It was a rainy Sunday in the city, which means we were going stir crazy. As you may have noticed, our family is not so good at sitting around the house. I wasn’t really up for another puddle splashing trip to the park. So what to do…

Grocery run… done.
Frozen yogurt trip…done.

And suddenly it was 4 o’clock and we needed an idea. Dave decided to take us somewhere his dad used to take him on rainy days:  Crystal City! (?!) If you live here, you know that the underground shops there are the most pointless excuse for a mall that has ever existed. It’s a series of stores and restaurants under high-rise buildings, mostly occupied by defense contractors. There aren’t any stores you’d actually want to go to (besides the As Seen on TV store… that’s worth a trip). But it doesn’t matter anyway, because everything’s closed on weekends. The girls were less than enthusiastic about the whole idea, but when we let them bring coloring books they were okay.

We parked (for free-yay) in the underground garage. The place was empty besides the security guard and a few people staying in connecting hotels. As soon as we got there, it was clear that Dave’s idea was pure genius. There were long hallways where the girls could sprint to their hearts content.

I’m guessing the whole thing is about a half-mile long and they ran from one end to the other and back. Not once did I tell them to slow down, stop screaming, or watch out. I didn’t have to! They crawled under stairwells, harassed Ronald McDonald and even sat down to color for a few minutes.

Before heading back to the car, we stopped at the fountains across the street. Since we didn’t have any pennies for wishes, Lira did the only other thing that people do at fountains: she practiced her “fashion poses.”

We did get caught in a downpour on our way to the car, but it was all worth it. The girls were happy, worn out and only slightly disappointed that Starbucks was closed and they couldn’t get hot chocolate.

Oh Crystal City, you sneaky surprise you. We will be back…