Au Pair Chatter

Come to the 11th Annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. The festival is free and open to the public.

Saturday, Sept. 24: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 25: 1 to 5:30 p.m.

Visit the website for more information: http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/.

Getting there: Take Metro Orange or Blue Line to Smithsonian station.

On Saturday,  September 17 we had an au pair soccer match on the National Mall in DC.  Our team represented Maryland and we played against a team of au pairs from Virginia.  We cheered for our team and they played hard.  I think we represented Maryland au pairs very well, even though we did not win.  Lots of people stopped, watched and took pictures.  After the soccer match, we toured the U.S. Capitol.

Click on the images to view them larger.  Click here to see even more pictures from this event in our Cluster Photobucket Album.

In addition to the big July 4th celebrations on the National Mall in DC, there are many other local fireworks displays in the area. Please note that a few are offering events and fireworks on days other than July 4. So, you may be able to make it to more than one fireworks display.

Annapolis, Annapolis City Dock, Annapolis, Maryland. (410) 263-1183. Parade and fireworks: Parade starts at 6:30 p.m. Fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Parade Route: West Street, around Church Circle, down Main Street to the City Dock. Naval Academy’s Concert Band will perform at the end of City Dock just prior to the fireworks.

Bowie Allen Pond Park, Bowie, Maryland. (301) 809-3078. Entertainment, food and fireworks from 3-10:30 pm.

College Park University of Maryland, College Park. Parking Lot 1, off Campus Drive near the University Boulevard/Adelphi Road entrance. (301) 864-8877. Food and music start at 7 p.m., with fireworks around 9 p.m.

Greenbelt Buddy Attick Park, 555 Crescent Rd., Greenbelt, Maryland. (301) 397-2200. Entertainment begins at 4 p.m. Fireworks at dusk.

Laurel July 2, 2011. Granville Gude Park, Laurel Lake, Laurel, Maryland. (301) 725-5300 ext. 44. Parade at 11 a.m. Car show following and Fireworks at dusk.

National Harbor – Gaylord National Resort. Fireworks and Summer Festival, July 3, 2011, beginning at 6:30 p.m., tickets are required.

Six Flags America, Mitchellville, Maryland. (301) 249-1500. The amusement park sponsors a spectacular fireworks display on July 3rd and 4th. Enjoy a full day of family entertainment.

Takoma Park Takoma Park Middle School, 7611 Piney Branch Road, Takoma Park, Maryland. (301) 270-6876. Parade at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Carroll and Ethan Allen Avenues. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m.

Information from http://dc.about.com

From the Newseum website:

July 1 through Sept. 5, 2011, youth visitors 18 and under get free admission to the Newseum with one paid adult admission. Offer is limited to up to 10 kids. This promotion is not valid in combination with other discounts. Summer Fun Deal tickets, like all Newseum tickets, are valid for two consecutive days.

Ranked by TripAdvisor as the No. 1 attraction in the nation’s capital, the Newseum has something for everyone.

The Newseum offers a wonderful experience for everyone in the family. From the Pulitzer Prize Photographs gallery, Elvis, the 4-D theater to the Newseum’s interactive exhibits. There is a lot to explore and a lot to learn at every age level.

One of our au pairs (Ingrid from Germany) was lucky enough to go to the White House Easter Egg Roll with her host family.  I asked her to share some photos and her impressions about the experience.

Here is what Ingrid had to say about it:

First of all, I was so glad that my host mom took me!!! We had tickets for the first group on that day and had to be there at 7:30a.m. Consequently, Monday morning we had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to wake the kids, and to get ready. Everybody was really excited to go in the garden of the White House. After almost two hours, we finally arrived in the garden.

There they had a lot of different activities for children like Easter egg hunt, egg roll, story time stage, face painting and other pretty cool stuff. So, first Sophie, my host child, went to the egg roll; she did a really good job.

While we were there we saw funny characters from TV shows, and I was surprised how Sophie reacted, when she saw them. She gave almost every character a huge hug and I took a lot of pictures of it.  We saw Elmo from the Sesame Street, and danced to his song. That was really funny and I had Sophie on my shoulders, so she could see. After a while we went closer to the White House, hoping see the President Barack Obama. But he wasn’t there, which was really disappointing.  However, when we left the garden we got a special wood Easter egg with the signature of Barack and Michelle Obama.

Caught a glimpse of the Obama Family dog, Bo.

Twenty four au pairs from our cluster participated in the DC Metro Area Au Pair in America 25th Anniversary Cultural Fair. I am in the process of gathering photos and videos that  were taken at the fair and I will post them soon.

Here is a nice photo of Mayela and her friends from Costa Rica

We went to the Ringling Brother’s Barnum & Bailey Circus at the Verizon Center on Sunday. I got a few pictures, unfortunately I didn’t get pictures of everyone who was there. If you have any nice ones to share, please send them to me.

March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day – St. Patrick is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland.  St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in the US since 1737.  Traditional icons of the day are the shamrock, leprechaun, the color green and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In Chicago, the city celebrates with a parade and the Chicago River is dyed green!

Here is a St. Patrick’s Day Event in our area:

Washington, DC St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Sun, March 13

Photo by Uwe Hermann

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual two-week event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan.

The predicted peak blooming period of the cherry blossoms – MARCH 29 – APRIL 3!

Here are some of the highlights:

Family Day - Saturday, March 26, 2011
National Building Museum
401 F Street, NW
Metro Judiciary Square, Red Line
10am-3:30 pm

Opening Ceremony – Saturday, March 26, 2011
National Building Museum
401 F Street, NW
Metro Judiciary Square, Red Line
4-5:30 pm

Smithsonian Kite Festival – Sunday, March 27, 2011
Washington Monument Grounds
10 am-4 pm

Fireworks Display - Saturday, April 2, 2011
Waterfront Park – 600 Water Street, SW
Fireworks at 8:30-9 pm

Cherry Blossom Parade – Saturday, April 9, 2011*
Constitution Avenue from 7th to 17th Streets, NW
10 am- 12 noon

*After you visit the Cherry Blossom Parade, consider stopping by the Au Pair in America 25th Anniversary Cultural Fair at Glen Echo Park, 1-3 PM. Complete details can be found HERE.  

Helpful links:

Cherry Blossom Festival Website
National Park Service Bloom Watch
Metro Website (use the trip planner feature on this website to find the metro options, taking metro is much better than driving for the festival events)

There are so many great events and things to see and do in the DC Metro area.  You can spend a lot of money experiencing it, unless you look for deals.  I have three websites that I am subscribed to that send local offers (for the areas of your choice) on a regular basis.

How does it work? All three of these websites allow you to register for free to receive emails with offers in the area(s) of your choice. Groupon and Living Social are daily and Goldstar has a variety of options. I am subscribed for a weekly Goldstar email. If you see an offer you like in the email, you go to their website and buy it. Read the restrictions carefully to make sure of important details such as: at which locations can it be used, the expiration date and special restrictions.

I am signed up for Washington, DC and Baltimore area deals on all of these sites. If I am planning a trip to an area in the future, I sign up for that area as well to look for deals on things I can do on my trip.

Groupon – Click HERE to register.
My fave deals – I bought a Segway Tour of Annapolis for $25 (regular price $50.)  I am planning to use this in the spring. I have gotten lots of other deals for things like salon services, Redbox rentals, places to take the kids and restaurants.

Living Social – Click HERE to register.
My fave deals -  I bought a $20 Amazon gift card for $10. I just got a great deal on movie tickets.

Goldstar – Click HERE to register.
My fave deal – On Goldstar, they have tickets for the Twilight Convention coming to VA in April for $10 (regular price $20) that are tempting me.  They have tickets to all kinds of events, including: theater, kid’s events, sports and more.