Day 4 (part 3)

Okay, last few pictures... ;)

Day 4 (part 2)

Apparently my phone doesn't like me to load too many photos in one post. ;) Here are a few more from Day 4.

Day 4

The day we walked forever. ;)

Our hotel is awesomely close to The Mall. So, we had breakfast then walked

- to the Newseum, where we saw actual segments of the Berlin Wall, interactive reporter games the boys enjoyed, exhibits about 9/11, the FBI, JFK's assassination, and displays of Pulitzer photographs...

- through a fun sculpture garden...

- to The Castle just because (that's like Smithsonian HQ)...

- to the Air & Space Museum (where we spent most of the afternoon)...

- back to our hotel for Starbucks and a little rest...

- then out again to the Washington Monument (which is sadly closed for renovation)...

- to the WWII Memorial...

- to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial...

- to the reflecting pool and Lincoln Memorial...

- then to the Jefferson Memorial, with a short stop along the walk to throw rocks into the Potomac before finally getting to the last stop on our plan.

By the time we made it back to the hotel, it was about 10pm...we had a late dinner and crashed. ;)

We interrupt this program...

Quick question...anyone have recommendations/ideas for printing photo books of pictures your kids take on vacation?

Thanks to their iPods, the boys have all been taking pictures along the way and I'd like a way to preserve those. I'm thinking something fairly easy and straight-forward...where I could just load all their pictures in order and have it print as a book. Does something like that exist?

Incidentally, thank goodness for digital photography. ;) If Micah had been using a film camera on Day 3, for example, it would have cost us at least $200 for all that film and developing, lol!

Day 3

(So, apparently from my phone it's just going to add all the pictures at the start regardless...)

What does it say when a day with only four hours of driving seems like a piece of cake? ;)

After braving the winding roads and rainy conditions the night before, we got a slightly later start to our day and made it to the Stephen F Udvar-Hazy Center (the National Air & Space Museum's overflow) just outside of DC just before 3. (Having driven in West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia...)

We spent the next 2.5 hours thoroughly enjoying the museum...with Micah practically bouncing off the walls in his running around taking pictures of almost every...single...thing. I kid you not. The boy was on a mission. He was crazy. His enthusiasm made up for all the great many steps I took following him around. (We split up and I wound up on Micah duty, lol.) Fortunately, everyone else enjoyed their time, too, though they didn't see everything like Micah and me. ;)

I don't recommend taking things at Micah's pace, lol, but the museum itself was truly amazing and stupendously big. The space shuttle and the actual Enola Gay were awesome, but they weren't even the boys' favorites. Cool stuff.

Incidentally, let me take a moment to say how very blessed I feel to be taking this trip right now. The boys are in what I think of as a sweet spot...old enough to not need stuff like strollers and nap times and such...old enough to be excited and to remember this...old enough to read signs and plaques for themselves...not so old that they yet refuse to be seen with us...not so old that they don't still enjoy each other and delight in this adventure. Happy sigh. ;)

And, if you can think of a better name for this trip, I'd love to hear it!!