{Washington DC - Day 2}
After stuffing the kids with breakfast back at the hotel, we headed downtown DC. We were excited to find a parking place right in front of the Washington Monument. Strange, though, that when I took a picture of the four silly kids when we got out of the car, I guess because it was a little cloudy and my iphone camera sometimes does funny things, you couldn't see the monument in the background. Here it is for real in the same place...
We knew this would be our longest day here and we wanted to make the most of it. Everyone had their comfortable shoes on, we had a plan, and here is what we saw...
We walked by the South Lawn of the White House, but didn't go any closer because we are going back there tonight...
Our first stop this morning would be the National Museum of American History. This Smithsonian Museum is where you can find just about any historical relic imaginable...
...from the actual ruby slippers worn by Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz"...
...to an original Model T Ford...
...the china pattern and Inaugural Ball gown
of each First Lady of the United States...
{Martha Washington}
{Laura Bush}
...the Nauvoo Temple Sunstone...
...and many influential Military vehicles like this helicopter flown in Vietnam...
Next we walked over to the little boys' most favorite place of all, The National Museum of Natural History...
...the giant elephant was a favorite exhibit, as was this totem pole that reaches three stories high...
Then, it was on to my favorite place, the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art. The National Gallery of Art is housed in two buildings, the East Building and the West Building. Like all of the Smithsonian Museums, we could have spent an entire day here. But, we had a few artists who's work we were particularly interested in seeing. So, we got a map of the two buildings and followed the mazes around these beautiful structures...
Brant thinks about The Thinker...
...and Lance was very excited when we finally found the Van Gogh exhibit...
Outside the Gallery of Art, we walked through sculpture garden on our way to the National Archives. This where the United States Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence are displayed. There is no photography allowed anywhere in the building, but here is the path leading to the entrance...
We planned to spend the afternoon at the National Zoo which is a short drive away, so we rested while Ricky went to get the car. Doesn't everyone look so excited? :) They were just a little tired.
The zoo was fun, but I don't think we would take the time to go there again, given all of the other things to do in DC. I think our Hogle Zoo here in Utah is just as nice, but like I said, it was fun...
Our plan for the evening was to first go to the War Memorials, then see the sunset as we visited the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.
The World War II Memorial...
There is a pillar for each state...
The Alabama pillar...
The view of the Washington Monument from the WWII Memorial...
Brant holds up the Monument while Gavin sees how close he can get to the water without getting wet...
The walk to the Vietnam War Memorial...
One of my favorite pictures that Trent took of the Washington Monument...
We made the short walk to the Lincoln Memorial and climbed the many many stairs to the top. What an amazing statue and memorial to a great man...
Lance and Lincoln...
Riley and Gavin pose in front of Gavin's birthday buddy...
The view of the Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial...
There wasn't much water in the reflecting pool, but beautiful just the same...
The sun was setting as we walked away from the Lincoln Memorial. What an amazing, incredible day...
After our two days (and a half day tomorrow) in Washington DC, I feel so thankful that we decided to make this trip here. It is a wonderful place that has meant so much to us as we have spent this time together, learning more about our Nation's rich history. It is far away from our home, but I can't imagine raising our kids and never bringing them here to show them these important sites.
And, as we planned, we finished the day by visiting Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of the North Lawn of the White House. We stood in front of the gate, which is where the Presidential reviewing stand is set up for each Presidential Inauguration. It was nice to just look around us at all of the important sites and watch the people walking by. Lance and Gavin struck up a conversation with one of the police officers patrolling the street. Lance asked him if he had ever met the President. When the officer said that he had and he had shaken the President's hand, Lance shook the officer's hand and excitedly started telling us that he had practically shaken hands with the President of the United States. :)
And last, but not least, on our way (well, kindof out of the way) to our hotel, we drove the back way through a neighborhood to see the Washington DC Temple. What a lovely, majestic Temple, representing the Lord's Church in our Nation's Capitol. The pictures I took weren't great, but suffice it to say that as we drove onto the Interstate by the Temple and watched it disappear behind us, our bodies were tired, but our hearts were grateful for the experiences we have had and for the blessing of living in this choice Land, the United States of America.
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