The Lundy 5

On our last day in DC, we went with the Igels and tried to squeeze in everything we'd missed and had to see. We finally saw the White House (from the outside, but I think we'll schedule a tour of it on the way back south). The White House Visitor Center had tons of info, a movie, pics, & pieces from the White House, plus a Junior Ranger program too. (And, unknown to us, Josh and Ethan found a cell phone and cash and turned both in. Good kids!) We saw Ford's Theater, and the house across the street where Lincoln died. We went back to the Museum of American History and saw Dorothy's ruby slippers, Fonzie's jacket, the Muppets, Edison's light bulb, Abe Lincoln's top hat, LOTS of historical war items, the original red hat that started the Red Hat society (which reminded me of our DSP Grannies!), and SO much more. It's huge and just packed full of interesting things. We went to the Holocaust Memorial and that was quite an experience. ...

We also toured the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and saw millions of dollars being printed! (I must say, in my former work life, I've seen many press rooms and this one was so clean.) No cameras here either unfortunately, but it was a very cool process. This tour is actually what I remember best from my trip to DC when I was in the 5th grade (Josh and Lizzy's age now). They have to get tired of the joke "Do we get free samples?" because we heard it a few times, but they were good about saying "Only on Thursdays" or "We just ran out." Allen had his hands on a million dollars too. *sigh* They had pallets in the press rooms of 64 million dollars each. 64 MILLION DOLLARS! After this, we went on a secret mission (like the Book of Secrets in the movie National Treasure)! The Igels were so good to us (again) and went early to the Washington Monument for tickets and hid ours in a secret location. Allen got a text, then we went on...

Thanks to our Ohio Congressman (and Speaker of the House) John Boehner's staff, we took a very nice private tour of the Capitol. We got to walk the tunnels from his office to the Capitol, stand in the exact center of the city, see old rooms that used to house the Supreme Court and House of Representatives, the Rotunda, so many statues (each state gets to display 2), amazing architecture, and beautiful paintings, stand where Abraham Lincoln and others used to sit, and we even got to see the House Floor (where presidents give the State of the Union address). No phones or cameras allowed in there unfortunately. The kids might have also sat in Speaker Boehner's own chair! (Unless that would get any of his staff in trouble. In that case, I'm totally kidding, they never did that.) I'm still stuck without my good camera, so my pics can't do this justice. You'll have to come see it yourself to appreciate it!

Since it was our 14th anniversary , we planned to watch a baseball game (doesn't every couple? That's what we did on our honeymoon too!), but unfortunately the Washington Generals game was rained out (despite a beautiful day!). So we met the Igels at the Old Post Office to check out the tower and view. It's a gorgeous old building with the second best view of the city, plus the Bells of Congress in the tower, plus a Junior Ranger program . Then we visited Arlington National Cemetery and saw the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, JFK's grave, and the Robert E Lee Memorial. Did you know you can see the Lee Memorial from the back of the Lincoln Memorial? Thanks to the Junior Rangers, we do now!

After some much needed downtime, we headed back into Washington DC. We went to the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, and the WWII, Vietnam, and Lincoln Memorials. And walked for miles in between all of those. Once again, we barely scratched the surface of the museums. Highlights were seeing the Hope Diamond and one of Martha Washington's dresses (plus many of the other First Ladies). We were sad that they've drained and are doing construction on the reflecting pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial though. I may Photoshop that in, because it's just not the same! Here are a few pics. And even more pics... We were also surprised when our new friends the Igels pulled into the campground, so the kids have been playing in between trips to the city.

We took the metro (a first for the kids) into Washington DC and saw the Smithsonian. Did you know the " Smithsonian " is actually 19 different museums? We could have spent all day (and did spend most of one) at the National Air and Space Museum. A highlight after Kitty Hawk was certainly seeing the Wright Brothers' original plane! We also saw Amelia Earhart's plane, lots of items taken to the moon and on shuttles, and just so much more. It's huge and we only scratched the surface. We also walked around the Capital and are looking forward to our tour soon. It's an impressive building! We happened upon Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan speaking to students on a field trip. We'll need more than a few days to cover DC!