Day Trip #1 -- West Point

Just a short drive from where we live is West Point, the U.S. Army Military Academy. We went there on Thursday with Trent's parents. We took the 2 hour tour and unforunately missed seeing the museum (it was closed by the time our tour was complete). But the real treasure is just seeing the campus, it is beautfully situated on the Hudson river. The building are all beautiful - like the chapels (one of which has the largest organ in the United States) and the cemetary is very much akin to visiting Arlington. The tour guide had so many fun stories to share and also quite a few sad ones.

Here are just some of the facts we found interesting . . .

• During the Revolutionary war, the army used the location where West Point would be to string a large chain across the Hudson river to block the British navy from coming further upstream. 
• Nearly every general officer of note from either army during the Civil War was a graduate of West Point and a West Point graduate commanded the forces of one or both sides in every one of the 60 major battles of the war.  (which again just shows how the Civil War pitted friend against friend and brother against brother)
• Benedict Arnold (the traitor) had a plaque with his name inside one of the buildings, but after he committed treason, they left the plaque and blacked his name out.  At first I thought that odd, wondering why they didn't just destroy the plaque, but then when you think about it for a while you realize that had they removed it, it would not serve as a constant reminder of what happens when one commits treason.  Every day, every tour, he is mentioned as a traitor to the United States.  If the plaque were gone, no one would probably mention it.

I was surprised at how emotional I was while walking through the newest sections of the cemetary, realizing that so many of the graduates (who are first class officers) are immediately deployed to lead our troops in battle and unfortunately do not return home.  Immediately after walking through that portion of the cemetary about 10 truckloads of current students (who are in summer training right now -- practicing war games) pulled up onto the big common area and unloaded and got into formation (they were dressed in full combat gear) both men and women and it was really touching to think how much these youth were willing to give for their country.

Day 13 -- The last day . . . or the first day

Finally, it was Wednesday. We were sad to see our vacation coming to a close. We got all packed up and starting driving home around 10 am. By this time on the trip we were all pretty used to being in the car. In fact, the kids were so content to read and relax and we never even put in a movie!

We have taken lots of trips over the years with our kids, but this one might have been the easiest! With no kids in diapers, no kids needing naps, everyone could walk, we sure could travel light. We brought our stroller -- but didn't need a diaper bag or much else. Our kids are also very flexible eaters, so we were able to try new things and eat when it was convenient (instead of on a "strict" schedule!). It was so nice!

Here is a collage of our last road trip pictures.


Now this may have been the last day of our road trip . . . but when we got home at 3:00, Trent helped unload the car and get a bit of the unpacking and laundry started and then he headed to the airport to pick up his parents. While he went there, the kids and I got everything unpacked and then headed to Costco to buy food (since the cupboards and fridge were completely bare). Right as I pulled into the garage with 2 Costco carts full of food, Trent and his parents pulled in behind us. It was now 8:30 at night and we all put the food away and crashed into our beds knowing that a fun new adventure was on the agenda for tomorrow!

Day 12 -- Arlington, Smithsonian, Exhaustion

We pulled out all the stops on our last day in D.C. We started early and drove into Arlington National Cemetary. We parked and bought tram tickets. It was already hot. The weather in D.C. was hot and humid. By 10:00 we were on the tram and my iphone weather channel app said it was 98 degrees. There is something so powerfully reverent about seeing the tombstones lined up row by row. The kids were really amazed by it.



It was so hot we opted not to get off the tram at the eternal flame (JFK's grave) and at Arlington house but to go directly to the tomb of the unknown soldier. During the summer the changing of the guard happens every half hour. We got there for the 11:00 switch. You sit on these marble steps with no shade (did I mention it was hot?) and you just melted!



The kids were quite in awe at the precision and exactness about the soldier guarding the tomb. They loved watching him click his heels (and proceeded to practice heel clicking for the next several days).



We all loved watching the ceremony, but we were all glad when it was over. We were hot and hot and hot. . . and thirsty . . . and red in the face. But just as we stood up, we were asked to stand at attention while a wreath was presented. That was neat to see, but again another 10 minutes in the now over 100 degrees direct sun on the hottest steps in America. We finally got in line for the tram, when an ambulance showed up and blocked the road (someone fainted from the heat). By the time the ambulance was cleared the road was closed for a funeral procession. It was after 12:30 before we got back on the tram. We then left our car at the cemetary parking garage and took the metro to the Smithsonian. We got lunch at the castle cafe and saw the "treasure chest" inside the castle. (this was my favorite thing -- they have 1 or 2 of the best artifacts from each of the smithsonian museums. They also had a great movie about all the different museums and what was in each.


We then walked straight across the mall to the Museum of Natural History.



While crossing the mall, you have a great view of the capital.


The highlights in this museum were the famous elephant!


The Hope diamond (and all the other jewelry -- I think Julianne took a photo of every necklace and bracelet in the museum!)


all the animals!


but the highlight was picking souvenir rocks!















We then walked up the block to the American History Museum. Madelyn and Adam caught a little catnap on the way.


The highlights of this museum were the dumbo ride from disneyland and the ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz.




Finally it was time to hope back on the metro and head to the Iwo Jima Memorial. Every Tuesday at 7:00 they put on a full marine parade complete with band and a silent performance. This is really an impressive show. The band is amazing. Then several brigades of marines come out and one does an amazing drill in complete silence while twirling their guns and bayonets. The precision is almost unbelievable. Trent said this show was this favorite thing we saw in Washington. (Adam was so engrossed he insisted on taking pictures nearly the whole time)






























We then caught the marine busses back to Arlington and drove back to our friend's house. We got home a little after 10 pm and we were exhausted!

Day 11 -- The NEW Air and Space Museum in Chantilly VA

Certainly one of the highlights of the national mall is the air and space museum. It is what I remember seeing as a kid. But they have opened a new one close to Dulles Airport and it was not too far from our friend's house where we stayed the previous night. So on Monday, we slept in (as we were up late for the fireworks) and went out for a leisurely lunch. Around noon we headed for the museum.


First, the museum is huge. The one at the mall houses 10% of the artifacts and this one houses 80% (10% of the collection is out on loan to other museums). Second, they have free tours. We randomly walked over to one of the many tours starting when we got there and were lucky enough to have the director of the museum leading that particular tour. The tour lasted a little over 2 1/2 hours and he started at the beginning of aviation and told you all the fun anecdotes and interesting facts about all the planes we saw.





This is the concord jet.

This is the space shuttle, Enterprise.
They also have a huge observation tower that lets you listen to the air control tower for Dulles Airport and watch the planes land.

Adam loved seeing all the planes, but he did tire out at the end.


We really enjoyed this museum. It was not near as crowded as the one in the mall usually is. We had a quiet evening, went swimming and turned in early so that the next day we could be ready for LOTS.

Day 10 -- The Fourth of July

As the 4th of July fell on Sunday this year, we started the day by going to some of our friend's (from way back at BYU) house for a brunch before going to church with them. After church we relaxed (and even got in a nap). We knew we were going to need all our energy for the evening.

Around 5:30, we drove to the metro stop at the end of the line in Virginia. We got right on the train and even though there were a lot of people we were all able to get seats. As we came to each successive stop, more and more people crammed on. We were glad we had seats. There are about 5 stops on the metro that allow you to see the fireworks. We opted to go to the last stop on our line -- capitol hill south. By the time we got to our stop, the crowd on the metro had slimmed out a little with many people opting for the earlier stop. We got off and walked just about 1/2 mile to a nice spot on the lawn of the national botanical gardens. We were right by the capital.





Although it was warm, we were not too uncomfortable as we had a nice spot in the shade. We were able to listen to the performances at the stage (but we couldn't see them). We grabbed hot dogs from a street vendor for dinner (as hot dogs seem like the perfect 4th of July food) and just enjoyed people watching and listening to the music.


The fireworks started right at 9:20. They are directly over the Washington Monument. We had a nice view of them. They also shot off big cannons and those ended up right across from us -- they were pretty loud and really startled you the first time they went off. The fireworks lasted 17 minutes. (Don't tell the kids, but I was a little disappointed). I know they shoot a lot at the same time but 17 minutes felt like a very short program. (If we can spend trillions of dollars on pork -- can't they find the funding for a longer fireworks show?)

And now the real adventure began. Getting back.

We (and a million or so others) are all headed to the metro station. We got back to captal hill south and realized it would take an hour at the least to get even down to the metro (as the line was already headed way up the street). So we decided to walk an additional mile to the next metro station -- even further away. That was a brilliant decision on our part. We got there in about 15 minutes and had no crowds at all getting into the station and on the train. (If only it stayed that way). As the metro arrived at the next station (capital hill south -- where we had just walked past) the doors opened and people crammed in. We were lucky that we had seats. As the doors opened at each successive station amounts of people that you would not have thought humanly possible crammed onto the metro. The lady standing next to me said it reminded her of riding the trains in China where the police use big paddles to push everyone in the doors. As the number of people grew, so did the temperature. We got on the metro at 10:30 or so and the normal 40 minute ride to the last station took 2 hours. It was the hottest, most uncomfortable, most claustrophobic circumstance I had ever been in.

We finally got back to our friend's house at 1:15 am. Needless to say . . . we slept in the next morning!

Day 9 -- Mt. Vernon

George Washington described his estate at Mt. Vernon as the most beautiful estate in all of the United States. After having been there, I can't say that I disagree. We spent all of Saturday at Mt. Vernon and thoroughly enjoyed it (even the kids). It was a little on the hot side.


When you first get there you go into a small museum type area. You can plan your visit, see a nice movie, and see an amazing miniature of his house. You can take your picture with these statues.



They have a sign that tells you what the approximate wait is to go into his house. When we first arrived it was already 45 minutes long. We decided we did not want to stand in the sun for that long so we headed out on the grounds. You can walk through the orchards, gardens, farms, and down to the waterfront. You can see their gravesite and the slave burial grounds and it is all pretty impressive.











By the time we walked back up from the farms by the waterfront, we had hoped the line for the house would be shorter. We were WRONG! It was now over an hour and a half wait. Given that it was almost 2:00 and hovering right at 100 degrees. We told the kids that we were just not going to see the house. They were sad, but were good sports. We took this picture and headed into the big museum section.



The museum is really amazing. It has several cool movies (one of them is like disneyland -- the snow falls on you and the ground shakes when the cannons go off). They have a very fun kids room and we learned so much.


We all were very thankful for the air conditioning. We did everything in the museum and it closes at 5:00. So we headed out the door. I said to Trent, do you think the line has died down at the house??? He decided to run up and check (as the house tour did not close until 5:30). Several people told us they were pretty sure the line was closed, but Trent ran ahead anyway (probably almost 1/4 mile -- maybe more) I waited with the kids when my phone range -- it was Trent, there was no line now, but we had to get there fast. So the kids and I RAN!!!! We were the last ones through the house (no photos allowed inside). It is pretty amazing! And then we were the last ones out of Mt. Vernon. In fact it is the security guard following us who took our family picture as we were the last ones there. Our timing was immaculate.

Day 8 -- Also the first day in Washington D.C.

As we drove to Washington from Philadelphia, we encouraged all the kids to take a nap. We knew that tonight would be the last cool night (weather wise) of our vacation and so we decided to drive straight to the national mall. The monuments are incredible to see, but the distances between them are not easily enjoyed if it is over 100 degrees and humid. We got there around 5:30 p.m. and were able to comfortable enjoy nearly all of them. The Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War memorial (where we even took in a ranger guided tour), the Vietnam Memorial wall, the World War II memorial, and the Washington monument. By the end of the night it was 10:00 and we were ready for the hotel!