Mom and Dad took the kids for a day trip into Washington D.C. Dad was nervous about whether or not he would suffer from motion sickness on the Metro ride into town. He preemptively took a lower drowsy version of Dramamine. Jane was nervous as to whether or not she would suffer motion sickness as well. Despite the concern, she went on and ended up being fine.
The family took the metro into town and went to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. It is free to get in. But they have the funding problem solved. There are no drinking fountains so you must purchase expensive water bottles.
It was packed in the museum. So many school groups were there it was crazy. Riley was disappointed in the Hope Diamond, especially when he saw a bigger one in another exhibit. Aidan wanted to see the live butterflies but that was not free. But, there were some cool things to see. The giant squid gave them great perspective on the size. The black angler fish was so tiny it made my family question Nemo! But the worst realization was the cookie cutter shark. The thing has a row of super sharp teeth. It bites and then spins around to form a plus of flesh that it pulls out! I would not want to meet that thing and Mom agrees!
After that the family walked to the Shake Shack for lunch. After ordering what seemed like a harmless amount of food (and some more water bottles for the road in case the next museum also did not have drinking fountains), when the gentleman asked if there was anything else they would like to add to the order, Mom said she would like CPR since she was going to fall over from the final price. He laughed and told the kids they should give Dad a high five! The food was good, but mom was sad that the price matched bills they have paid at Japanese Hibachi and they got burgers and fries!
After lunch, Mom wanted to go outside the White House and get some pictures for the Christmas cards. As they approached the front of the Treasury, Aidan declared that he once again had to go to the bathroom. Dad asked Secret Service the closest place to take him to the bathroom. Mom, Jane and Riley took the opportunity to sit on a bench in the shade just to the side of the White House. It made sense to wait for the whole family before going to the front of the White House. So, they sat there and rested. Just as Dad and Aidan came back and sat down, Secret Service started telling everyone to go across the road immediately. Not knowing what was going on Mom spread her arms like a mother hen and shoo'd her babies across the street. Once there, Secret Service told everyone to get off the road. At the corner of Pennsylvania Ave and 15th Street, everyone waited to see what was going on. There was lots of speculation as Police cars came in and out and K-9 units walked around. Mom asked a Secret Service Agent if she could tell what was going on and he said "No" (she thought so...) Seeing that Riley was pretty upset and wanted to go home, She asked the agent if he could at least tell the kids if it was something good or bad. He said "I can't say anything". So they waited. It seemed like forever as they waited. After some time, down 15th there was a motorcade that turned in behind the White House. Mom was still determined to get a picture for the Christmas cards so the family waited some more. They kept coming in and out of the shade to peek down Pennsylvania Ave to see if they were going to open the road soon. Some time later, Mom saw motorcycles and the big black SUVs coming toward them and stopping in front of the White House. Dad did a little research and based on the flags on the SUV, it seems like it was probably a foreign dignitary but Mom has searched and searched and is not able to find what country the flag goes with!
After waiting some time more they gave up on trying to get a picture from the front of the house. They began to walk back down 15th and noticed that the walkway behind the house was open. Mom dragged very hot and very tired Jane, Riley and Aidan to the back of the White House for Christmas card pictures! She forced the poor kids to plaster fake smiles on their faces.
At this point they all wanted to get into A/C again. They walked toward the Smithsonian. Mom wanted to go into the Museum of American History. Dad walked the wrong direction and took them to the Natural History Museum instead. Desperate for cool air, the rest of the family just said they would go in there again... UNTIL they saw the line. So, they marched back the way Mom wanted to go and went into the Museum of American History. It turns out that Mom and Dad like this museum even more and wish they has gone there first. They hope to be able to return there at some point to really see this museum. Alas, they got there so late in the day they did not get to seem much of the museum. They were ushered out by employees asking everyone to leave.
Mom really wanted to see the memorials. That is what she had been waiting for all day. They agreed that they would do it when the sun went down. But at this point with at least a 20 minute walk to anything they wanted to see (including the cupcakes Jane wanted to take the family to...) the family was done, exhausted and not willing to walk further. They all got on the metro to return to the truck that was parked in Maryland. The kids now got to experience the metro during rush hour! It is amazing how many men did not stand and made the women stand while they kept their comfortable seats. Jane said chivalry is dead.
Back at the truck, Mom remembered seeing a sign for "Kiss and Ride" for the metro and she could not take it anymore and had to know what that was about. I will not tell you because that would spoil all the fun! You can look it up and find out for yourself...
One last fun thing before they drove back to Gettysburg. Mom was thirsty so she grabbed a can of pop that had been in the truck baking all day! She cracked the tab and well... it EXPLODED all over. the tab flipped up instead of in and Mom thought her finger was cut but thankfully it was not. But the truck and Mom were all sticky. So, when they finally returned to the campground, Mom had to clean the truck. By the time all was said and done they finally sat down to dinner at 10:09pm! They are all exhausted and I am exhausted too!
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