Washington DC

We didn't think that Washington DC was going to be a possible destination this year, but Brad was able to trade around his days off and arrange four days in a row at the last minute.... so we headed down to DC to stay with Julie and Glenn (one of my longtime best friends and her husband). They've been in DC for the past year while Glenn worked as an attorney for President Bush... since there' s a new president now they will be moving in a few short weeks and we were lucky to catch a visit with them, and get a tour from people "in the know."

It took us 9-ish hours to drive down there, and we were able to drive through Gettysburg, PA though it was dark when we got there, darn it. And while Eli is an expert traveler now, Owen HATED every minute of it and was sure to let us know! We were pretty frazzled after the drive, but the next two days totally made up for it. Glenn and Julie live in Northern Virginia, right on the border of DC. So we were able to ride the Metro (public transit, like the subway) into the city. On Friday we were able to take a scheduled tour of the Capital (where the Senate and House of Reps meet). It is such a magestic building, and really set the tone for the rest of our visit. The only bummer was that in going through security to get in, I had to throw away all the snacks I had brought for us for the day- no food allowed! It was fabulous to see the inside. I would have loved to actually see a session of Congress, but that wasn't part of our tour that day. I spent most of the time chasing Eli rather than listening to our tour guide, but it was still neat to see all of the history in there! Something I noticed while walking around DC is that it seemed really quiet, clean, and peaceful downtown for a big city.

Riding the Metro

Inside the Metro tunnel

In front of the Capital

Inside the Capital, looking up into the dome.

From the grounds at the Capital, we could also see the Supreme Court Building and the Library of Congress.

Supreme Court Building

Library of Congress

After our tour, we had lunch at one of Glenn and Julie's favorites - Potbelly's. It was a yummy sandwich place with live music! Right across the street from the White House, we felt like true city folk dining there =). After lunch, we headed over to the White House. From photos of it with the sprawling lawn and trees, I hadn't realized that it was really surrounded on all sides by the big city. If you weren't looking down the right street for it, you might miss it. I was surprised by that... at the same time it reminded me that it's an actual RESIDENCE for the president and his family =). I wondered out loud that it didn't look like what I expected, when Julie reminded me we were looking at the back of it, lol. The front entrance is structured differently, which you will see next.

The White House

We walked around to the front of the White House on our way to the monuments, when Julie spotted people out on the lawn, and tipped us off that "something" was about to happen. We waited around for a few minutes, and were able to see Marine One (the Presiden'ts helicopter) and the two decoy helicopters fly right over our heads. Marine One landed right on the White House lawn! Of cours we were on the other side of the gate, so the helicopter blocked any actual view of President Obama when he got off, though we're sure one of the pairs of feet we could see were his. It was pretty exciting to see those choppers buzz over us, the wind from their blades whipping our hair and their loud humming in our ears, with the Washington monument in the background! We really got lucky on this one.

Washington Monument and Marine One

Marine One leaving White House lawn

After the White House, we walked up to the Lincoln Memorial (Monument?), passing by the WWII and Vietnam Memorials. It really is stunning in real life. I wish we had more time to enjoy it, but by this time we had all walked our legs off, it was getting cold, and the kiddos were worn out! I'm so glad we got to see it though!

Outside the Lincoln Memorial

Inside with Lincoln

Eli with Derek and Evan (Julie's boys) on Lincoln Memorial steps

Reflecting on Vietnam

On Saturday we were all rested up and ready for more adventure! This time, we rode the Metro into the city all by ourselves - pretty exciting! We started off at the National Archives and were able to see the ACTUAL Magna Carta (800 year old copy!), the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. They are kept in a dimly lit room (no flash photography so my pics are blurry) to help preserve them, and the lighting along with the reverent hush really reminded me how blessed we are to live in this country, and to have the Constitution. Our forefathers truly sacrificed so much to found this land and to protect it - men and women die every day to continue protecting our freedoms. I hope we all realize and appreciate this on a daily basis, and do our part to keep our freedom and our Nation safe.

The National Archive

The Constitution, first page

Eli's favorite part of the trip was Saturday afternoon when we visited two of the Smithsonian museums. First up, the National Museum of Natural History. We saw lots of awesome things including a life sized whale, a real hammer-head shark ("Hamma Sock" according to Eli) and Dinosaur bones! It must be the kid in me, but I've always wanted to see a T-Rex skeleton, it was great! We also stopped at the Air and Space Museum. We didn't get to spend a lot of time there, but the airplanes were a hit. There was one exhibit that was half of a passenger plane that you could go in. Eli loved it but threw a fit that he wasn't allowed to cross the ropes and sit in the seats... the kid loves planes! I figure he'll either be a marine biologist or a pilot one day =).

The Natural History Museum

The Air and Space Museum

The drive back home went a little more smoothly. We took a slightly different route home through Lancaster, PA and the Amish country out there. It was beautiful, even in mid-winter. I'm disappointed that my camera battery was dead and I didn't get any pics. I really fell in love with Pennsylvania. And that's our trip! We can't thank the Ropers enough for wearing themselves out taking us around, and taking such good care of us. We are lucky to have such great friends, and to be able to make such lasting memories while we are out here!