The Day in DC

Luke had a field trip to Washington, DC this week, and I got coerced into going along as a chaperone. Becky, Luke and I headed out at 5:30 AM, along with 3 buses full of 6th graders and their families. It made for a very long day, but we were free to do what we wanted once we were there. Just as long as we were back on the bus at 4:30. Spoiler alert: we were.

So here's a little bit of what we did when we had a full day to ourselves in DC.


No PhotoShopping was done in that picture. I know you're way impressed. Yes, my son can hold the Washington Monument in his hands. He's epic that way.

Washington Monument story: much later than that photo was taken, we were over walking by it and saw a movie crew just leaving. Luke was so bummed that we didn't get to see any filming action, but I was geeking out over the photography equipment being toted. On bikes. Those people take chances that I never would. Or maybe it's because I don't trust my biking skills with equipment that expensive. Or something.


We tried on hats in the gift shop. Apparently this is a thing that we do, because I have so many pictures of the kids wearing various hats at Disney last year. Ironically, I'm the only one who actually bought one from there. Luke thought it would be a fun idea for each of us to buy a brightly colored mining hat like that and wear all day so that we could find each other. I thought it would be a far better idea to save my money.


We saw Gabby Douglas's Olympic outfit. That's it right there, in case you're wondering. So fun, right? And let me tell you (since you can't really tell) that it would probably fit a Barbie doll. That thing was TINY. Which leads me to believe that Gabby is, because I'm a thinker that way. Because she so recently won the Olympics, I almost felt like I met her by seeing that. Other things, that were 150 years old or even 27 years old, kind of don't have that "I was just there" feel for me.


You just can't see the Reflecting Pool without seeing ducks. And baby ducks! Always a good time.


I'm not sure you can even be in DC without seeing this guy. He's just a classic. Who doesn't love a t-rex? Or this guy, who is just as classic. Does he have a name? He should totally have a name. Like Buford.




See? I'm telling you, we have a thing for hats. If souvenir shops wouldn't be so expensive, I'd have totally bought that for Luke. All the kids on the playground would be envious if Luke would wear that for snowball fights in the winter.

So that was pretty much our trip to DC. Except a lot more walking and ethnic diversity than I showed in photos. Apparently my camera is racist, but I just didn't think it in my best interest to photograph strangers. If I would be into that sort of thing, though, I'd have taken a picture of the Korean women. They were the cutest elderly ladies EVER, all wearing the brightest colored clothing possible (think neons) and had the exact same hair cut and style. I'm thinking they were with a professional tourist group or something, just to make other people smile in appreciation of the fun they were having. If you'd have seen them, you'd have been tempted to take their picture, too. They were THAT fun.

Can you tell that I like people watching?


Oh, and we did not walk to the White House. Turns out, it was a non-event for those who did. The president was walking his dog so the place was closed off for a block around and you couldn't see much anyway. Being a dog person, I can appreciate that. I can also appreciate heightened security. I'm saddened, though, that one just can't walk a dog without fear of being gunned down in your own lawn. Our country has definitely fallen into disrepair.


So that was pretty much our day in DC. A good time was had by all, except my 42 year old legs, who now think I hate them for no reason whatsoever. Walking for 6 hours straight was not in their game plan yesterday, but they fought valiantly. Today, I'm paying that price. Hello, middle age.

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