Walking in Washington DC

Thursday we got up and out the door by 6:00. We took the metro down to the East Capitol stop and made our way over to the visitors center to pick up our tickets. I was supposed to have reservations for the 9:30 tour, and after a bit of a go around with the front desk, the tickets were in our hands. Trying to find the visitors center at the Capitol Building.

 

The Capitol Building was so beautiful inside.

 

The Capitol Tour took about an hour and it was very interesting. I loved seeing all the artwork and I learned so much. I also enjoyed all the sculptures -incredible! After the tour, Makenah wanted to check out the Library of Congress. We walked down the long underground hallway and there we were. Makenah was disappointed that she didn't have a passport into all the rooms. She thought there would be just one HUGE room -think National Treasure! I was surprised how beautiful it is on the inside. They had a few displays up, one being the personal library of Thomas Jefferson. Lots of old interesting books! We were in there for about an hour and had to drag Makenah out. She said she could just go there for a whole week and be happy.

 

We headed out to go get some lunch. Stephanie said the best place was at the Space Museum, which just so happened to be on the way to the White House. It was SO crowded, but it sure felt good to sit for a while. Max even napped on the way and we had to wake him up to eat. Let's go find some lunch.

 

It's still early, the children are still smiling :)

 

Happy little tourists:

 

Crazy lunch line in the Air & Space Museum

 

After lunch, the kids played for a bit at the Air & Space Museum, looking through telescopes (one of Madisen's favorite things to do). It was crowded, and since we had just done another Space Museum, we didn't feel the need to waste our whole day there. Off we went to see the White House. It was a lengthy walk to the White House and Max was getting a bit restless when low and behold, a Merry-Go-Round jumped out at us. Madisen took Max and that made him happy -until it was time to get back in the stroller. Madisen and Max on the Merry-Go-Round:

 

I love this photo that I got of the Washington Monument

 

The National Christmas Tree - Naked!

 

Look close and you can see the gun and cameras up there - it's not a good idea to jump the fence!

 

We walked some more to the World War II Memorial and rested up our feet again. This was at the WWII Memorial and I loved the words:

 

The girls look so happy

 

Resting up.

 

World War II Memorial:

 

Max: Gotta keep a close eye on this little guy, he's a runner!

 

Dalton and Max -Cousin Buddies

 

My camera battery died at the World War II Memorial, and Stephanie's camera died at the Capital Building, so we found a souvenir shop that had batteries, disposable cameras, drinks and ice cream -all necessities! We didn't have a camera at the Lincoln Memorial, but we went on to glance over at the Korean Memorial, walked past the Vietnam Memorial, back past the Washington Monument and back to the Smithsonian metro stop where we all were so happy to get on the train and head for home. It was such an interesting day, and even though our feet, legs and hips were so tired from walking, it was so worth the education, memories, and photos. When we got back to Stephanie's, we all sat and watched National Treasure -except Max who had been sitting all day in the stroller, and was wanting to bounce off the walls and do flips.

 

Oh come on now, all this sightseeing is so fun!

 

Thank You so much Mark and Stephanie for such a great, memorable Spring Break in VA,and D.C.!