Vacation - Washington D.C.

As I look back on our vacation, one of the highlights and my son Noah's favorite part, was Washington DC. All the history, all the monuments and museums, all the teachable moments made our two and half days there wonderful. I took too many pictures but it seemed like everytime we turned a corner there was a photo op.
The three of us Iobsts loved seeing everything and talking about everything, even if our feet were burning at the end of each day. We stayed in a hotel in Maryland and rode the metro in each day. At the hotel, Noah met two guys his age in the pool two nights in a row. After being with adults for so long, he had major fun hanging out with his own kind at night. :0)

Here are some of the great and historic sights we saw in this part of our vacation. Incredibly memorable!

The Pentagon Memorial for the victims of 9/11 was striking and beautifully done.

The side of the Pentagon that was struck by the airplane now faces

the memorial.

For each of the victims there is one of these. They are in rows

of the years they were born. This one is the first, representing a 3

year old on the plane. If the victim was on the plane, their memorialfaces the Pentagon. If they were in the Pentagon, the memorial faces the other way. There is a little reflecting pool under each.

John and Noah right before our tour of the Capitol.

Inside the Capitol is absolutely beautiful - everywhere.

I've always been a Ronald Reagan fan.

When we came upon this plaque, I was quite moved.

It's a plague thanking and remembering the victims

of Flight 93 of 9/11. They crashed in a field in Pennsylvania

but the terrorist's intended target was the Capitol.

Inside the Library of Congress. I loved this place

but couldn't take pictures in the really cool parts.

Noah standing in the Capitol, in the exact center

spot of DC.

Lincoln Monument.

It's hot and crowded, but really inspiring.

The Vietnam Memorial

The men in yellow T-shirts are WW II vets.

I thanked several of them for their service. A couple

of them told me that the ones who didn't come back were the

big deal, not them. I teared up over and over.

Names of many of those who didn't come back

from Vietnam. The three of us can be seen in

the reflection.

Several Vietnam vets were there, too. This one

made a picture of the name of one of his

buddies that didn't come home.

My guys in front of part of the WW II memorial.

John at the WW II memorial.

John squashing the Washington Monument.

Whew! It's still standing.

The White House - notice those cars in front? We saw them

later in President Obama's motorcade.

Not the president, but one of the cars in his motorcade.

Secret Service

Noah arresting John in front of the FBI. :0)

John teaching Noah at the Navy Memorial which is across

the Achives building.

The Smithsonian American History Museum.

One of the exhibits was about transportation.

John couldn't believe a Dodge Caravan made it into the Smithsonian.

They had a whole section on Route 66 which we would

drive in a few days.

At the Smithsonian, Bob Schiffer of CBS news was singing

American folk songs with a band.

We went to the American Art Museum specifically for...

The Art of Video Games exhibit.

Noah loved it. It showed the history and you could

actually play games in the exhibit.

Whew!! The other place that really moved us was the Holocaust Museum. SO powerful. We couldn't

take any pictures inside and I forgot to take a picture outside.

So there you go! If you've never been, GO to Washington DC. The three of us will never forget it.