1. Security is everywhere. Don't wear your belt unless absolutely necessary. It's just easier that way.
2. When they say to empty your pockets before going through security, they don't mean your toothbrush. That can go through with you.
3. Don't run to catch up with your family at the Changing of the Guard Ceremony.
4. Don't even slightly lean against the outer wall around the Kennedy graves.
5. Only sit on the stone sculpture at the Botanical Garden to take a picture when no security guards are watching.
6. Always use the crosswalks. While taking the grass may seem shorter, there are hidden mud puddles.
7. When touring the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, be sure to ask for free samples.
8. You can go up to -$1.50 on your metro smart trip card and it will still let you out.
9. If your line is moving quickly and the other line isn't, you're most likely in the wrong line and wasting your time while your correct line grows longer and longer.
10. Museum employees give different answers to certain questions. Just keep asking different employees until you get the answer you want.
11. Don't touch the glass or the bronze casing when viewing the Constitution.
12. You can only take as many pictures as possible in the Library of Congress.
13. Proper escalator etiquette: stay single file on the right side if you choose to just ride to avoid being shouted at by the fast-paced people in the city.
14. Make sure you're paying attention at each metro stop - not just yours - so the poor person behind you doesn't have to say excuse me 30 times in order to not miss her stop.
15. Don't try to walk from campground laundromats to your house in the dark!
Some funnies from the trip.... because what's a trip without some funnies?!
1) So, apparently this family has a hard time with screen doors, glass doors, and just doors in general! We were enjoying supper on our patio deck one evening. While filling our plates indoors and then getting seated outdoors, Lily happened to not see the screen and ran into it while coming out to take her seat. We laughed with her (not at her, of course) and the boys made fun of her blonde moment - you know how boys are.
Well then, Jared runs inside and leaves the screen door open since he was coming right back. Mom happens to shut it in the meantime totally oblivious to the situation as we all were - including Jared. He comes barreling out from the kitchen with his glass of water in hand, bursts through the screen door knocking it off it's track and landing squarely on his rear end on the patio somehow not spilling his water. We really laughed at that one (after the impromptu lecture...) and thankfully the screen door went back easily onto it's track so no damage was done aside from Jared's pride.
Saturday evening, after enjoying a nice family dinner out at Applebee's, Kenan proceeds to lead the family out the door and back to our hotel. There were lots of people around the doorway because of a waiting line and for some reason Kenan got the door mixed up with a little window around the corner. He mistakenly tried in vain to find the door knob until a kind gentleman sitting right behind him prompted him to the actual door around the corner chuckling all the while. We all laughed at Kenan, poor guy, and when we got out of the restaurant he turned around and proclaimed, "Oh man, I feel like a dumbo." :)
2) While waiting for our Old Town Trolley to pick us up on Monday, Dad pulled out his sunglasses as the brilliant sun made it's presence known. We all laughed hysterically when he looked up at us totally oblivious to the fact that one of the lenses of his glasses had popped out while being transported in his backpack. So there he was, looking like a strange sort of one-eyed pirate and totally clueless!
3) It was exciting to see Kenan soak in all the education right along with us. It really helped that we've been studying US history this year. I must have said something about seeing the "original" this or that when we'd be talking about something at home before the trip to try to get him excited about what all we were going to see. It was so entertaining to hear him say many times, "So, Mom, is this the original?" Apparently whether or not it was completely the original really mattered to him!
4) After being at the National Cathedral for quite some time and still in church clothes, Kenan was really beginning to wonder when we'd be leaving. That is when we told him we were going to stay for the evening service yet because we wanted to hear the pipe organ with its 10,000 pipes accompanying the men and girls choir that was supposed to perform. He must have been picturing another full hour church service because he kind of grumbled and said, "well, can I at least have the silly putty? And could I please pop bubbles?? Its so loud in here anyway!" The pipe organ had already begun to play and it really was loud. To his relief, we got up and went on our way after just a little bit of listening to the music.
And lastly, I'd like to count some blessings and answered prayers:
- I was a little nervous this kind of a trip would not be my family's forte- we aren't used to this much education on a vacation! But God amazed me with my family's response! We all loved it- as is obvious with all the above posts. The kids were wowed by the impressiveness of the buildings and the city experience in general. The history was an nice add-on. Our week long field trip did not disappoint!
- Of course I really wanted this to be a great experience for us all and that left me with a bit of extra nervousness about Kenan. He doesn't enjoy physical activity and a first grader is only going to be interested in looking and learning for so long. Our first real day, Monday, he nearly collapsed with exhaustion and a terrible side ache while walking between the memorials. In fact, I didn't take him the length of the Vietnam Memorial because he simply refused. And this was the day we had access to the Trolley, which we had been on a lot! I was very nervous for the rest of the week. Amazingly, and very thankfully, he either simply got used to it or it was totally God answering all those prayers, but he did great the rest of the week- and according to Dave's phone, we walked a total of 39 miles!!!
-All that walking led to very hungry people. That was another concern of mine. I knew these would be very long days- would our usual snacks-for-lunch routine get us through this time? Normally, we are wrapping up a vacation day in good time and eating our supper around five. This time, we were usually just leaving the city around that time, had to travel the hour back to the campground and then make the supper yet before we could fill those empty bellies. Once again, God answered prayers!! Every morning we'd fill up our backpacks with snacks, apples, water, and gum and away we'd go. God blessed it to its intended use and it was enough to last.
-The weather was beautiful. That was a huge answer to prayer! When we left, we had still be having summer like weather. I knew fall would eventually hit and it could very well be while on our trip. It was hard to pack! But as it turned out, the temperatures stayed perfectly in the seventies for most of the trip- my favorite- and we hardly even needed coats. It was a blessing just being outside.
-Prior to the trip, I hadn't thought much about the scenery but wanted to add that I was pleasantly surprised to find DC such a beautiful city. We did not see much grime, trash, graffiti, etc, etc- but instead perfectly maintained buildings surrounded by lovely foliage and landscape design.
-Only once did someone make us a little nervous. Considering the tension our nation is facing right now, I was afraid I was taking my precious family straight into a hotbed, sure to end up being shot or something! I remember seeing homeless people for the first time when I went to DC as a 12 year old. Within view of the White House, there were several laying over heat vents in the park, heads covered with paper bags. Interestingly, my children have all been introduced to this part of life at much younger ages in Chicago, but not here. Its a good life lesson, an aspect worth knowing about, especially to counter the entitlement and discontent that is so easy for kids to embrace, but it was a pleasant surprise to simply feast our eyes on beauty for a time and leave the harder things behind.
Well, what's a post without a picture or two?
And what's an extended car trip without the license plate game? We found every state but two (Wyoming and Nevada).
even Hawaii :)
That's all for now! At least until Faith gets home :)
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