The Lundy 5

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!

On our way north to Washington DC, we stopped in Fredericksburg, VA at the Fredericksburg National Military Park . This one was unique because it was a Confederate win. It was quite a sad story of a great location for the Confederate soldiers behind a wall and sunken road, and the following slaughter of Union soldiers. There was a house nearby with bullet holes in the walls from the battle. We also visited the beautiful Chatham Manor , a nearby mansion that overlooks Fredericksburg. It was a plantation, then headquarters, then hospital for soldiers, visited by Washington and Jefferson. And the kids did the Junior Ranger program there as usual.

After a lot of learning about colonial times, we took a break for a few days at Kings Dominion . (Our season tickets have already paid for themselves, so now we go for free!) We found a parking lot right across the street too, so we spent the nights there and the days riding coasters! It was just like Kings Island in Cincinnati with very similar rides/stores/fountains. Having the RV close was again wonderful for meals and breaks. They had NASA day and a mobile biology lab too, so even when we try to take a break, there's something else to learn. :)

We loved Williamsburg and got to go back in time and take part in the revolution! Encouraged by the actors (who never broke character), we were very upset about the stamp taxes. It was neat to see all the old buildings and picture life back in the 1700s. The colonists chatted up the crowd gathering and it was fun to hear their opinions of Ben Franklin, the government, taxes, etc. It was quite exciting as we (the entire crowd) followed them from place to place to hear events leading up to the Declaration of Independence, which was very touching. (Yes, I cried.) The kids said it was like living in a movie and it was definitely the best thing we've done. We even followed the parade down the street at the end and Matt said this is like the credits. Here are a few favorite pics and a slideshow of them all below. More pics... Williamsburg was definitely a highlight of this year!

We just celebrated ONE YEAR of living on the road, our nomadiversary, on 5/5/11. How? With cake of course! A specialty cake right, made just for us? Um sure. We found a cake decorated with some kids' movie or show or something (I'd never heard of it), but we thought it looked like the Mojave Desert (one of our favorite campsites), so we went with that! We used Josh's truck and RV for the top, and tada! The perfect (for us) RVing cake! Who knew a cactus could be so yummy?! A year! And we're still loving it, the awesome, the boring, all of it. But especially the days that include chocolate cake!