Washington DC

I want to apologize in advance for the bad cell pics. Cameras weren't allowed in the White House, so we spent our whole first day in the city without one except the phone. It was actually kind of nice to not have to lug anything around.


So we got up early Wednesday morning and hit the subway station before 7:00. It was still crazy busy, but we managed the metro system quite well. In fact, after a couple of days we were almost pros. The Drama Queen even memorized the stops on the Orange Line so we knew when to get on and off!

We got to the White House a little early and made our way through security. The Dog Walker was in his full scout uniform just in case. We walked through the exhibits, but we were never pulled aside to speak with anyone important...at least not president-important. The Dog Walker was disappointed, but he said he wasn't surprised.

After we left the White House we made our way down to the American History Smithsonian via the Washington Monument. The kids loved the exhibits, but we weren't able to stay very long since we still had the Capitol tour to look forward to. After an hour or so, we hopped back on the metro and then hiked the rest of the way to the Capitol. It was nearly 1:00 and the kids were hungry so we started looking for something to eat. We were starting to get nervous when I suggested that maybe there was somewhere in the building itself.

Sure enough, they had an awesome cafeteria! And the prices were cheaper than McDonalds. After we stuffed ourselves, we headed for the Statue of Freedom and then called Senator Lee's aide. He had promised to take us on a tour. Brandon showed up a few minutes later and we were off. The Capitol was amazing! My sweetie especially was impressed and Brandon did a great job...except that he tended to walk too fast for tired little feet.

As we neared the end of the tour, he loaded us all in the shuttle that the Senators use and we rode to the Hart building. We were supposed to meet Senator Lee at 4:00. Since it wasn't quite 4:00, I mentioned to Brandon that Senator Hatch's office had also invited us to stop by. We got there at just the right time. Senator Hatch had a few minutes and he graciously spent it with us. He talked with the Dog Walker about his accomplishments and even gave him a hug when they were finished! His photographer also snapped these pics for us.

Then we went down to Senator Lee's office for his "jello" reception. His photographer also took pics, but they haven't emailed them to us yet. So we didn't get to meet the President, but we did meet both Senators from Utah. So that's something!

We headed back to the hotel so we could all rest, but then we ended up in the pool. And I tried to do laundry all night, but the dryer wasn't working very well and now I have a huge pile of rather damp clothes.

We started today a little later and once again we hopped on the metro. Our first stop was Arlington. It was so hot and muggy! We watched the changing of the guard and looked over the rows and rows of graves. What a sad place.


Then we climbed back on the metro and headed for the Air and Space Museum by way of MacDonalds. We spent the entire afternoon into the early evening in the museum. I think to really do Washington you would need one day in each of the Smithsonians. We bought ice cream and a couple of things in the gift shop and then headed for the metro. The girls wanted to walk by the Castle, so we took the long way.

We stopped at an IHOP near our hotel for dinner and then found our hotel. It was a long and exhausting couple of days. The kids loved DC, but the climate doesn't seem to suit us very well. The heat and the humidity have given several of us a heat rash and our clothes don't dry. I won't be sad to get back in the good old dry western climate!


But don't give up on us yet, the trip won't be over for a few more days. Tomorrow we are heading for Indianapolis. Maybe my clothes will dry there...


**Bossy here, looks like the photos from Senator Hatch's office came in.  I am attaching them below.  Things are going well here at home, Bean Dip, Taco and Burrito have been wonderful in helping with the garden, we had our first delicious zuchinni with dinner.  At football equpiment pickups last night everyone was asking where Sport was.  We all miss the fam and can't wait for them to get back to Utah.