It was our last day in Washington, DC. The weather was very nice...sunny, high 30s... but schools were still closed!!! Dear hubby, who has plowed snow for 20+ years, noticed (repeatedly) that they did not take care of roads and parking lots properly, therefore, instead of getting back to business, so to speak, after a snowstorm, the region remains shut down. Honestly, plowing is hard on equipment, expensive, and a pain in the neck for the operator. The local gov'ts do not budget a lot of money for snow removal...and why should they when the whole "snow situation" clears up on its own in a couple of days?!
Anyway, we spent our last day in DC. Because of the bad weather the last 2 days, we did not get to see all that we wanted to, but we still had a great time. Today we visited the Smithsonian Air & Space museum, Natural History Museum, Washington Monument and the National Archives. I really wanted to get to the National Gallery of Art and the American History Museum, but time and energy failed us. We all returned to the hotel tonight with aching feet and sore muscles...we did a lot of walking!!! Poor Annie fell asleep on Daddy's shoulders as he carried her to the Metro station from the National Archives. And poor Daddy's back, carrying her all that way!
Going to the Archives was a treat for me. Since we are studying American History with Serendipity, I really, really wanted to get a peek at the Declaration and the Constitution...um, I mean show the kids. It was the end of the day and everyone was tired, but the kids grudgingly agreed to accommodate me and we walked the few blocks to the Archive building. I think they are happy they did, but they may not admit it for a few years;) The lights are low in the building so as to not damage the documents and there is no flash photography. Good thing I just figured out (on this trip) how to turn the flash off on my camera. I was able to take some decent pictures of the documents (even the Magna Carta!!!) But, as I was taking a picture of one of the pages of the Constitution, my flash went off! Loud gasps sounded all around me and the Government workers said, "No flash photography, please." I. was. mortified. I apologized profusely and tried to explain that had I turned the flash off, and I didn't know what happened...The worker smiled and said it was OK. How embarrassing!
We came back to the hotel and we all went swimming and in the hot tub. It was really good for our tired muscles. While the boys and Dad played Marco Polo, I helped Annie practice swimming. She's getting good at it and can doggie paddle her way across the pool with her floatie bathing suit on. She was so excited and said, "Let's do this every night!" Now while I agree with her that it is better than watching TV, it's going to be a little difficult to manage back in New Hampshire (we haven't installed the indoor pool yet:))
Well, off to bed. If I know my husband, we'll be off bright and early in the morning.
I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to take this trip. Being here really inspires patriotism. What a beautiful capital city we have, with amazing treasures within it. We should be proud to be Americans; even when we have serious issues with our president's policies(and I really do), there is still reason to be proud.

National Shrine

Well there was more winter weather today. Lots of ice. So we hung out at the hotel for a good part of the morning and played some games. Then we decided to drive into DC to see the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Hubs did a great job of driving into the city and finding our way--of course his navigator was top notch, too:) We arrived about 10 minutes after Mass started in the Crypt church, but we went in anyway. It was lovely.
We toured the rest of the Basilica after and it seemed that every time we saw something new it was more beautiful than the last. Dh, being a contractor, was amazed at the construction and the immensity of it.
As I walked around, my soul was stirred. The building itself was like a prayer, the beauty of design and craftsmanship gave great glory and honor to Our Lord and Blessed Mother. That is not even to mention the ginormous mosaic of Jesus in the ceiling of the sanctuary which is so imposing and commanding that it sets the tone for the entire church. It was all amazing!
Downstairs, of course, was the gift shop. Actually it is split into two parts. On one side of the cafeteria is the gift shop and on the other side is strictly a bookstore. Now, anyone who really knows me, knows exactly which shop I headed for:) Yup, I bought books! Not as many as I wanted, but I got some ideas for mother's day!
Anyway, I made a slide show of our day. Enjoy!

Slow day

Well, you'd think I would learn to keep my mouth shut.
After bragging reporting that there was no snow here in Northern Virginia, we awoke to a white world. It was only a couple of inches but it mixed with and later turned to sleet, making it very slippery. We ended up taking in a movie at the huge and very nice cinema in town. We saw Mall Cop and it was pretty funny. Annie slept through most of it, and I had a giggling episode that was very embarrassing! My boys' reactions only made it worse! Oh dear, good thing it was dark in there!
The kids again went swimming and hot tubbing in the hotel's pool, we played card games, watched TV and that's about it.
We are hoping to be able to go back into DC tomorrow.
On a positive note, we learned that back in NH they are expecting a big snowstorm tomorrow--10 - 14 inches! And we won't be there for it...darn;) Sorry guys, couldn't resist!

The National Zoo

Oh we had a good time at the National Zoo today! And (when will I learn?!) I spoke too soon. It snowed here today...not NH snow, but VA snow, much prettier and much less inconvenient!!! There were a few other brave souls at the Zoo besides ourselves, but not many. The plus side is that there were no lines for the bathrooms! The kids really enjoyed themselves. Annie absolutely loved the elephants. We had to keep going back to retrieve her from the elephant room. The elephants were inside when we saw them, and the young elephant was so funny to watch. He was acting just like my boys do!! Playing and roughhousing and going from one thing to the next. At one point he got his leg stuck inside a hanging tire...he was able to free himself...I guess he does that all the time. He was quite entertaining!
I loved the pandas and all the boys liked the big cats. The male lion was grumbling and growling and roaring all day....scary!!! We didn't get to see the new baby gorilla, but the orangutans were charming! One of them was playing in a bucket of suds, and, of course, licking the suds off his hand...again like my kids....hmmmm, should I be worried?
Riding the Metro was an interesting experience. It's actually pretty easy to figure out. I got a bit motion sick on the way to the Zoo (so many stops and starts - ugh), but I was fine on the way home. There's much more walking to do in a city to get from place to place, even with public transportation, than at home where we drive from our driveway to the parking lot of where we want to be. We have it much easier, but the walking is so much better for us.
We didn't get to the basilica today...maybe later this week.
Still having a great time!

We're here!!

We drove through the night and arrived in VA at 8:30am. Much too early to check into our hotel, so we decided to take a swing through DC. We ended up touring the capitol building, driving around the city to plan what we wanted to see and visiting Arlington National Cemetery--all before 1p.m. Boy, am I tired! It was really cold and windy at the Washington Monument at 9am this morning, so we decided that we would come back another day. Boy is that obelisk huge! There were remnants of the inauguration and Obama adulation in evidence, but also some pro-life messages to be found. The biggest clue that something significant had happened here not too long ago was the vast multitude of porta-potties lining the Mall---hundreds!




































A crime was committed at the Capitol today. Our "light" lunch in the Capitol restaurant was highway robbery!! Yikes! Good thing admission to all the national buildings is free!






























Poor Annie was all tuckered out!
The boys have already been swimming and we are headed out to get something to eat. (Not at the Capitol). We're having a great time! Wish you could be here! Oh yeah, and there's no snow!!!