Thursday, July 7, 2016 National Mall
This was also an eventful day. I will break it down by event like I did previously.
We jumped on the Metro out of College Park, Maryland and went to the Washington DC National Mall. First off, the Metro is pretty cool. The DC metro rides both above ground and under ground, kind of like a rollercoaster. The seating is much different than in New York. We started at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. The museum was fascinating! It takes you through the ages and stages of aircraft through the years. There are also simulators you can do. The museum offers extensive information about the past astronauts, space shuttle they were in and time period. They had movie clips playing you could view anytime and aircraft you can take a tour though. It was a good museum to start at. Some of these museums are so big you will spend a whole day there. We had to manage our time and skip around a bit.
Josh, Charlie and Colin entering a space shuttle Skylab
Some of the Aircraft hanging from the rafters
Chandler being Chandler through the glass of this pretty awesome mini display
Military Jet Crewman's Equipment
One of the many displays of what equipment was originally used compared to what is used today.
For lunch we walked across the street to the NCA Sculpture Garden for a picnic in the gardens. The Sculptures were very creative, eccentric, beautiful and large scale. We sat on the benches surrounding the central fountain and enjoyed some quiet time.
Lunch time at the Sculpture Garden
The fountain in the garden. I wish I had taken a picture of the duck ramp by the fountain for the ducks to walk up into the water.
One of the Sculptures in the garden
After lunch we walked over to the Smithsonian National History Museum. Charlie HAD to see the Dinosaurs! Right inside the entry was the Easter Island Statue from the movie Night at the Museum. The kids started quoting the movie line, "hey dumb dumb, give me some gum, gum." Gotta love these kids and their movie knowledge. We were pressed for time so we started at the top floor to meet the Dinosaurs and worked our way down. The kids got their picture with all the dinosaurs and had the opportunity to watch people in the Fossil Lab working on 500 year old fossil rock. The next floor had gems. There was a sapphire ring over 40 ct. and we got to see the HOPE DIAMOND. So cool. Now we have to watch the movie Titanic, just sayin.
Easter Island Statue- look how happy they are!
"hey dumb dumb, gimme some gum gum"
Then there's Charlie
It's a REAL Mummy!
Fossil lab
Charlie holding a Madagascar Cockroach
Chandlers turn! Mom held it too. They are really soft on the under side. Kinda neat!
HOPE DIAMOND!
Up close and personal with the HOPE DIAMOND
We left the museum and walked down to the Washington Monument. It was a beautiful day to view the monument, although freakishly hot, still beautiful. We noticed a helicopter flying repeatedly over head between the monument and the White House. It sparked curiosity thats for sure. The views of Lincoln Memorial and White House from the Monument were stunning.
Behind the Washington Monument was the WWII Memorial. Its was definitely a place to rest and reflect. People sat with their feet in the pool and sat quietly. There was so much to see and take in.
Yep, Charlie chased the birds down the Washington Monument Lawn.
WWII Memorial
Thousands of gold stars line wall
We then took the hike over to the Korean War Memorial. The statues were so symbolic and memorable. This was well done. By this time everyone needed to sit down from heat exhaustion, but we did NOT.
When we arrived at the Lincoln Memorial, people just lined the stairway sitting and enjoying to view of the reflecting pool and Washington Monument. The view was spectacular. There were several people inside the Memorial. Mr. Lincoln is smaller than I imagined but the whole Memorial was beautifully made. At the top of the steps we found a shaded, breezy spot to sit and map out the way back to the Metro.
Lincoln Memorial
Abe and my babies
Josh and I on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
(look at that guided tour on Segways in the background, NICE!)
The view of the reflecting pool and Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
On the way back, north side of reflecting pool, was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. There were telephone style directories under podium stands that had the names of those on the wall. Josh and Carmen located 4 Voss' on the Veteran Wall.
Memorial Wall
it was hard to get a full picture with all the people around
This squirrel haggled Chandler for food. He walked over and took it with his hands. Sucker
Lastly, we walked down to get a glimpse of the White House. There were many people standing out front waiting their turn for a good photo opportunity. The White House seemed much smaller than I imagined but still beautiful. The guards would yell at you if you stepped off the sidewalk, I don't recommend it. There was a man that set up residency right on the sidewalk in front of the White House. He had horrible images of world events plastered all over his tent. I'm not sure what his goal was but he was arguing with a passerby. There was a woman with a microphone pleading her case about religion and the upcoming election. It was all very confusing. A lot to take in. We had our photo opp and got the heck out of there. We ended our day having walked 10 miles, more than half of it was in 95 degree heat. I am very proud of my family.
The White House
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