We’ve officially conquered the metro, though I can’t get rid of my paranoid feeling that I need to keep Kate 5 feet away from the tracks at all times. One of her favorite things to do while riding is to stand up and play jello – and I mean favorite, as in, better than seeing the sights!
We start with Arlington Cemetery. We hoof it all the way t
o the Tomb of the Unknowns at the top of the hill to see a wreath changing as well as changing of the guard ceremony. Even though the kids are bored waiting in the hot direct sun, I’m sure they’ll always remember seeing it! On our way down we stop at the Challenger and Columbia memorials, Arlington House (home to General Lee), and Kennedy grave site. We head towards the Iwo Jima memorial, but realize we unfortunately don’t have time to see it – which means there’s a good chance I’ll never see it in my life, since this is my second visit to DC without seeing it.Now it’s lunchtime. Finding food in the city is not like at home, with dozen of choices easy to get to (or likely drive to). A single building here stretches for minimally one city block, so it’s more like you take what you can get. We are thrilled to find a Five Guys (local burger chain), and are much better off with a belly full of good food.
We make it to our ticket time at the Washington Monument with a few minutes to
spare. However, the huge student group in front of us (World Strides) is allowed to be an hour late, and push our time back. So waiting in the direct hot sun for almost 45 minutes completely takes away from the kids visit to the top. Plus, not even Jeremy can see out the tall windows without the booster steps that only 2 views have. Even though I don’t like heights and small spaces, and have only 8 small windows to look out, I absolutely love our view from the top – and have decided these are my favorite pictures of the day.Next we rush “next door” to the Holocaust Museum because we’re late for our ticket time. We find out that you can enter any time after the time on your tickets, so it doesn’t matter that we are late. However, by 3pm, the ticketing “system” is overloaded and the museum is unbearably crowded. I quickly come to the realization that the exhibits can’t be received in their emotional entirety without reading the descriptions. And I’m quite a few layers back in the crowd, so if I can see a sign, I have to skim it quickly before my view is cut off. Obviously the kids are struggling even more than me to appreciate the exhibits. There are a few movies, and those are the best ways to gather the information!
We move on to another tour time in the next building down: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This one is quick to get into, and not crowded! So watching all the literally millions of dollars being made is easily the kids favorite activity of the day.
Now it feels like it is passed time to call it quits for one day, but we still have another item on the agenda: the Evening Parade at the Marine Bar
racks (the oldest post of the corps). It’s a real treat to get to see the disciplined Marines perform their meticulous tradition! Unfortunately first we get soaked in a pesky thunder and lightening storm that rumbles through and threatens the performance. But the Marines want to give the performance as badly as their audience wants to see it, so the show goes on as scheduled. We see “the President’s Own” band and “the Commandant’s Own” drum and bugle corps (magnificent) – but the Silent Drill platoon steals the show! How do they execute all that flawless and mesmerizing choreography of their rifles without a single word uttered?The boys are completely envious of sister Kate. While we're wet and huddled for cover during the thunder storm, a high-ranking marine stops to tell her how "cute" she is, and then hands her a super-cool medal. It says "presented by the sergeant major" - "Marine Barracks Washington, D.C."
Today was completely exhausting, and I’m hoping no other day comes close to topping it! We finally crawl into bed at 11:30pm.
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