Call me naive, but I assumed we would be able to maintain some of our social outings with a baby in tow. I'm not talking opera at the Kennedy Center or anything, but family oriented events shouldn't be difficult. Butterbean travels well and there is a lot happening in the area. Thus far, our outings that involve other families with babies have gone well. Birthday parties, baptisms, coffee and lunch dates. But a few others... Well, disastrous just about covers it.
Our first family adventure was to a free outdoor showing of Kung Fu Panda 2 at the National Harbor. We got there early, got good seats, got gourmet popcorn. The movie started late, they blared the sound so loud that almost everyone in the audience had to complain before they turned it down. They stopped the movie 5 minutes in for fireworks that went off at the other end of the harbor. Then a storm blew in, apparently unexpectedly, and everyone leaving the square was chaos. We had to wait 30 minutes just to pay for parking, another 30 to get out of the garage, and by then they were just waving people through without having to pay. It was such a disaster that I actually emailed their PR people about it. The good news is that they responded promptly and positively and sent us some free parking passes. But I don't know if we'll go back.
Fast forward to today, when I was about to buy tickets for a Wolftrap performance. They are showing The Wizard of Oz, with the National Symphony Orchestra playing the score. Allen and I went to something similar a few years ago when they played Lord of the Rings. It's a nice time - you can bring a picnic, they have a spacious lawn, and the nights are warm. As I was about to purchase tickets, I discovered that everyone, including children, regardless of age, has to have a ticket. So instead of paying $40 for Allen and I to go and have a picnic and listen to some music on a nice lawn, we have to pay $60 because we are bringing our 3 month old son with us. And they don't offer discounted tickets for children. Really? I'm actually kind of mad at them about this. It's ridiculous to pay a full price ticket for an infant. He's certainly not watching the movie, or listening to the music. He'll be sleeping! And given the amount of money they spend on advertising and the hit the arts have taken in the recession, you'd think they'd rather have our $40 than for us to not go at all because of their stupid ticketing policies and prices. If he was five, I'd understand. But really? A 3 month old has to have a full priced ticket? So family outing number two is a failure before it even got off the ground. And I was actually planning to go to a few of their performances this year.
So it's back to the drawing board. Luckily there are lots of free museums and such in the city. Hopefully our next family outing won't end up as a cautionary tale. ;-)
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