC.  It would've been cool to try something from there, but no one was up to waiting in a line a block and a half up the street. Instead, we made a trip into Niketown Georgetown. The layout of this store was different than the Boston location, but still open and airy. The first two floors of the store had women's wear.  The third had men's and children's.  This was due to the approaching DC Women's Marathon the following Sunday, on April 27th.  Nike was a sponsor of the event.  A majority of the merchandise on the first floor was branded with the Marathon's logo.  A TV also displayed the marathon route and the other sponsors.  We wanted to hang out in a cafe or coffee shop for a little bit, but didn't find any. We then headed back to the Harbor to catch the bus back to the hotel room. On the way we found some coffee, at a bike shop's cafe -- CycleLife Cafe.  My sisters & I shared a delicious peanut butter-banana smoothie - a good alternative if you're not in the mood for coffee.  It was also across the street from our bus stop, which was convenient.  Once we arrived at the hotel, we freshened up to visit some friends in Virginia.  We ended up getting back to the hotel after midnight.  It was nice to see some familiar faces and catch up. 

[diana-rdrgs]

The Rods in DC, Day 1

The Rods Road Trip, as I like to call it, began on Saturday, April 19, 2014, the day before Easter.  We decided to go away for Easter since it coincided with April vacation here in MA.  It’s nice to do something different for the holidays.  It was different - no family meal, no Sunday mass - but still fun.

We left just before 6:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Everyone was excited more than tired, so no one really slept in the car.  Our first stop on the road was about 2 and a half hours into the ride, in Milford, CT.  We stopped for coffee and bagel sandwiches. Right before we left the rest area, a few guys walked by wearing matching New England Revolution adidas track suits. I don’t know for absolute sure if they were players, but it definitely looked like it. Our second stop was on the NJ Turnpike near Woodbridge, NJ. What I remember most about driving through the area is the view of the NYC skyline.  The new World Trade Center towered above the rest of the buildings.  It looked very majestic. The GPS detoured us off the highway for a bit, to get us out of the traffic.  It worked, considering we didn’t hit any traffic.  The only detour we encountered was a wrong turn and then finding out way back.  The final stop along the way at a gas station in Delaware to fill up the tank.  The convenience store at the station had an Icee machine with Coca-Cola Icee. My sisters were happy campers.  That’s the flavor we tried.  My question is why didn’t I know about that flavor earlier? Why haven’t I seen it up in New England before?  Our next stop was the final destination:  Washington, DC.  

We arrived a little after 3 p.m.  Our hotel room wasn’t ready, so the staff told us to take a walk and they would call us when the room was ready.  We took a walk down K Street and made a few stops along the way.  Our first stop was au bon pain for some coffee and snacks. Our second stop was Barnes & Noble.  We wandered around the store for a little while and then were on our way again.  We walked down K Street until we reached Constitution Ave, near the Smithsonian American History Museum.  I wanted to take a peek inside, but I was the minority, so that didn’t happen.  We then walked toward the Washington Monument, which was still closed after undergoing renovations.  We stopped at the WWII Memorial and hung out for a little while.  We then made our way back to the hotel, where spent the rest of the evening.  We ate dinner at the steakhouse located inside the hotel and went for a swim in the pool.  It was a long day, so we wanted to take it easy so we could take advantage of our first full day in the city.

[diana-rdrgs]

Update: The Rods Road Trip

Hello!  Just wanted to let you know that I've been a very busy girl these past few weeks, hence why I haven't finished blogging about The Rods Road Trip.  I'm finishing up those posts and you'll see them very soon! Also keep an eye out for another post, about a place closer to home.  Enjoy the rest of your week!