Vacation Revisited

Okay, okay, so I never finished posting about the vacation and more than a week has gone by. I think my lovely wife covered most of the vacation pretty well in her blog so I guess all that remains are a few details she missed. I did get a list of pictures up at the family .Mac website so if you want or need a link to those email me.

She talked about the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, etc. that we visited on Wednesday. She also talked about our visit to the International Spy Museum that Thursday (July 2nd). Well, what she didn't mention is that DS#3 had a complete meltdown so I had to take him out. Basically, I missed over half of the museum because I simply had to leave with him. On the bright side, there was a new street vendor doing some "testing" before their official opening the next day. Yes, DS#3 and I got to eat a free lunch outside while waiting for the others. After we ate I walked him around in the stroller until he fell asleep. No pictures are allowed inside this museum so we didn't take any.

Quick Edit: the International Spy Museum is very, very cool and the kids LOVED it. It is a bit pricey, but I think it was worth it based on how much fun the kids had there.

After that we went to the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (which are both really in the same building). One afternoon was enough to see the presidential portraits and a few other things but DS#1 was ready to stay much longer.

Friday (the 3rd) was our last day before leaving and we made a long day of it by traveling to Mt. Vernon. It started looking like some bad weather was coming in so we made it through fairly quickly. We got rained on at the bus stop, but otherwise made it back to the hotel fairly early. DS#1 and I stopped off to go back to the American Art Museum again. We wandered around there a bit before heading back to join the others at the hotel.

We ate our last dinner in DC in the hotel restaurant. Not that cheap, but actually very good food. Then DS#2 and I made a long walk down to the Lincoln Memorial with plans to see the various memorials and monuments at night. We were both very happy we made the trip, in fact, DS#2 was so pleased that he willingly let me take some pictures. This is my favorite picture of the trip, mostly because it turned out pretty close to what I was hoping for. I am very happy that it came out much better than I initially thought it did. I like the fact that you can see his face has just enough light to make out a bit.

The next day was Saturday, July 4th, time for us to pack and make the trek home. We were packed and ready for the shuttle early enough that the kids played around in the large lobby for a bit, one of the bellmen gave the kids some food for the fish and they promptly, and gladly, helped make the fish fatter. We got home shortly before 7:00 PM which gave us time to unpack a bit and even run out to see some of the fireworks.

I guess that is going to close the vacation post for now. I know I should have been posting more this past week and a half but I guess I got a bit distracted.