Day 2 & Day 3 in DC

DAY 2

I think I am going to need a vacation to recover from this vacation. I have no clue how schools can do and see everything in 2 days. There is so much history in and around the city. Yesterday, we started out by going to the White House, which unless you are or you know someone or you plan way in advance this is as close as you are going to get to the big White house on Pennslyania Ave. However, there is The White House Vistor's Center which has a lot of pictures and a short film about the White House.

Waiting to go in the Capitol
The four of us at the WWII memorial with the Washington Monument in the background.
The Awakening was not a scheduled stop on our tour but since we had some time to spare, our driver drove out to this large sculpture that looks like a man coming out of the ground. I had Phillip take this picture of me b/c the last time I was in DC I had a picture of me taken at this same spot. I can't wait to show it to the kids when we get home. Also, we learned that this week the sculpture is being dug up and move across the river and will not be as easily accessible. In fact in this morning's paper there was a write up on this sculpture that I plan on keeping. I did make it a point to thank our bus driver for going out of his way to take us there.
Another shot in front of the Capitol
We also visited the National Archives, the Natural History Museum and the National Air and Space Museum which could have been an all day tour in itself. We were able to see exhibits such as Dorothy's red shoes, R2D2, Kermit the Frog and much, much more. We went to the WWII Memorial, where I was able to look up Uncle Woodrow and my Uncle King, we also saw Ford's Theatre and the Peterson House, where Lincoln died. Do you see now why I was so tired last night.

DAY 3

We started this morning at Mount Vernon. After touring the manison, gardens, and grounds, we walk down to the tomb where President and Mrs Washington was laid to rest. While at Mt Vernon, we able to speak with several reinactors (sp?) who spoke about the times when Washington was alive. The newest exhibit at Mt Vernon was the education museum, where we were able to see more archives from the period, even Washington's false teeth. They also had a theatre that told about the Revoluntary war, with seats that move when the cannons went off and had snow that fell on you during the winter months. It was cool and really interesting to the kids. Oh and my favorite at Mt Vernon was the Presidental China exhibit which displayed a sample of the different patterns choosen by the President and First Lady's over the years.

President and Mrs. Washington's tomb

After spending the morning at Mt Vernon, we headed back to Union Station for lunch before heading to Iwo Jima. As you can see in our pictures taken at Mt Vernon the weather was a little chilly but clear and sunny. Well, by the time that we reached Union Station, snow was starting to fall.

Iwo Jima, which I am hoping that we can revisit this memorial again tomorrow night by moonlight.

After leaving Iwo Jima, we headed to Arlington Cemetery, to visit the Kennedy gravesites and to see the changing of the Guard at the tomb of the unknowns. By this time it was freezing and the snow was falling much harder. Which was neat because it goes to show you that no matter what condition the weather is, the tombs are still guarded.
After spending over an hour at Arlington Cemetery, we headed back in town to see Lincoln, Vietnam and Korean's memorials. By this time there was snow everywhere. The next picture was taken at Lincoln's memorial, in the back ground you can barely see the Washington Monument due to the heavy snow.
We also spent some time touring Old Alexandria, which is full of charming houses and buildings that are full of history. We observed the new Air Force Memorial and the Navy Memorial, drove down Embassy Row and saw several federal buildings. We have had an awesome time and we were pleased with our tours. Yesterday there was us and one other family on the tour bus and today there was a total of 14 on our tour bus, it was almost like our own personal tour. The drivers were also well informity.

Tomorrow is our last full day here in DC
and believe it or not we still have a list of things that we hope to see. So I am off to bed!