The last few days have been jam packed! On Sunday, Valerie, Rachelle, and I started off the day back at the National Mall to walk around the tidal basin and see some of the monuments we had not seen the day before. We went through my favorite, the FDR Memorial. I find all the water features there very peaceful and relaxing.
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| Me at one of the water features at the FDR Memorial |
As the day progressed and the heat was getting more and more oppressive, we headed towards the Natural History Museum. While on the way to the museum, we ended up on the corner of an intersection that was being closed down to let the Presidential motorcade through (we didn't actually see the President, but since the motorcade was coming from the White House, we put 2 and 2 together and got 4)! As the SUV with the back up that you see in the picture below passed us, we could see men armed to the teeth sitting in the back facing out. I told the girls I planned it all just for them, but we all knew we were just in the right place at the right time!
After the motorcade passed, we continued on to the Natural History Museum. We were upstairs in the mummy exhibit, and I started feeling like I had tadpoles swimming around behind my eyes. I didn't feel bad, just weird. We chalked it up to being out in the intense heat. I sat down for a few minutes and drank some water, and before long...no more tadpoles!
We went through many of the exhibits there, and I managed to get a better picture of the Hope Diamond than on my previous visit. What a stone, eh?!?
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| Hope Diamond |
After we'd seen all the girls wanted to see there, we went next door to the American History Museum. Who can resist Dorothy's red slippers?!? There was a cute t-shirt in the museum gift store with an image of the Wicked Witch of the East's black and white stockinged legs laying flat with the red slippers on them and the saying "Shoes to Die For". What a hoot!
Next it was off to the Old Post Office Pavilion for some awesome city views. The girls were pleased with my suggestion to visit there and a bit surprised that someone hadn't mentioned it to Valerie when she had visited DC before.
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| Rachelle, Valerie and the view from the top of the Old Post Office Tower |
By then, we were all exhausted and ready to head home to prepare for an early morning on Monday to visit the National Zoo. We managed to get there about 7:30 AM, which ended up being a great time to see the animals before they became less active in the heat of the day. I saw the cheetahs for the first time, and the pandas were having breakfast!
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| On the prowl! |
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| Chowing down |
It was an awesome visit and I can't wait to create an album on my Facebook page! We had lunch at a nearby restaurant, Lilies, which was not far outside the zoo entrance off Wisconsin. We all really enjoyed our lunch there and highly recommend the place, both for its local neighborhood feel and the food. Then we were off to visit the National Cathedral. What a magnificent structure.
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| National Cathedral |
After we got back to the house, I crashed on the couch after we had pasta for supper and the girls were left to fend for themselves while I napped. Fortunately, they are extremely low maintenance guests, and were not offended that I zonked out on them!
This morning I drove them into DC and dropped them off downtown. They had a White House tour scheduled, and I had a paper I needed to finish for my current class. Just this week, and class will be done! Then I'll have about 4 weeks off before my next class starts. Yeah! They planned to visit Ford's Theater and the Air and Space Museum while I took care of my homework. When they are done, the plan is for them to take the metro down to Crystal City in Arlington and I'll pick them up there. That will save me a trip into town during rush hour, and Rachelle will get to experience a metro ride like her mom wanted her to! Win, win for all!
This evening we have tickets to see The Addams Family at the Kennedy Center. After spending most of the day doing homework, I am ready for a treat!
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