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September 7, 2005 — Today is our first day in Washington DC! We took the Metro from the station in Largo, MD, just two minutes from our hotel, to the Smithsonian station, and headed straight for The Bureau of Printing and Engraving. It is quiet in our nations' capital this week with kids back in school so we were able to walk right up and get a tour. The 45 minute tour taught us how money is printed. All US currency is printed at this facility or at a second, smaller facility in Fort Worth, Texas. It was interesting to see sheets of new 10 dollar bills being printed so nearby! We saw the new security features
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that are present on $20 bills which began to circulate in 2004 and the new $5 bills. No samples were given at the end of the tour (unfortunately) but I was given a couple packets of information to use with the kids when I told the tour guide that our kids were homeschooled. From the Bureau, we headed up to The Washington Monument and got tickets to go up in the monument at 4:30 pm this afternoon. It was already 12:30 pm and our Capitol tour was scheduled for 2 pm. We spent about one hour in The National Museum of American History viewing the inauguration dresses of our nations First Ladies. That was certainly not enough time to see much since the museum is so vast and we plan to go back on Friday. From there we headed up The Mall to the Richard B. Russell Senate Office Building where the Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss has an office. On the way we saw the funeral procession for Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist. Once at Senator Chambliss' office, we met our tour guides, Justin and Gaynor, and headed over to the Capitol building via an underground tunnel between the buildings. The capitol was bustling and interesting, and the artwork in that building is phenominal. We really enjoyed seeing the "whisper spot" where
John Quincy Adams
sat and listened to what unknowingly, opposing congressmen were saying across the rotunda. I especially enjoyed a beautiful fresco painting that circles the rotunda depicting scenes from our country's history. While coming down the steps during the tour, Darby slipped and fell about 7 steps on her bottom right into
Congressman Mike Pence
(R - Indiana). She bruised her foot, rib, and pride but was such a good sport. Everyone on the steps waited for her to be able to get up and the congressman was especially nice to her introducing himself and shaking her hand. We teased her for the rest of the day about the lengths she would go to in order to get the attention of a Congressman. On the tour we were also able to see both the Senate and the House of Representative Chambers; and although there was not much discussion going on in either place, it was interested to see where laws are made. (Click here to see more about the architecture of The US Capitol building) We said goodbye to our gracious tour guides and headed to the Washington Monument for our 4:30 pm tour. Everything looks close together here but it actually takes a while to cover the distance on foot. The Washington Monument used to be accessible by staircase, but now tourists are spirited to the top in a mere 70 seconds by an elevator operated by a National Park Ranger. The view from the top was magnificent! Of course the weather has been perfect again today - we have been so fortunate with that on this trip. The monument was closing at 5 pm when we came down -- the park rangers literally turned the lights out as we left the top -- and after returning to ground, we sat at the base of the monument while the kids worked on their Junior Ranger Program. We continued down The Mall to the new WWII monument, and then on to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. All of the memorials are special and unique in their own way and we enjoyed each of them. After the Lincoln Memorial, we were worn out so we hiked back to the Smithsonian Metro station, headed back to the hotel, grabbed a quick dinner, and were in bed by 9 pm. Tomorrow we plan to see more of the memorials, explore the National Archives, and of course attend our White House tour which is scheduled for tomorrow night at 8 pm.
September 8, 2005 — We headed out of the hotel this morning and hopped on the Metro at exactly 9:30 am. We had a lot on the agenda for today. We started at the National Archives. Just viewing the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence was awesome. Seeing the originals of these documents and knowing that without the hard work and dedication of our founding fathers our country would not be what it is today is an amazing thought. There were many other interesting documents we saw there; including, the arrest warrent for Susan B. Anthony charging her with voting
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before women were permitted to do so, and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. The exhibits found at the Archives are truly a treasure for our nation. From the Archives, we headed up 10th Street to Ford's Theater where President Lincoln was assassinated. We were able to view the theater box were he and his wife, Mary Todd, were seated when he was shot. They also have a neat museum with articles that belonged to Lincoln as well as other items, including the gun that was used to shoot him. Across the street is the Petersen House - this is where Lincoln was taken after he was shot. He was still alive with a beating heart and breathing, but in an unconcious state when he taken there. We saw the bed where he battled for his life and where he eventually died the next morning, April 15, 1865 at 7:22 am. The kids completed the Junior Ranger program at the Ford's Theater and were ready to move on to the next activity! After having a quick bite of lunch, Mark decided to head back to the hotel to get a little bit of work done and the kids and I headed over to the Old Postal Building. We ascended up the 315 foot high clock tower for a great view of Washington. We got kind of excited about the post office and decided to also visit the National Postal Museum, which is located by Union Station. We had purchased Metro day passes, so we were able to hop on and off at will. The National Postal Museum was really great. First we watched a short film teaching about the history of the mail system in the U.S.A., and then we explored the many interactive exhibits. I had to drag the kids out of there to head back to the hotel since we had a White House tour scheduled for tonight at 8 pm. After a quick dip in the hotel pool and a shower, we headed back into Washington on the Metro to pay a visit to "W's house". We met our tour guide, Luke Franz, at the Southwest Gate of the White House and after receiving clearance, we entered the West Wing. The president was on the premises, but had retired for the evening so we didn't get a glimpse of him in person ;-). There are framed photos of President Bush found all over the walls in the West Wing, and they are spectacular. The photos were taken by the official White House photographer that travels everywhere with him. We were amazed to see how recently they were all taken - from earlier this week. Many of the photos showed President Bush dealing with the disaster of Hurricane Katrina in the south - it was very poignant. We so enjoyed seeing the artwork all over the West Wing. On the tour, we had the opportunity to see the Oval Office, the Press Room, and the Situation Room, as well as where the President meets with his Cabinet and various other offices of staff members. It was the tour of the "real" working area of the White House. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take any photos inside of the West Wing but were allowed to do so in the Press Room and outside. The tour of the West Wing was most impressive and our guide was very knowledgeable. We toured the Rose Garden and saw the residential quarters of the president from the garden. It was an amazing experience to learn more about how and where so many things that effect our country happens. After we said goodbye to Luke, we headed over to the Red Sage Restaurant for a late DC dinner and then hopped the Metro back to the hotel. Everyone is exhausted but WOW, what a day!
September 9, 2005 — Today is our last full day in Washington. We have set aside today to see as much of the museums at The Smithsonian as time will allow. We started our day at the Air and Space Museum. We were able to jump in on an explanation given by a tour guide about the Apollo 11 moon mission and saw a model of the module that landed on the moon. Mark especially enjoyed the WWII area and seeing the B-17 bombers since his grandfather flew in one of those. The kids loved the 2003 Mars
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Exploration Rover which was on display along with a short video that explained how the rover landed on Mars. They watched that video 3 times! We also saw the Wright Brothers Exhibit, the Amelia Earhart Plane, and Lindberg's The Spirit of St. Louis plane. After a few hours exploring air and space, we headed over to the National American History Museum and grabbed a bite of lunch. They sure make up for the free museums with the cost of the food! After lunch we explored an interesting exhibit called "The Price of Freedom: Amercans at War". It was so complex, covering America's role in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Spanish American War, Civil War, Vietnam, WWI, and WWII. We spent a good bit of time in that exhibit and the kids were totally engulfed in it. I felt like we all learned so much from our time spent there. We also loved the Presidentential exhibit and spent a while exploring it. In the Popular Culture exhibit, we saw Dorothy's shoes from The Wizard of Oz and the chairs belonging to Archie and Edith Bunker from the All in the Family show. Another really neat exhibit in the American History Museum is the Star Spangled Banner Lab. There is a special lab constructed in the museum where visitors can view the restorators working on the very flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem, the Spar Spangled Banner, during the Bristish invasion at Fort McHenry near Baltimore in the War of 1812. The flag is HUGE in size and is spread onto an enormous platform that was constructed specifically for the purpose of restoring this flag. We saw them working on the flag and heard the narration of the flag's history. It is amazing to me that this flag still exists. One star of the 15 that were present at the time the flag was sewn is missing - it was taken as a souvenir, so there is a hole in the flag that will not be repaired. The goal of the restorators is to preserve the flag at its current state, not to return it to its original condition. It was a very touching exhibit and we were all glad we made the time to see it. Time was drawing to a close as it neared 5 pm so we hurried over to the National Museum of Natural History to see the Hope Diamond. We also had a quick look at the huge dinosaur exhibit in that museum and finished up as the museum closed at 5:30 pm. We all agreed that we could have spent an additional few days here just to see all we would like. We rested in The Mall with an ice cream and then hiked over to the Jefferson Memorial. It was such a beautiful day that even though we felt tired, we enjoyed the long walk. Darby hurt her foot over at the memorial, so we decided it was time to call it a day. She has been our little calamity on this trip, receiving various bumps and brusies, but she is always such a good sport about it. We headed back to our hotel on the Metro and are planning to turning in early tonight. Tomorrow we will visit Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, and then will head south for home. We will be home on Sunday! What a great trip!
September 10, 2005 — This morning we were up early and packed for departure. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we hit the road heading southbound. Our plan was to stop at Mount Vernon and visit the home of George and Martha Washington before continuing the last leg of our journey to Atlanta. Due to heavy construction on 95, we took an unplanned detour (we got lost) but eventually ended up at
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Mount Vernon on the beautiful Potomac River. The estate is stunning. We thoroughly enjoyed viewing the gardens and especially enjoyed touring the mansion. It was quite impressively decorated, esp. for that time period. We were able to see the room where George Washington, great leader of our nation, died at age 67. We saw the original tomb where his body was laid to rest and then the new tomb that was created as a final resting place for both George and Martha, as well as other family members. We thought we knew a great deal about George before arriving at the estate, but learned that he had been quite the inventor, farmer and gardener; in addition to being the couragious and ingenious leader of our country. We saw the 16-sided barn that Washington created to thrash his wheat. We also learned that he was one of the first farmers to put into place a 7-year crop rotation plan for his farm. We tend to think of Ben Franklin as the "idea" man but Washington himself had quite a few inventions of his own, many of which he put into place at Mount Vernon. The kids were given a series of puzzles when we arrived to complete as they explored the estate. The promise of a prize at the end intrigued them, so they wholeheartedly scoured the area for any clues to solving the puzzle that they could unearth. After exploring the estate for several hours and solving the puzzles, it was time to load into the car for the 11 hour journey home. The trek southbound was thankfully uneventful and we pulled into our driveway at 11:10 pm exhausted after a very exciting trip. Sunday will be a good day for relaxing and digesting our great historical US History learning experiences!
Philadelphia • Williamsburg • Jamestown • New York City • Washington DC
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