Our criteria for our hotel in Washington DC was that it was within walking distance of most of what we wanted to do downtown. We ended up with a great hotel that didn't have a pool but did serve breakfast. About three days before we left I fully processed how painfully ridiculous it was that we only reserved one room with two queen beds and a pullout couch and one bathroom - for the six of us to share for five days. What were we thinking?? Thankfully we enjoyed one of the many tender mercies of the trip - they were all out of rooms like ours at check in, so they apologetically offered us two rooms with a king-sized bed and a pullout couch in each one. That meant two bathrooms! We were happy to take it and split up as we often do on trips - boys in one room and girls in another. Hooray! Everyone slept much better with a bit more room to spread out.
First up- the White House! We walked the 15 or so minutes to the queue - one of my least favorite memories of the trip to DC that the father and I took to DC in 2013 was of riding around in the stuffy metro. It was so nice to be close enough to just walk!
The White House was gorgeous. The kids were a bit unsure of what might happen there - Emma asked if we were going to see Donald Trump! In the SHOWER!? But the tour was, of course, nothing at all personal. It was so inspiring to see so many of the 'rooms where it happens' though, and to think about all of the incredible men and women who have served our country while living in this house.
Bringing history to life - this is the room where Abraham Lincoln's body lay, and, more exciting, the room where the cast of Hamilton performed for the Obamas!
Turns out it's really hard to get a picture that makes it clear that you're standing on the steps of the White House. But we were there!
After a quick lunch at a bakery, we made our way over to the first museum of the trip - the Smithsonian Museum of American History! On the elevator ride up to the third floor we met George, our official mascot for the trip who deserves his own post.
R2-D2 and C-3PO!
Ruby red slippers!
Hamilton?!
Later in the trip we talked about the moments when we felt most proud to be Americans, and for some of the kids, this was it! Dorothy and Bill Nye and Bob Ross and Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse, what patriotism indeed!
For me, it was seeing the awe-inspiring star spangled banner.
Next up, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History!
The very first photo of George!
He was the absolute star of the trip - the little guy had no idea what an adventure he was about to embark on when I picked him up off the elevator floor and stuck him in Adam's hood!
Emma was in charge of photographing the precious stones, there were so many gorgeous ones to choose from!
This was the most crowded museum we visited, and after a walk through the history of cell phones and a lap past the dinosaurs, we called it a day on the mall.
City squirrel!
Ford's Theatre!
This may have been the day that we ended up walking a good seven blocks in the wrong direction from our hotel and absolutely trudging back with no pictures to document the beauty along the way. We were pooped and I'm pretty sure we Ubered the 45 minute walk home every other day. Plus, we had a medieval tournament feast to get to!
How did we end up here? Who knows, but we all decided it was awesome and must never be spoken of again.
Watching the kids navigate the no-silverware meal was my favorite part.
And once we got back to the hotel, the kids enjoyed one of the very best parts of any hotel stay - the real telephones! They had way too much fun calling each other, ordering fake food, and running back and forth between rooms. You can't get more entertaining than that!
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