Monday in DC

The last couple of days of our vacation we had trouble with our Internet. Now we are home and back into some sort of routine. Here is what we did on Monday. Monday we started at the Library of Congress. We took the tour and it was great. It is a beautiful place. We also went to "The Spy Museum". It was pretty interesting. First thing you have to do is quickly memorize a "spy cover" through out the museum you answer questions about your identity. If you answer correctly you get another assignment if not they suggest you find another line of work. Kyle and Jessi did great. Devin did better than me, I didn't do so great. Afterwards we went to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and The Constitution. It was very busy but we enjoyed it especially since we had just watched the movie "National Treasure" again. The best part of the day was seeing my Uncle Phil. He is in the House of Representatives. He gave us a personal tour of the Capital and the kids got to go on to the House floor. I truly enjoyed watching him work. It was the high light of our trip. Enjoy the pictures!

The ceiling of main hall of The Library of Congress.

They had the signs of the Zodiac on the floor of the Library of Congress.

Devin standing by his Zodiac sign Leo.

Jessi by her Zodiac sign, Cancer.

The Declaration of Independence. It was very impressive.

I was struck by how faded the document was.

This is the Old Senate. It is a beautiful room. You can feel the history.

Jessi, Devin, and Uncle Phil. Each state has two statues in the Capital building.

This is one of the statues from Hawaii.

It is so heavy that is can not be moved because it will fall the floor.

Kyle, Uncle Phil and me.

Day 2 in DC

Day 2 in DC:

Today was a very long day. We were at the Metro station before 8:00am. I had heard that to get the timed entrance tickets for the Washington Monument we should be in line before 8:30. When we got their a little after 8:00 there already was a line. But getting there early enabled us to pick our time. We also saw the WWII Monument, the WWI Monument, the Korean Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Franklin D Rosevely Monument. The most moving thing we visited was the Holocaust Museum. It was very emotional and very well presented. If you are ever in DC it is a definite must see. Enjoy the pictures.

All of us at the WWII Monument. It was a very peaceful place.

We were at this monument early in the morning,
the small amount of other visitors enabled us to enjoy
the monument with quiet reflection.

The WWI Monument.

It not near as grand in scale but the belief by the people
of the United States that it would be the last great war made it powerful.

This panel of the Korean Monument was created by the artist
from pictures that were sent to him of actual soldiers.

As visitors walk to the reflecting pool of the Korean Monument they pass
these soldiers making their way in the war.

The Lincoln Memorial was packed with people. There were signs
posted asking people to respect the monument by being quiet.
It was one of the loudest places we visited and parents were
letting their kids run wild. It was about this time that
I was getting tired of all of the crowds.

The Vietnam Memorial was also crowded but the majority
of the visitors were looking for those they loved. Even those
who had not lost loved ones in Vietnam, like Kyle and I, were
incredibly moved not only by the monument
but also the intense emotion from those around us.

A view of the Capital from the Washington Monument.

Jessi texting in the Washington Monument.

Jessi texting at the Jefferson Monument.

We walked a long way to this monument because
it is out of the way but it's location also meant
that fewer people were there.

The FDR Monument was definitely worth the long walk.
We felt it was the best presidential monument that
we visited. It takes you through four "outdoor" rooms
each one representing a term of his presidency.

Kyle and I at the FDR Monument. This is a must see if you visit DC.

This is not a DC monument but we had never seen an albino squirrel.

Day 1 in DC

Washington Day 2: On our first full day in Washington we went to the Smithsonian Castle. It is an impressive building and shows the different exhibits that can be found at all of the Smithsonian Museum. I was very interested in seeing the Hirshhom Sculpture Museum. I really enjoyed the outdoor sculpture garden and the Wish Tree. Visitors are invited to write a wish and hang it on the tree. When the tree is full the wishes are going to be sent to the artist who is going to create a display of wishes from several countries. After that we went to the Air and Space Museum. It is a huge place and we could have spent days there. The American History Museum is being renovated. During the renovations the exhibits are being shown at the Air and Space Museum. I would have loved being able to see the whole museum but the exhibits that they had were really great. The kids could relate too many of the objects. They had the original Star Wars R2D2 and C3PO. The also had Lincoln’s hat and the counter from the Woolworth's were African Americans participated in a sit in to protest segregation. Enjoy the pictures.

Sculpture Museum.

Wishing Tree.

Lunar Module.

Jessi landing a jet on an aircraft carrier with a simulator.

R2D2 and C3PO.

Scarecrow and ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz.

Jessi texting in front of a giant sloth skeleton.

Capital.

Washington Monument.

New York

New York:

The traffic into NY to Liberty Island was packed the whole way. We managed alright and only made one wrong turn. We took the ferry to Liberty Island. Seeing the Statue of Liberty was impressive. We wandered around the Island and then took the Ferry to Ellis Island. We weren't able to take to many pictures because our camera ran out of battery power, poor planning on our part. The drive out of NY to Washington had even more traffic than our drive earlier that day. On our drive in we took the Hudson Bridge and the way out we went through the Holland Tunnel. We arrived in Washington about 8:30pm. Our hotel room is very large and close to the Metro.

The Hudson bridge. NY traffic was crazy especially when we left for DC.

The Statue of Liberty from the Ferry.

Jessi texting at the Statue of Liberty.

Ellis Island. Our camera ran out of battery power before we could take any other pictures.

Day 6

Wednesday was our last full day in Boston. The kids and I spent the day in Boston Commons Park. It is a beautiful place with so much to see. We picked up lunch and had a picnic.

We ate under some beautiful weeping willow trees by the lagoon.

As soon as we sat down the ducks swam over to see what we had for them.
Between them and the pigeons we had to keep our eyes open to keep our lunch safe.

This is the first statue of George Washington on a horse.

We rode the swan boats around the lagoon.

Part of the Make Way for Duckling Statue.

Devin had wait quite a while to get his turn on momma duck.

Day 5

Tuesday was the day of Kyle's presentation. It went great! The kids and I spent the day shopping, swimming and hanging out at the room. Jessi browsed the Jimmy Choo shoe store and the Louis Voitton store.

Devin and I in the hot tub.

Devin the floating head.

Kyle and I are teaching the kids to play Euker. Both of them picked up on it very quickly.

Jessi and I were trounced the first full game we played.
But we got our revenge on our next game.

Day 4

This is a late entry but we have been getting to bed late and I have been tired by the time our day is done. On Monday we went back to Feneuil Hall to do some more shopping. We decided to drive. Big mistake!! Do Not drive in Boston ever. Actually the driving is bad but the parking is worse. I read that there are twice as many cars in Boston as parking places. I believe it! For dinner Kyle and I went out to a seafood restaurant with some of the people from his work. The kids were happy to hang out in the room and play Play Station and surf the Internet.

Quincy Market at Fenueil Hall.

Jessi and Devin take a break from shopping.

Kyle and I out at dinner.

Day 3

Sunday we went on a guided tour of The Freedom Trail which took us past many of the historic sights of Boston. We saw the Granary Burying Ground, where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and the victims of the Boston Massacre are buried. We also saw The Old South Meeting House, were the Declaration of Independence was first read. Our tour guide, Captain John took a liking to Devin and used him to help tell the stories. He also coerced Jessi into “volunteering” once. After that she stayed as close to the back as she could. We spent a little time at Faneuil Hall, which was the first market place of Boston. It was beginning to look a little grey so we didn’t stay long, Jessi did take time to get a tattoo. We ended up getting drenched on our long walk home.

Devin helping out Captain Jack.

Jessi "volunteering".

The Declaration of Independence was first read
from the balcony of the Old South Meeting house.

Jessi getting her tattoo at Faneuil Hall.

The finished product.