Finishing Up DC!..

So...

After nice long naps, we took the Metro, then transferred to a bus -

for the longest ride of my life!!

Really!! 55 minutes!!

A nice man in some very feminine jewelry figured out we weren't the normal "bus crowd"

and asked if we were headed to Mount Vernon..

Then kept me informed on how much longer the torture would be..

Mount Vernon

So beautiful!!

I loved it!!

They have kept EVERYTHING the same..

All 8,000 acres!!

Including the view across the river in Maryland!!

The tomb where George & Martha Washington are buried..


(his is on the right)
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Wednesday, June 3


We rented a car and drove 2 1/2 hours..

Davy

(he really was on this trip!!)

(sleepy Chels)

(sleepy Adi)

(sleepy Savannah)

and went to...

Jamestown

..by the statue of Pocahontas..

..by a cannon protecting the fort..

..the frame and spot where the barracks were..

..the statue of John Smith..

..silly girls with some of the Jamestown ships in the background..

Yorktown

..on the battlefield..

..up on the Redoubts (trenches)..

..in front of the Victory Monument..

..we ended our day by driving to Maryland to see the..

Washington, D.C. Temple

..it was POURING rain!!..

..and just as spectacular as I expected..

{now.. I've gotta go pack.. yuck!!

We're catching an Amtrak train in the morning!!}

The Walkers in Washington, DC!!

Saturday May 30

We arrive!

After checking in to our hotel, we headed to..

The National Archives

(one of our goals on this trip was to take the girls to places they knew..

so here is our nod to National Treasure)

...in front of the Constitution..

..in the Rotunda..

from left to right behind the girls -

The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution,
and the Bill of Rights


..outside the National Archives..


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Sunday May 31


..waiting for the Metro..

(Adeline has become quite the pro, she has memorized the stops near ours, Crystal City, and knows where we are all the time)

Air & Space Museum
..looking at the Apollo 11 Command Module - the 1st one to go to the Moon!..

..um.. In front of some airplanes..

(there are lots..)

The Museum of Natural History

..overlooking the large room in Dinosaurs & Fossils..

..girlies inside the jaw of a Great White Shark!..

..the little girls got cameras before this trip, and they photograph pretty much EVERYTHING!..

(thank heaven for digital cameras!!)

Outside the Museum of Natural History

Between the size of the museums and the huge trees,
we can't usually get a great picture of the outsides of the museums!!

They are amazing!!

The Museum of American History

My favorite part BY FAR in this one was the actual

Star Spangled Banner,

unfortunately, you can't photograph it..

I had no idea it was so huge!!

..borrowing a Presidential Podium..

The Washington Monument

(for some reason, the first 2 pictures wouldn't flip)

Davy got all creative on me!!

^^Love how these turned out!!^^

Standing at the Washington Monument, with the Captiol Building in the background...

..all of the sudden, the wind got really strong!!..

World War II Memorial

..below UTAH..

Korean War Memorial

The long trek!!

(to the Lincoln Memorial)

The Lincoln Memorial

We're on the right..

This has been our only crowd so far..

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Monday June 1

The Capitol Building

The Library of Congress

What an amazing building!!

So ornate and.. beautiful!!

Now, my best story (up to this point..)

We had gone up to look into the famous Reading Room (can't take pictures)..

As we were coming down the stairs afterwards, I completely fell down the last 2 stairs, right onto my hands and knees.. I'm not even sure how I fell - just all of the sudden - there I was on the ground!! I have 2 very skinned up knees!! I was quite embarrassed, but Davy was pretty sure no one happened to be around to see my supreme act of grace!

Quite a fall!!

Ford's Theater

..the balcony where Lincoln was shot..

This is where we split up!!

Chelsea & I went to

The United States Holocaust Museum

..hard to describe..

..as Chelsea put it so well - not like you can say "I loved it!"..

..really an amazing thing to see..

(and very glad we did the split)

While

Davy, Savannah & Adeline went to..

..have ice cream in the Natural History Museum..
..and then to..

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing

..the girls standing next to $1,000,000!!!!...

..and outside..

..and then the ever anticipated -

HOTEL POOL!!!..

..just wish they had fun (haha)..

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Tuesday, June 2
This is what our kids look like at noon when you wake them at 5:00am (3am) DC time..

We had a White House tour at 7:30!!

We had breakfast afterwards, and then came home for a nap!!

We have no pictures of the White House, because you can't bring anything in with you, including:

purses, backpacks, any recording device, knives etc..

some of our favorite things on the list with the above were:

knitting needles, martial arts weapons or fireworks..
(what do they think we're just going to carry these in with our bare hands?)

Here's a couple "small world" moments:

1. At the airport AND in line at the White House, we ran into a boy Chelsea just graduated with.

2. Also in line at the White House, we got to chatting with a family in front of us.. We talked for about a half an hour before we learned they are from Alpine, THEN that her nephew is one of Davy's direct reports at work, and happen to be good friends of ours that we do things with quite frequently!! (its a small, small world!)

*yes.. lots of pictures.. little talking!!*