Josh had a conference scheduled in DC the first week of September and we knew we wanted to piggy-back it and make it a family trip / school field trip. We loved the mix of having the first full day with Josh, and each evening with him. And then on those days in the middle of the week the kids and I hit up the museums by ourselves, and with the help of our Uber app. It was a great way to spend the first week of our school year!
This was the first time the kids had ever flown (minus Jude flying when he was a baby), and they were a little nervous about flying cross-country. The airlines invited the kids to the cockpit to meet the pilots and even sit in the pilot's seat before take off. Jude asked them what would happen if they (pilots) both fell asleep and they reassured him that they use auto-pilot. That put Jude's mind at ease, and he knew we were in good hands. :)
(Jude in pilot seat...)
We stayed in a three bedroom apartment that worked really well for us, and we were extra thankful for the pool to soak in at the end of each long day of site seeing.
When we first arrived we hit up the zoo, because the kids realllly wanted to see the komodo dragon. It was on their top ten things to see, so we marked it off first. :) One neat thing about DC is that the museums, zoo, etc. are free admission. So we didn't feel bad visiting some locations briefly.
The long awaited komodo dragon!
And we found some cute little lemurs on our way out.
We grabbed lunch and then visited the Natural History Museum, which was next on our top ten list.
It was so hot (95 degrees plus humidity) that we welcomed the sight of an ice cream truck outside of the Natural History Museum.
Those ice cream stations were perfectly placed. They may have suckered us more than once or twice that week... ;)
The Natural History Museum is amazing... that place is SO well done!
We enjoying each exhibit. Mummies, sea creatures, fossils, photography, and especially the African animals. Then we headed back to our apartment for an evening of swimming.
See the Washington Monument peeking up under the far right shade canopy? :)
I loved looking over at this pretty old church, all lit up, as we swam.
The view from the other side of the pool...
The next morning the kids and I decided not to bother trying to combat the three hour time difference. We just embraced our Pacific-Coast-selves. ;) We ate brunch and then braved the city without Josh. I was a tiny bit nervous, but once we met our Uber driver we were off to conquer our day.
We headed to the Bible Museum, which was next on our top ten list, and LOVED it!! It opened in Nov 2017, and I've wanted to visit ever since reading about it. We spent the whole day there, enjoying each of the five floors. We were originally going to split our day between the Bible museum, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (see money being printed) & the American Indian Museum, but there was too much to see at the Bible Museum and the kids were loving it, so we just stayed until closing.
Someone offered to take our picture outside of the beautiful building.
Here's the full building.
Our favorite part was the third floor, walking around the world of Jesus of Nazareth in 30 A.D.
They had fully dressed characters who "lived in that time period" and didn't understand what anything modern was, so you had to carefully craft your questions for them. If you asked to take their picture they'd say, "Picture?" The kids loved that the 30 AD world felt so real.
When we walked into this woman's house she said that she was preparing dinner because her husband would be home soon. She was also unwinding a piece of string her daughter had been playing with. She told us about the meal she was preparing and let us look around her home.
This priest in the synagogue was the most fun character! He loved teasing us, and he taught us a lot too.
Dead See Scrolls & fragment matching...
It was amazing to see all of the artifacts, pottery, and scrolls! SO MUCH has been uncovered. It reminded me of our trip to Israel in 2001. There's an overwhelming amount of proof of what's written in the Bible. I was so engrossed in what I was seeing and reading about that I didn't think to take many photos. I especially loved seeing the replication of Hammurabi's code of laws, which Jesus referred to when he said, "You've heard it said an eye for an eye (from the Mesopotamian culture), but I say that if someone strikes your right cheek, turn and give them your other also." (my paraphrasing)
It was also neat to see the writings of so many different cultures from long, long ago, and how they each wrote of a great flood and a man in a boat.
The kids were ready to head back for dinner and to swim some more, so that's what we did, knowing the next day would be packed. :) The rooftop had a big bbq and seating area, so nearly every night we'd see the same people, who'd bbq their dinner and eat by the pool.
Josh joined us after his conference day and we all swam together.
The next day the kids and I marked five things off of our top ten list! Our apartment was close enough to walk to the White House, so we packed our backpack and headed out. But it was HOT! Half way there we had drunk all of our water, ha! So we stopped in Starbucks to get more water... and a frappuccino. ;)
I loved seeing all of the architecture along our walk! Rich with history.
We made it! Look at those cute, sweaty-hot faces. :) What troopers!
Our little Oregon-selves weren't use to the humidity.
We walked just a little beyond the White House, to the Washington Monument. We didn't stay long because we knew we'd return later that week at night.
Then we ran up Constitution Ave., where all of the main museums and archives are, and it leads to the Capital.
Next up was the American History Museum and we really loved it! The most powerful moment was seeing the actual huge American Flag that stood waving over Fort McHenry when the Star Spangler Banner was written by Francis Scott Key, during the War of 1812. Oh wow, that display and area is soooo powerful! No photography was allowed.
We also got to see Abraham Lincoln's hat, and Benjamin Franklin cane, and Thomas Edison's light bulbs... and also, the Batmobile! ;)
We were excited to see the display on Watt's steam Engine, and see the power that spurred the industrial revolution, having learned about it in Classical Conversations.
Selah was amazed to see Edison's test bulbs & journals and how many tries it took him to accomplish his goal. It was a great lesson in daily perseverance, and how the little things in life add up to the big things!
The kids LOVED the STEM room at this museum! They could've spent all day in just that room.
We stayed as long as we could.
Next we were off to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
No photography was allowed inside, but we oooo-ed and ahhhh-ed and enjoyed taking in the reality of those signatures, and the power of what took place in 1776 and in the founding days of our nation. We also visited the records museum that was in the same building. It was interesting but I didn't take any photos.
Next we hit up the Smithsonian Art Gallery and oh boy, this was one of my favorite places we visited.
The art in this place was just so spectacular!
But this painting stood out most, among everything I saw that day:
I could just feel the freedom in it. This caption tells the beautiful story.
And this was a pretty special moment for sure, in the quiet of that same room as the above painting:
We loved the Presidential Portraits Gallery!
We walked from there to dinner and then took an uber back to the apartment to meet up with Josh.
And more swimming of course!
The next day we took more slowly because we knew we were going to meet up with Josh for dinner and see all the memorials & Capital Hill at night. It was wonderful to read and journal and have a slower day together.
That night was all kinds of wonderful!! We had a fun dinner at the Shake Shack, it's similar to In & Out.
Then we took an Uber to the Lincoln Memorial. The ambiance of that place was so amazing.
Looking back the other way is the Washington Monument.
Engraved on the walls, on each side of Lincoln, were the Gettysburg Address & his Second Inaugural Address.
Josh and I both had tears in our eyes as we read his famous words. It was just really powerful in that place.
Then we walked to the Vietnam Memorial & the Washington Monument.
And that walk was the event that stood out in my mind the most from our whole trip. We got to talk to our kids about brave men who followed after God to serve and lead others. Men like Martin Luther King Jr. or Lincoln, who stood strong in the face of adversity. We talked about God being able to use us when we step out in faith and bravely follow Him.
At the Vietnam Memorial, the sign said we could soak our tired feet in the fountain, but not to walk in it.
It felt good to sit there together, with only the sound of the fountain as we all soaked our feet. :)
From there we took an Uber to Captial Hill. This was my second favorite memory from our trip. Capital Hill was awe-inspiring.
Standing there with the house and senate, made so many things come to life!
And the Kavanaugh hearings were happening across the street in the Supreme Court, that night, as we stood outside!
We talked to another family from Nebraska that night on that quiet street. Then our Uber driver was a woman who was so much fun to talk to! She had picked up lots of interesting people and shared stories.
What a memorable night that was.
The family from Nebraska took our photo and I took theirs.
The next day we attempted to head home, but there were lightening storms, so we ended up staying in a hotel by the airport and heading out the following day. These guys were the best travelers! We were told several times by other passengers and flight staff that we had really well behaved children. It's always encouraging for kids (and parents) to hear that others are proud of them. :)
In the midst of our travels we discovered that Ben can sleep just about anywhere! He inherited that special gift from Josh. :)
What a sweet trip this was. I'm thankful Josh had a conference and that the timing of this worked out.
If you ever get a chance to visit DC, it's definitely worth it!
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