Last Day in D.C./Visiting Mount Vernon

Today was our last day of vacation (unless you want to count driving home tomorrow). We tried to cram as much into this last day as possible! We checked out of our hotel, drove down Embassy Row, over to the Capital building, past the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, out to Arlington National Cemetery, and finally ended the day at Mount Vernon (www.mountvernon.org).

 The U.S. Capital Building

 The front of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial

 The back of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial

 Arlington National Cemetery

 The massive number of tombstones is a little overwhelming and pretty humbling. I am grateful to anyone who has chosen to serve our country.

"Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God"

 The kids in front of George Washington's house at Mount Vernon - I promise that we got closer than this! We took the tour, but there is no photography aloud inside the house.

 Thanks to the kind stranger who offered to take a family picture for us.

 This was the greenhouse (not too shabby).

 We walked through the garden outside the greenhouse while waiting for our tour time at the main house.

 Pretty picture, Jay!

 Some of the other buildings on the estate

 George's backyard

 This is George Washington's tomb (his wife, Martha, and other family members are also buried here).

This was the original tomb on the estate (photo courtesy of mangalorean.com - I looked weird in the picture Jay took). George Washington was first buried here, then moved to the other tomb once it was completed.

Down by the wharf at Mt. Vernon

That is the official end of our vacation. We had a fabulous time! For anyone who is thinking about visiting Washington, D.C., know this: Mount Vernon is the only thing we paid to do this week (and well worth it). All three museums we visited and the zoo are part of the Smithsonian and didn't cost us a dime (the Smithsonian complex includes 19 museums, the zoo, and 9 research centers). Admission to the National Archives is also free.  We did pay for parking at Arlington National Cemetery, but that cost was minimal. It was a really affordable trip and educational as well (for us and the kids). I am so grateful that we were able to go as a family, and I'd like to go back when Charlotte and Henry are older.

The National Air and Space Museum

Jason's conference was finished up around noon, so we went to the National Air and Space Museum today. I think this was Jason's favorite out of the museums, and I bet my dad would love it. It was pretty cool. There is a large hands-on science exhibit that was awesome for the kids.

 The grounds outside the hotel were so pretty! I thought we should take advantage of the backdrop and get some pictures of the kids.

 The lush green foliage was a nice change from the brown, drought afflicted Indiana landscape.

 Inside the National Air and Space Museum

 A space suit... and Sophie and Chloe

 Charlotte was playing with one of the experiments in the exhibit.

 

 Let's hope when she drives a car she does a better job of keeping her eyes forward! All the girls took a turn flying the plane.

 One of the airplanes on display...

 Another plane...

 And yet another plane. :-)

 I thought the solar system was great. It was neat to be able to see the relative size of all the planets and the sun (Jupiter is the large yellow ball on top. The sun in the yellow sliver to the left).

 Outside the museum at the end of the day

 We decided to walk down to the Smithsonian Castle before going back to the hotel. I hate this picture of me, but there aren't many of the two of us.

 The girls in front of the Castle

 Jason wanted a shot of Chloe "touching" the top of the Washington Monument.

 Sophie wanted to do it too.

 Heading back after another great day!

The National Zoo

Jason was scheduled to be at his conference all day today, so the kids and I ventured out to the National Zoo. We were able to walk since it was only a few blocks from the hotel. It was a beautiful day, but very hot!

 I love to see animals that we don't have at our zoo in Indy. The gorillas were neat to watch.

 The zoo built a huge tower and cable system called "The O Line" that allows the orangutans to move between two enclosures. We don't have these guys in Indy either.

 Picnic lunch at the zoo. Yum!

I love photos with all the kids!

 I loved this shot Sophie took of herself in a mirror!

 In addition to these two lions, there was another pair in a neighboring enclosure. They were so loud!

 We saw a couple of fawns at the zoo. They are actually not part of a zoo exhibit, but they must live nearby because there are signs posted that read, "Please do not feed the wild deer."

There are only four zoos in the U.S. that have pandas: San Diego, Memphis, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. We took Chloe to the San Diego Zoo in 2003, but since she was so young, I doubt she remembers seeing the pandas there!

 All the kiddos at the zoo entrance at the end of the day.

There are two of these lion statues flanking either side of the entrance.

After our day at the zoo we headed back to the hotel to meet up with Jason and order pizza for dinner. We missed having Daddy with us at the zoo, but we still had a good time.

Swimming, Monuments and Memorials

Today we took it easy in the morning and rested from all the walking we had done yesterday. Jason didn't have to be at his conference until noon, so we just hung out with him. Once he left, the kids and I ate pb&j for lunch in the room, then headed to the pool to swim for a while before nap time.

[I forgot to mention on that first horrendous day, in between our return from a failed sightseeing attempt and going to bed, we tried to let the kids swim. However, when we finally found the pool (LARGE hotel) and after we got our key cards reprogrammed because they didn't work in the pool lock, there were only 10 minutes left to swim. At that point, I said, "Heck with it! Swim for ten minutes, kids!"]

 Today there was no one else in the pool! We had the whole thing to ourselves.

The pool was quite large (you can see how little the girls look in there). You can also see a smidgen of the older/original part of the hotel. It was really beautiful.

After swimming, we went back to our room. Normally, we don't all nap, but since Henry needed to sleep and since we were planning to go out in the evening, I thought we could all at least try to nap. And nap we all did. :-)

Once Jason's conference was finished for the day we took the metro back downtown and ate dinner at a restaurant called Così (kind of like a Panera or Atlanta Bread Co). There was outdoor seating which was perfect for a family with four kids! We got fueled up and then headed out for our own little nighttime walking tour.

 First we stopped at the White House (there were snipers on the roof... kind of surreal). I may not be a big fan of the current President, but I still loved seeing the White House!

 Next we walked to the Washington Monument.

 This is the girls in front of Indiana's pillar at the World War II Memorial. I didn't get a good picture of this memorial...

Here is a photo I found online (thanks, National Parks Traveler).

 From the WWII Memorial we moved on to the Lincoln Memorial. So cool!

This statue of soldiers was near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall (Charlotte thought they were made of chocolate).

 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

So many names...

After this we head back to the hotel (we got some ice cream on the way to the metro). Another great day of vacation in Washington, DC!