Washington DC

We left early from VA hoping to get camp set up in College Park, MD around lunch time so we could go into the city.  We took the bus from our camp ground to the metro station, and then took the metro to the National Mall.  We spent the afternoon in the Air and Space Museum which was a lot of fun.  In one of the galleries, there was a lot of hands on things the girls could try to learn about air flight and space exploration.  There was a historical section that had things unrelated to air and space, like Jefferson's desk, Washington's uniform, together with Seinfeld's puffy shirt and Dorothy's Ruby Slippers.  We had dinner in the coolest McDonalds, where you order at the cashier, who then tell you to go to one of 12 stations at the counter behind her where your order is ready to be picked up!

 

We stuck around to see the IMAX 3D film about walking on the moon and that was really cool.  We then had to take the metro and the bus back to camp, the girls loved riding the train.

 

Today, we went back into the city, switched trains, took another bus and found the Washington National Cathedral.  It was truly breathtaking and we were lucky enough to arrive just in time for the choir and orchestra rehearsal.  The music in that space was gorgeous.  We also got to see some of the smaller chapels, which were equally beautiful.

 

Then we took the bus and the trains back to the Mall and went to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.  We found the inscription of David March, Kristian's friend killed in the line of duty in 2002.  The memorial contains the names of all officers in the US killed in the line of duty since they began keeping records in the 18th century.  The number of names was sobering.

 

Then we went to the National Archives and got to see the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  That was -really- cool.  You aren't allowed to take pictures with flash in the rotunda, so most of our pictures inside came out really dark.  After the Archives, we made our way to the Mall and were stunned by the amount of people there.  There were hundreds of people flying kites and picnicking on the grass.  We elbowed our way into the Natural History Museum so we could eat lunch in their cafe.  While making a purchase in the gift shop, I finally asked the clerk if the number of people was unusual, and she explained that this was actually the busiest day of the year for them.... the opening day of the Cherry Blossom Festival.  There were ceremonies and handmade Japanese kite flying contests and crafts for the kids, etc etc etc.  And a TON of people everywhere. 

 

We walked down the Mall to see the Smithsonian Castle, and the Washington Monument.  Looking back we could see the capitol bldg.  We walked ALL the way to the Lincoln memorial, and saw the WW2 memorial and the Vietnam memorial, and the Reflecting Pool on the way.  Then we went BACK to the White House, only to find we missed the visitors center; it had already closed.  A couple of Secret Service Agents got the bomb dog out of the car though and the girls loved getting to pet "Wade," a chocolate lab.

 

That was a lot of walking, lemme tell you.  We drug ourselves back to the train and then to the bus stop.  Mom and Dad were slumped against the bench while the girls ran circles around the bus stop shelter.

 

Tomorrow... Philadelphia!