Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A Day at the Capital

We live in a pretty rural area. However, rural doesn't mean lack of people as the tourists flock in during the summer to spend days on beach with their toes in the sand. While I love where we live and think it is a great place to raise kids, I miss living in a more urban area. The closest mall and Target are 45 minutes away for goodness sakes!

But, the great thing about little ol' Delaware is that it is only a hop, skip, and jump from many big cities such as Philly, Baltimore, New York, and DC. We visit each of them a few times a year to get my city fix.

Last weekend, since the kids and I were already in Maryland to see Bugs Bunny on Broadway we decided to spend Sunday in DC. We met Dave at a Metro Station and then took the Metro to the mall to play tourist.



We visited the Natural History Museum first, which is probably my favorite museum. Dyl loved the dinosaur exhibit, Zoe went for the jewel display specifically the tiara, and we all enjoyed the mammals and ocean exhibits. It was kind of funny going through the ocean exhibit after all we live at the ocean so seeing shells, crabs, seagulls, sand is nothing new, but the massive squid they had preserved...WOW!


After a couple hours in the museum our stomach were rumbling so we went to get some lunch at a cafe in the sculpture garden. We decided to eat outside by the fountain since it was nice in the shade. Of course, the water was just too tempting so soon enough Zoe's toes were in the water and everybody else was quick to join her.



Since our bellies were full and our bodies cooled from the water I thought I would catch a family picture while everyone was happy. I love how it turned out.


After lunch we headed across the mall to visit the Air and Space Museum, my least favorite museum in DC. On our way Dave took this photo of me and the kids with the Capital building in the background.

Growing up my family visited DC a few times a year since we lived so close and with two brothers the air and space museum was always a must see. I can't say airplanes and space shuttles do much for me. Sure I'm impressed with the idea that something so big and so heavy can actually fly, but I don't need to go through an entire building looking at plane after plane after plane. Anywho, the kids thought differently so we spent another couple hours at Air and Space. There was a huge kids part in the museum, which I had not seen before, where they could get in a plane, fly a little plane, and experiment with drag, flaps, wind, and all this other stuff I didn't understand, but my son did!




All my times in DC, I had never been in the original Smithsonian Castle. I was always awed by the architecture, but admired it from the outside. Since Dave had never been inside either we decided to stop in. Once inside the first thing we found was the body of Mr. Smithson. He is right there, first room to the left when you walk in. Dylan and Zoe couldn't figure out why they had him in a bathtub.




In case you aren't familiar with the story, Mr. Smithson was an extremely wealthy man from Italy and when he died he left all of his money to the United States in order to create the Smithsonian Museum. Dave finds this fascinating that somebody would leave all of his money to a country he didn't even reside in.

Back inside the castle we found the stack of loot used in Night of the Museum 2, a little cafe with gift shop, a map of the DC area, and a back door to some stunning gardens. We didn't go further in our exploration of the castle but decided to take a tour next time we go back.


The next part of our visit took us on a very long walk as Dylan had decided he wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial. If you aren't familiar with DC this may seem like an innocent request, but if you know the area then you also know that the Smithsonian Castle and the Lincoln Memorial are not neighbors by any means. Being the good parents we are though we decided to make the trek. So we got some ice cream and water ice from a street vendor and were on our way.

In the middle of our path was the Washington Monument, one of my most favorite sights. It stands so proudly in the middle of a field on top of the hill and there is just something about it that catches my breath. As we were standing at the foot of it and looking up the clouds were moving past rather quickly making it look as if the monument was falling on you. Weird! The monument made a great backdrop for some pictures.


Finally after a stop at the WWII fountain to dip our toes, three water bottles, and many whines we made it to the Lincoln Memorial. We tackled all the steps and stood humbly at Lincolns feet. I am always impressed by the Lincoln memorial and this time was no different.


After seeing Lincoln everybody was tired and worn out from the journey. We decided to head back to the Metro station to go home. On the way there we passed the White House. The kids were convinced that President Obama was going to be playing with his dog outside and needless to say they were a bit disappointed!
We also passed three bathrooms, none of which were open for Zoe to use. The 4th bathroom was open though and eventually we made our way back on the Metro and drove the 2 1/2 hours back home.

A summer day well spent!

6 comments:

  1. That sounds like an excellent day - exhausting, but really fun and with lots of memories to collect :) Way to make the most of your summer!
    Nice pictures of you guys!! :)

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  2. As a Maryland suburb resident, I am in awe of all you packed in. I can only make one museum a day with my kids before they lose it. Nice job!

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  3. oh gosh I am so jealous what a great day trip :)

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  4. Wow, sounds like you had an awesome day! I hope to take our family our there someday...but right now, Colby is too young to enjoy something like that. Although I would love it!

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  5. WOW! you did ALL that?? y'all are nuts! But what a great family day! I too love the Lincoln Memorial and the American History Museum. Kari and I wanted to take the kids down one day this summer.. we'll see! Next time, go when the cherry blossoms are blooming - it's GORGEOUS!

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  6. Man i wish i could be a member of your family one day. Although we only live about 4 hours from DC i have never been. It is so sad to admit that. I have driven through on the way to Baltimore but never stopped to visit.

    It looks like you all had a lovely day. And i am sure it was a great work out as well!

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