Goodbye Washington DC

Yesterday was our last day in DC. The weather was nice again and we were so thankful.  In the morning, we visited the last of the Smithsonian museums we wanted to see.  Michael and Isaiah went to the Museum of American History and Michaela, Jeremiah, and I went to the Museum of Natural History.  The Natural History museum had a special butterfly exhibit.  It was by far one of the neatest things I've seen in a long time.  We spent about 30 minutes taking pictures of these beautiful butterflies.  Here a few of our favorites.  

 

 

 

 

After lunch we went to Ford's Theater and learned about Abraham Lincoln's assasination.  The Ranger talk was very good and we learned some interesting facts.  Afterwards, we ate dinner at  McDonalds and then rode the Metrobus to the Lincoln Memorial and Veteran's Memorial.  Traffic was crazy and it took quite a while to get there.  We had planned to ride the bus back to the Metrorail but we got there too late and missed the last bus.  That meant we had to walk about 3/4 mile across the Potomac river to the Metro station in Arlington Cemetery.  We were very tired but it was a beautiful walk.  

 

 

 

Today we will drive to Baltimore to see Fort McHenry and then we will continue on to Elizabethtown PA where we will camp for the next 4 days.  

 

 

Capitol Hill

We had a very pleasant day today.  The weather was perfect!  We started out at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, ate a picnic lunch, then continued on to the Capitol for our tour.  A staff member from Congressman Patrick McHenry's office took us on the private tour.  It was very informative and the children really enjoyed it.  Afterwards, we toured the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and learned all about how money is made.  Too bad they weren't giving out any samples today.  We finished our day with a long...long walk to the White House.  Took a few pictures there and then hopped on the Metrorail back to the Jeep.   On the way to the Metro, we met an overly friendly squirrel. It was cute at first but then we got a little worried when it started to climb into Michaela's lap.

Time for some good hot showers and long foot soaks. It seriously seems like we walked at least 10 miles today.

Notes from Washington DC

Here's what we've learned so far:
 - We could never live in this city.
 - We definitely prefer driving over riding the Metrorail
 - You can waste a lot of time just getting to your destination.

That being said, here's how our day went yesterday.  The weather was still messy, constant mist and sometimes light rain all day.  We started our day by driving to the Metro station in College Park.  We took the rail to the Archives which was about a 20 minute ride.  Spent a little while there viewing the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence.  Left there and headed to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  We had lunch in the cafe because there were no other choices.  Way overpriced....we won't make that mistake again.  Today we'll be packing our lunch.  We never toured the Museum because by the time we finished lunch it was 2:00 and we needed to be at Arlington Cemetery by 3:00.  So off we went to another rail station.  The ride takes about 30 minutes.  We got on the wrong train at first, but thankfully a nice lady on the train told us how to get where we were going.  It rained steadily while we toured the cemetery so we didn't have many photo opportunities.  We did get to see the changing of the guard and Arlington House.  The flowers were beautiful and we were able to get some nice pictures of them. 

At the end of the day we were exhausted and just ready to get back to the RV.  We rode the Metro back to the stop where we left the Jeep.  It was rush hour and some of the trains were really full.  It's amazing how everyone is in their own little world and so unaware of what is happening around them.  I thought we were going to have to push people out of the way just to get on the train at one point.  The people inside were blocking the doorways.  At least we'll have a little experience when we get to New York. 

So we finally got to the rail station, got on the elevator in the parking garage.......AND GOT STUCK!!!  Yes, really!!!   The elevator wouldn't move and the door wouldn't open.  Thankfully the elevator was still on the ground floor and there was a window to the outside.  We sounded the alarm and banged on the window until someone noticed us.  The fire department and police were called and they arrived in about 15 minutes.  It only took a moment for them to get us out.  Needless to say, we didn't get back on a different elevator.  We took the steps to the 4th floor.  I don't think any of us will ever forget that experience. 

A few pictures from the day.....