Loot! Loot!

[rivka]

National Geographic warehouse sale!! My God, what a marvelously dangerous thing. It's a good thing that, by the time that Alex woke up from her nap and we drove down and recovered from getting lost, we only had about half an hour to browse. We made a mad kamikaze run up and down the aisles, tossing things in the cart, and only stopped to evaluate and discuss at the end.

Of course, with discounts up to 90% off, our discussions were pretty much limited to "why not?"

We came home with:

- Two lovely wall calendars with wide-angle landscape photographs (given out free at the door).
- National Geographic Guide to Weekend Getaways Across America.
- Two "My First Pocket Guides," one on mammals and one on stars and planets. (For Alex as she grows, not now.)
- Graveyards of the Pacific, by Robert Ballard - the guy who discovered the Titanic.
- Orbit: NASA Astronauts Photograph the Earth.
- Through the Lens: National Geographic Greatest Photographs. Massive, beautiful, 500-page coffee table book.
- Three slimmer, lavishly illustrated hardcover books: The American Revolution, Exploring the Solar System: Other Worlds, and Enduring Treasures: National Parks of the World.
- Three titles from the "National Geographic Nature Library": Mammals, Birds, and Sky - also for Alex as she grows. We probably should've gone ahead and sprung for Reptiles and Amphibians, Fish, and Earth too, because these books look really nice.
- Five randomly assorted hour-long videos: Rain Forest, Ballad of the Irish Horse, Air Force One, Search for Battleship Bismarck, and, for Alex, Really Wild Animals: Hot Dogs and Cool Cats, about the wild relatives of domestic cats and dogs.

All of this? Cost $73, plus $5 for parking.

Afterwards, we ran around for half an hour in a wide, fallen-leaves-strewn grassy space across the street from the D.C. Armory, giving Alex a chance to stretch her legs before getting back in the car. All in all, a great family outing... until the drive home, the story of which is not for the faint of stomach.

Still, now we have books. Books! They are all very pretty.

Comments

[geekchick]

We got a much more comprehensive tour of Benning Road NE than I think either of us wanted when trying to get out of there, and then on our way home from Ikea we bailed in Silver Spring later to avoid a backup that XM's traffic station claimed extended from the GW Parkway out to University Avenue. You, however, seem to have had a much harder trip home, yikes. Hope Alex is feeling better.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she seems fine. Thanks.

And I meant to say: I totally didn't recognize you when I first saw you! I'm sorry I walked right past. I was very focused on "Augh! I got us lost and we don't have much time to look for books!!" and I just... didn't figure out who you were. Sorry.

I hope you're going to post about your loot! I'm curious about what everyone else brought home...

[geekchick]

I would've missed y'all completely if Chris hadn't happened to turn around as you were walking past and then ask me "Isn't that Michael?" I didn't want to keep you from heading in and having some time to check things out either. Sounds like you made excellent use of the time you had. =)

I got lost on the way in to the Armory too, or at least I missed nearly every turn I meant to make. Next time, it's definitely the Metro for me.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I'd never have made it out of there alive.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

As we were walking from the parking lot, we kept passing people carrying one small bag with, maybe, one toy in it. How?! I thought it must be really, really picked over or something, but then we ran into geekchick and her multiple shopping bags.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Wow, what loot!

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Nice haul!

[tchemgrrl.livejournal.com]

Oh boy, I would've loved to see that. Maybe not the sick baby part, though--I remember a nearly identical thing happening with my little sister an hour or so into a 5-hour car trip. Just add 4 other kids in the car who refused to touch her the entire trip. I'm glad she recovered pretty quickly.

[minnaleigh.livejournal.com]

Yay for books! Boo for bad car rides home. It must have been wrenching for you. *hugs* for everyone involved.