2018 Vacation Day 8: D.C.
Today was gloomy, but it rained very little, which made our day much more enjoyable and productive.
Parking, too, was easier, simply because we knew what to do and where to go.
We agreed that we'd felt too rushed at the Museum of Natural History so we started our day there and were able to beat the crowd a bit.
Our first stop was an area that's especially for kids. The boys spent quite a bit of time with Ben looking at the high-powered microscopes and then we looked through their impressive collection of hands-on objects. The skeletons in this section were pretty interesting, too!
I was interested in seeing the small, but interesting mummy exhibit.
The gems and minerals exhibit was last. I thought I'd just meander through it because we saw something very, very similar when we went to the Denver History Museum last year. But there's something about rocks and gems that are just so amazing. We spent longer here than we thought we would
By this time, it had been clear enough outside that we felt confident with spending some time outside.
We walked the Mall a bit and saw the Washington Monument.
The elevator isn't working and you can't get up close to the monument because of construction, but we were happy to be able to see it.
Next, we came to the WWII Memorial.
[caption id="attachment_4455" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Each gold star represents 100 soldiers killed in WWII.[/caption]
We continued on toward the Lincoln Memorial.
[caption id="attachment_4444" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
The Lincoln Memorial on the other side of the Reflecting Pool.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_4446" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
This mama and her babies were a major attraction at the Reflecting Pool. Look at that pile of fluff![/caption]
I admired the Lincoln Memorial. Gabe was less than impressed. He felt Lincoln looked like "a dictator." It does seem almost like a god in a pagan temple, sitting on his throne. Thanks, Gabe, I can't unsee it now. :D
[caption id="attachment_4449" align="aligncenter" width="200"]
The view back toward the Washington Monument.[/caption]
We were getting hungry now so we decided to start our walk back. A real demonstration was taking place and was following our route so we walked by it for a while. It was neat to see something like that in process.
The protesters handed out a flyer about their cause. They were Sikhs, protesting Palestinian occupation and oppression. Gabe read over the entire thing and was very interested in it.
Linner was eaten at Hard Rock Cafe.
We (I) joked that HRC is becoming a tradition. I'll have to start looking for them intentionally when we're on vacation!
Despite being tired, we needed to find some local coffee. Peet's was the best we could do, but they had an AMAZING turmeric-ginger latte. I need to figure out how to make this at home!
The gathering rain clouds helped seal our decision to call it a day and get on the road. We drove for just a bit, to just outside the Monticello area, and then called it a day.
Our time in D.C. is nowhere complete. We fully plan on coming back and now that we have a general idea of the layout and what's available, it doesn't seem so overwhelming now. I am really looking forward to returning someday and seeing more of this impressive area!
Parking, too, was easier, simply because we knew what to do and where to go.
We agreed that we'd felt too rushed at the Museum of Natural History so we started our day there and were able to beat the crowd a bit.
Our first stop was an area that's especially for kids. The boys spent quite a bit of time with Ben looking at the high-powered microscopes and then we looked through their impressive collection of hands-on objects. The skeletons in this section were pretty interesting, too!
I was interested in seeing the small, but interesting mummy exhibit.
The gems and minerals exhibit was last. I thought I'd just meander through it because we saw something very, very similar when we went to the Denver History Museum last year. But there's something about rocks and gems that are just so amazing. We spent longer here than we thought we would
By this time, it had been clear enough outside that we felt confident with spending some time outside.We walked the Mall a bit and saw the Washington Monument.
The elevator isn't working and you can't get up close to the monument because of construction, but we were happy to be able to see it.Next, we came to the WWII Memorial.
[caption id="attachment_4455" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Each gold star represents 100 soldiers killed in WWII.[/caption]
We continued on toward the Lincoln Memorial.[caption id="attachment_4444" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
The Lincoln Memorial on the other side of the Reflecting Pool.[/caption][caption id="attachment_4446" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
This mama and her babies were a major attraction at the Reflecting Pool. Look at that pile of fluff![/caption]
I admired the Lincoln Memorial. Gabe was less than impressed. He felt Lincoln looked like "a dictator." It does seem almost like a god in a pagan temple, sitting on his throne. Thanks, Gabe, I can't unsee it now. :D[caption id="attachment_4449" align="aligncenter" width="200"]
The view back toward the Washington Monument.[/caption]We were getting hungry now so we decided to start our walk back. A real demonstration was taking place and was following our route so we walked by it for a while. It was neat to see something like that in process.
The protesters handed out a flyer about their cause. They were Sikhs, protesting Palestinian occupation and oppression. Gabe read over the entire thing and was very interested in it.
Linner was eaten at Hard Rock Cafe.
We (I) joked that HRC is becoming a tradition. I'll have to start looking for them intentionally when we're on vacation!
Despite being tired, we needed to find some local coffee. Peet's was the best we could do, but they had an AMAZING turmeric-ginger latte. I need to figure out how to make this at home!
The gathering rain clouds helped seal our decision to call it a day and get on the road. We drove for just a bit, to just outside the Monticello area, and then called it a day.
Our time in D.C. is nowhere complete. We fully plan on coming back and now that we have a general idea of the layout and what's available, it doesn't seem so overwhelming now. I am really looking forward to returning someday and seeing more of this impressive area!
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