Washington, DC

Also on our trip to do list was a visit to DC. I let the kids print out maps for both the Smithsonians they wanted to visit: the Museum of Natural History, and the Air and Space Museum. Having spent 6 months in DC, I would recommend doing only one Smithsonian a day, along with a monument or two, but no more than that.


We drove down to the nearest Metro station, Silver Springs!, and rode in from there. The kids loved the Metro, the didn't even mind the mad dash at metro center from the red line down to the blue/orange line that would take us to the Smithsonian stop.


Our first views upon exiting the Metro were of the Mall with the Capitol at one end, and the Washington Monument at the other. It was really neat to see the Washington Monument w/o the big blue exoskeleton. When we were out for Eric's internship, they were working on a major restoration project, the whole Monument was covered in scaffolding w/a blue web around it to keep the workers safe.


We spent 4 hours inside the Museum of Natural History, and we only saw half of the displays. But it was so much fun, and the kids loved it. With only a few minor issues with Maddie (who missed her nap), not too bad with 8 kids and 4 adults.


Davin and Aidan were in heaven in the dinosaur wing. To see the T-Rex that inspired "Rexy" from Night at the Museum standing off against a triceratops, with some sauropod in the background, it made us all feel tiny.


Maddie loved the newer Ocean wing, well, so did the rest of them. Aidan also found a few Egyptian displays, which was super cool for him since he just finished reading the first in Riordan's new series The Kane Chronicles.


Eme was thrilled to be able to see The Hope Diamond, which she decided she wanted (curse and all), along with all the other jewelery on display.



It was a special treat to be able to take a photo of mom in front of the minuteman missile. She worked on the punch cards for the guidance systems, my dad worked on the propulsion (?), and my mom's dad worked on the miniaturization of the "chips" (circuit boards). This is how my parents met, it's more than a little cool that the cold war brought my parents together.

Just in case you were wondering, a trip like this into the city should NEVER be taken by the feint in heart. Stock up on water (we burned through 10 bottles, having refilled a few of them), stock up on snacks, which we did, but Gramma's were way better-she's got connections :) But I'm so glad we did it.