DC was amazing! I’ve
been there 3 times now and I finally feel like I saw everything I wanted to
see. Almost. But the city and surrounding area are so full
of things to see and do there is no way to get it all done. We gave it an awfully good try though, and
our poor bodies and feet are exhausted.
As much as I’ll miss it, I’m almost happy to have a day of hours of
driving ahead of us so we can just rest.
The last 8 days have been so busy with the 3 big cities that its nice to
see some rest in our future. The trip
had been planned up to this point but from now on we are winging it. We know Kentucky has to be touched because that
is the last state Mason, Darcy, and Bree need to bring their total to 49
states. Hawaii is the last state all 4 will
need and we told them they are on their own to get there. Bree thinks once the others graduate and she’s
the only one left at home we’ll take her.
She’s hilarious.
Back to DC. We had a
spot at Pohick Bay Regional Park for 5 nights and 4 days. It turns out it was right next to Mount
Vernon so I added that to our list of wants.
Really, it was only about 28 miles from DC but the traffic we fought
each morning made it over an hour’s drive to the city. Not too bad, I guess. The drivers were aggressive but nowhere near
Chicagoans. They are still the worst! We had tickets to the White House for 7:30am on
the 17th so we built our schedule around that and the weather. I forgot just how horrible it is in Virginia when
its hot. The humidity is
oppressive. And I feel like I can never
get a clean breath of air. Its just so
heavy. And the cicadas are out in
force! They have this rhythmic chant
thing going on and I thought the first night Jason was coming to get us! Its FREAKY!
Needless to say, I’ll visit this area but never live here! 
Back to DC for real.
The first day wasn’t going to be the hottest (89) so we hit the monuments
on the National Mall. We saw Lincoln,
Washington (closed for elevator repair), Vietnam, Korean War, WWII, and Martin
Luther King, Jr. It doesn’t sound like
many but they are spread all over the Mall and it’s a ton of walking in between
on a hot, humid day. We went to the
Museum of American History for about an hour before our Lincoln tickets but
that was just scratching the surface so we made plans to go back another
day. Our next stop was Ford’s Theater
where President Lincoln was shot. I’ve
been there before but its one of my favorite places in DC. The museum they have there is
incredible. Its full of artifacts from the
assassination. It was all collected and
used at trials and a ton of it is at the museum. Its always sobering to see where he was
sitting when he got shot, and then tour the home across the street where he
died. Bree really got into the history
in this city, and Mason has been filling his brain with it all trip. I love to watch them gain an appreciation for
history and put names with faces with events.
We were hoping this would happen, that they could learn a ton on this
trip, along with having some fun. I would
say we’ve been successful in both areas.
After Ford’s we high-tailed it to The National Archives. If I had one complaint (on top of the heat,
humidity, excessive walking, and psycho cicadas), it would be that everything
closes at 5:30. Fortunately for us
though, it kind of forced us to stop at 5:30 instead of running ourselves
completely into the ground. So we raced
to the Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and
the Bill of Rights. I think this was a
high point for the kids. So cool. The D of I is barely readable anymore but you
can still make out the first few words and John Hancock’s signature. So cool.
That was a really great, but tiring day.
Day two was going to be hot so we went to Harper’s Ferry in
West Virginia. Bree and Darcy hadn’t
been to WV yet and the rest of us had barely crossed the border 12 years ago so
we found a good place to spend some time.
It was beautiful. Harper’s Ferry
is where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers converge and flow on as the Potomac. It was also the site of John Brown’s attempted
slave uprising before the Civil War, and an important strategic hold for both
sides in the Civil War. Pretty neat place. Once again, filled with history. The Appalachian Trail ran through the area,
on the bridge we crossed by foot into Maryland, so now we can all say we’ve
hiked that trail!
After Harper’s Ferry we drove south a bit to Shenandoah
National Park in Virginia. That was a
nice drive along the Blue Ridge Mountains.
We had John Denver playing in the background and now I can’t get Country
Roads out of my head! It was a pretty
drive, with tons of turnouts to see the Shenandoah Valley below us, but I think
the best part was all the butterflies we found in a patch of flowers. They were so pretty. We took a million pictures of them. We didn’t drive the whole 100 miles of the
park because that would have taken forever, but I’m glad we got to see what we
did, though I was really hoping to see a bear.
No such luck.
We had to be in line at the White House Wednesday morning by
7:15 so that meant getting up at 5am.
Ugh. It was so totally worth
it. It was worth driving across the
country even if that was the only thing we saw.
We saw so many of the rooms they still use all the time. I didn’t realize it would be like that. We saw the East Room where Obama announced
the killing of Bin Laden, where bills are signed, where sports teams are
hosted, where balls are held, etc. So
cool. And the different colored sitting
rooms which held the history of previous presidents. It was just too cool to believe. And the original artwork. And Architecture. And we saw the State Dining Room and we
walked out the front steps of the White House!
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! I’m
pretty sure that was one of the most memorable experiences we have had on the trip. Thankfully Paul’s coworker told us we had to
apply for tickets months before we went so I got that all arranged before we
left. I’m so glad I did! Such a cool experience. The rest of the day promised to be a “real
humdinger,” according to the guy on the street selling cold water, so the plan
was to see the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Museum of Natural History, and
Museum of American History to beat the heat.
They were all awesome. We saw
Neil Armstrong’s space suit, Dorothy’s ruby slippers, Egyptian mummies, T-Rex
bones, Captain America’s shield, the Hope Diamond, etc., etc., etc., Too much good stuff to even remember it
all! Those museums are amazing. We stayed mostly cool that day except for the
walk back to the McDonalds a few blocks (at least half a mile) away so we could
keep ourselves going. It was either take
a walk in the heat or not eat. DC doesn’t
have food everywhere around the Mall area like other cities do. There are a couple of carts selling hot dogs
and ice cream but, gross. So we used the
same McD’s a few times over the course of our time there. I’m french-fried out. We got back to our car just in time for the
Heaven’s to open and a massive thunderstorm with raging winds took over the city. Our campground 30 miles away took a hit too,
with trees and limbs down all over.
Thankfully nothing hit our trailer but Bree had to get on the roof this
morning to sweep the junk off the slide-outs before we could close them. She loved it!
Our last day in the area we met up with Paul’s cousin,
Laurie, and her boys, Logan and Brady.
Such great family Paul has! We
were looking forward to seeing them again and we had a great time at the
National Zoo. I had been looking forward
to that day so I could see pandas and gorillas.
We saw gorillas at Disney World and they were amazing so I was excited
to see them again. There was a
baby! It was so stinking cute! And the pandas were amazing, too. Such beautiful animals. There were 3 and one guy was sitting upright eating
his bamboo. It was so cool! He gave quite a show while the other 2 just
slept. What a cool experience though. I was so smitten that I bought a panda
stuffed animal for myself! The kids still
think I’m crazy. We saw so many animals
we had never seen before like a sloth, pandas, Komodo dragon, king cobra, fennec
fox, armadillo, crazy fish from the amazon, and strange alligators. We don’t have any of those at the Oregon Zoo
so it was a great day for all of us. Probably
a highlight of the trip again. After the
zoo we went to Mount Vernon, since we were camped right by it. It was so neat to be where George Washington
lived! How cool is it that the place is
so totally preserved!? It was way hot
though, and we got there about 2 hours before closing, so we had to make it a
quick stop. I’m thankful I got to go,
not sure the kids were. Seeing his tomb
was pretty crazy, and just the scope of all he had going on at his property was
kind of mind boggling. The Washingtons
were quite well to do. And we’re related
to him through his sister. So cool. DC and surrounding area was just such a neat
experience and there is so much more to see.
I guess we’ll have to go back in 6 years on another sabbatical! Now its on to Charleston, SC and probably
Savannah, GA and then we’ll start to head back west. I don’t want this to end!
Things I learned in DC this week:
1. This country is AMAZING! But I already knew that. I am so very grateful for my family for being willing to hit the road for 8 weeks! Its been an amazing trip so far, and really, the kids have been stellar travelers.
2. I'm still a kid at heart I guess. Who knew I'd ever buy a stuffed animal for myself? Its been probably 30 years since I bought the last one!
3. So many historical facts its hard to keep them straight. Poor Bree was trying to make heads or tails of who the bad guys were in the many different wars we have been exposed to. Our heads are so full of US History right now!
4. I can't stand humidity! I feel like I'm suffocating. Its claustrophobia inducing.
5. I don't want to dog on Walmart since that is our go-to when shopping, but their cashiers need to be trained better on how to bag items. Today we watched as the cashier put one box of cereal in a bag and then moved on. And she bagged the milk. It was insane! I feel like no place east of Idaho recycles and is as earth-friendly as we are out west. I even put the stuff on the conveyor belt systematically so the stuff that should be in a bag together is right next to each other. Doesn't matter. And this wasn't an isolated incident. It happens every time.
6. Thunderstorms make me happy. Nature is an amazing force.
