Virginia trip: part 3 (DC)

Our fun trip continued.  From the Outer Banks, we drove up with Joel's family to their home in Maryland where we stayed for a few days. They were returning to regular schedules of work and school, but we took some day trips into Washington, DC.

Day 1:  We started with a very rainy day.  We got early tickets to the Bureau of Engraving, and then spent a few hours at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, before braving the rain to get a quick look at the Washington Monument and World War II Memorial.

And an even quicker from-a-distance look at the White House.

We were soaked by the end if the day, and very grateful that Kristin had dinner waiting for us when we got back. 

Day 2:  We had a fun day at the National Zoo.  I just asked the kids what they liked most, and all agree that the panda exhibit was the most memorable.

We even got to see the baby panda eat its very first Popsicle, or at least the zoo keeper told us it was the first. We borrowed a stroller from Joel and Kristin, so Ted's shoulders enjoyed a bit of a break that day (except for when the big kids tried to sneak turns in the stroller).

We stopped for a picture by the beautiful Washington DC temple on the way back to Joel and Kristin's.  TEC stayed with napping MEC in the car.

Day 3: We said goodbye to Joel's family that morning and headed out to our last day in DC. We parked near the Nationals Ballpark where we bought tickets for the night's game, and then we took the metro into the city.

We enjoyed a private tour of the U.S. Capitol building courtesy of Representative Matheson's office, with a view of the Senate chambers where some of us even heard Utah's Senator Mike Lee speak to the chamber.  

The Capital rotunda was undergoing some renovation at the time, but it was still neat to see.

We then started the long walk down the National Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial, with a stop at the Air and Space museum.

Somehow we managed to time this trip perfectly to see the peak of the cherry blossoms.

I was proud of the kids for making this walk and loved being able to talk about some of the events and people that make it significant. 

TLC was lucky enough to spot this dollar bill in the reflecting pool.

We were in a bit of a rush to get back to the metro and to the baseball game and so our walk back up the mall involved fewer stops for pictures and more kids on mom's and dad's shoulders. Ultimately, wise dad gave in and hailed a pedi cab, who more than earned his money towing the seven of us. We saw the Jefferson Memorial over and around one another's shoulders as our driver gave us an abriviated history of our nation's capitol between huffs and puffs.

 We made it back to the metro and to the Nats game that night.

The kids will tell you that the best part of the game was eating 21 hotdogs (yes, it was dollar hotdog night), but it was also a fun win against the Whitesox. What's more, the game counted as number 14 for Ted and me. Yay us!