We had all Saturday to enjoy DC, but of course, I can't seem to get going in the morning, so we didn't get out of here until around 11. Matt keeps saying if we get up earlier, we can get there earlier and see more, but it's just hard for me. I'm on vacation. :)
We had a big breakfast because we only wanted to eat out once in DC. It's so hard to find a place to eat PLUS a place that Christian and I can eat at with our food sensitivities.
Our first stop today was Ford's Theatre. It took us 2 hours to get there! Between the car ride and then getting on the subway and having 13 stops before ours, it took awhile! Then once we got to that part of town, we couldn't find the place! I can't tell you how many times we turned around because we were on the wrong street!
Finally we found it and guess what? You couldn't get inside to see the theatre!!! What?? (Since being on this trip, we are kind of used to this happening.) The lady said we could still see the museum and the house where Lincoln died, but we could not get into the theatre to see the presidential booth where he was actually shot. She said they were rehearsing for a play right now and they would be open again tomorrow (Sunday) from 9-10:30 am. I really want the girls to see the theatre, so we are going to head back tomorrow morning. (We will see how early I can get going!)
So after that huge disappointment, we headed to our next stop: The National Archives. Here, they have the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. We saw some original copies when we were in Philadelphia, but these were the signed copies! And highly guarded by police men!
We saw these and were not allowed to take any pictures, so no pictures of anything. :(
Our next stop was lunch. Trouble central every single day. Matt wanted to go back to the Air and Space Museum today and we knew that had a little food court in there (McDonalds and a couple others), so we headed over there. Once we went through security and headed to the food court, we realized that there was McDonalds (which we had the night before), Boston Market and they only sold chicken meals, and another store that sold pizza. Total Bust!! I vowed not to eat McDonalds again and I cannot eat chicken or wheat, so that left off those other two. Christian can't eat pizza either (he is sensitive to yeast). We decided that this wasn't working too well and we walked out to the hallway.
There we found a security guard and asked him if there were any other food options nearby. He gave us a couple of suggestions, but then also said that the other Smithsonian museums have cafeterias. We headed next door to the Museum of Native American history and then saw on a sign outside of its building that it only had native food in it's cafeteria. Bust again. Do we have a plan C?
We decided to try the Museum of Natural History. They also had a cafeteria and we wanted to go there anyway, so we took off back across the street. (Just to let you know how much extra we had walked- the Museum of Natural History was right in front of the National Archives!!)
We headed in there and downstairs to the cafeteria. Success! There was food Christian and I could eat! It was about 3 pm by now- we had planned on eating about 2-3 pm- and the kids were starving.
We got food, sat down, and ate. Since it was a little on the expensive side, I had the girls share a meal and Christian and I shared a meal, so we were still a little hungry when we were done, but we could survive. :)
Since we were at the Natural History Museum, we decided to go through it. This was not as enjoyable as it could have been. The place was packed and it was very difficult to read displays and see things. Every display also talked about evolution and how this or that has "evolved" over time. It was a little too much for me. Our kids know about evolution, so they knew what was going on and it always gives us chance to bring up what we believe about creation. :)
After being in the museum for an hour and a half, I was ready to go. We had seen the insect zoo, the mammals, the underwater exhibits, been to the restroom and gift shop. We had also fought all these people and it was busier than any other place we had been in!
When we went to leave, we realized it was pouring rain! It was 5 already and all the Smithsonian museums closed at 5:30, so we had to go somewhere. Our original plan was to go see the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and all the other memorials in that part of town. You can't do that while it's raining out!!!
Matt brought up the suggestion of going home, which sounded like the best plan in the rain, and we knew the nearest subway stop was by the Smithsonian castle, so we went over there. We didn't know if the rain would let up or not and we could stay, so went in there for about 10-15 minutes.
After that time, we decided the best thing to do would be to go home. There was nothing inside that was open after 5:30 and we wanted to get a few things done at the camper, so that is what we did! We walked through the rain and got on our subway and headed home. (We weren't the only ones who wanted to catch the subway, they were packed!) We were home by about 6:30, made supper, watched some TV, and now the kids are in bed.
I still need to talk to Matt about what time he wants to head back in the morning. I don't want to miss Ford's Theatre, so we need to be there by 10. Now that we know what we are doing, it should only take 1 1/2 hours to get there tomorrow, of course Matt also mentioned he wanted to drive to DC.
He would still like to go to the Air and Space Museum, we need to get to the Memorials and hopefully even Arlington Cemetery. Do you think we can fit that all in one day? It is our last day in DC.
Can you believe it is 10 pm and it is still raining out?? Do you know how noisy it is inside a camper with rain coming down outside? Do you know how muddy it is here at our campground?? Matt carried the kids to the camper when we got back!
Rain, rain, go away, give me back my sun!! (Side Note: It rained until 1:15 am, it started at 5 pm while were were in DC. Poor Megan had such a hard time getting to sleep with the rain pounding on the top of the camper.)
PS Courtney also let her praying mantis go today. Matt caught it for her in Gettysburg and she said it was too hard to take care of. They eat live bugs, so it was work for her to go find some bugs. She said she would much rather have a grasshopper where all she had to do was feed it grass. :)
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