Driving on Ice to see ICE!! at the National Harbor

     My wife Becky and I like to think of ourselves as experts on traveling with children.  We have one trip to New Orleans, dozens of trips to local destinations without so much as a flat tire, or forgotten necessity for the children in 3 plus years of child rearing. 

      Two things snuck up and chomped us right in the tooshies this week. 1.) Always check the weather in the winter before buying the tickets. 2.) NEVER!! EVER!! Let them get hungry.

       This past Thursday the wife I took the Travelin Tots to see ICE!! at the Gaylord hotel in the National Harbor.  For those of you not blessed to live the Washington D.C. area and equally blessed not to have driven the Capital Beltway a killer mistake a traveler can make is not checking the weather when you purchase non-refundable tickets to an event that is on the opposite end of the beltway. 

        What was supposed to be a light dusting of winter weather quickly turned into a two inch slushy mix.  Being a life long D.C. resident I quickly recognized the dilemma and sped up the preparation for our 1 P.M. entrance time.  We figured a two hour head start from Frederick Maryland to the National Harbor in D.C. was a good bet. 

Fail!

    Snow fall + Idiots + Construction on the VA side of the of the Beltway = a two hour trip in what was supposed to be non-rush hour traffic.  Can someone tell me why the VA side of the beltway always looks like Optimus Prime and Megatron just fought it out in a lame slow motion fight sequence?

     After getting to the Gaylord, well after our entrance time we rushed into the facility to find that we had made the right call by going on a weekday.  500 feet of empty serpentine ropes and foreboding signs approximating wait times cheered our effort.

     As we approached the entrance we were given a bright blue Parka which, which no matter how many layers you have worn is completely necessary.  For such an ordeal ICE seemed smaller than I expected.  However the event was a huge hit with our 3 Y.O. Jackson. 

     

     The artistry was impressive and the slides were super cool.  It would have been better if the slides were closer to the end of the display b/c it  wound up being very difficult entice Jackson out of the room.

     Upon exiting the exhibit failure#2 reared it’s ugly head.  Jack had had a small breakfast b/c of the rush getting on the road, and it was now 2pm. Never ever allow such stimulation and hunger to intersect in your travel plans.  The temper tantrum was a top ten episode in the life of our child.  After 25 minutes of calming him down we had to do something I never wanted to do again.  Eat at the Gaylord.  For those of you that have not to have done this…Don’t!!  Pack a lunch.  Two adult meals at a small coffee shop $30.16.  But it did allow us time to enjoy the fountain and the lovely view of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. 

     If you follow this experience up with a slow slog through rush hour traffic that put another 2 ½ hours on our “half day trip” and you get some tired cranky parents and two sleeping children upon arrival at home.

Overall Rating

Attraction: 7 out of 10     ICE at the Gaylord National Harbor

Experience: 6 out of 10

National Harbor: 5 out of 10