Day 8: Washington DC Sightseeing

I didn't really do my research on Washington DC before we left. I just ran out of time! So I didn't realize just how far away everything is. As far as monuments went, we decided we wanted to see the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Memorial. We knew our time was very limited and we will have plenty more opportunities to visit DC while we're in Philly. So we walked... and walked... and walked... and walked some more until we got to the White House. We had to take a detour because the police closed off an entire park and block it seemed. We're pretty sure that someone important was leaving the White House. We got there and just like our friend Ben said, the White House just appeared out of nowhere it seemed. It's amazing how well hidden that place is. 

As I was taking pictures, we saw snipers. One on each side. I tried to get some pictures but with my point and shoot camera it was kind of hopeless to get one that was in focus from that far away.

Matthew decided he wanted to take some pictures, so here is his handiwork. That's his finger on the bottom left. Such a flattering shot of his mom!

My mom wanted me to take lots of pictures and video, so I tried to do as much as I could. It was exhausting! We walked so much and it was SO... STINKIN'... HOT!!!

Walking from the White House to the Washington Monument wasn't too bad...

Can you see the moon??

But the walk to the Lincoln Memorial was INSANE. They are doing construction on the reflection pool, so we were re-routed all the way around it. It was so tiring but it was worth it. It was so surreal to be there!

The kids were beyond tired at this point. Not very great naps and being out late made for some crazy little children. We let them run up and down the steps for a bit before we made them sit down and eat their dinner.

After we left the Lincoln Memorial, we walked to a closer Metro station and headed back to our hotel in Arlington (which was great, by the way!). Chris and I hadn't eaten dinner, so we got the kids in a bath and PJs and walked over to a 24-hour McDonald's. We stayed in a business area and all the restaurants closed early. McDonald's was our only option if we didn't want to drive a long ways. The boys were happy, though, because they got a cookie!

I'm glad we were able to experience Washington DC. I'm not in a hurry to go back right away, but when I do I will definitely plan to not try and see so many things in such a short amount of time.