The plan for this day was to start at the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. I did not plan very well and even though we got there when it opened I didn't anticipate the line that wrapped around the entire building. James has zero patience when it comes to standing in lines so I sent the boys off on a scavenger hunt. I gave them my camera and said they had to take a picture of every letter in the alphabet. The rules were that they had to go in order and they couldn't use the same sign twice. It was genius! They were running all over the area and took a good hour to accomplish it. I meanwhile had the most interestingly weird conversation with this guy who was there all by himself.
When we finally got in I was all prepared to be in awe of the history but was a little let down. Both of the documents were so faded that you could barely read them. At least now we can say we saw them!
We headed over to the American History Museum next.
James had just started the Oregon Trail in his class so he wanted me to send this to his teacher to show everyone.
This is where the flag that inspired the "Star Spangled Banner" is held. This was just about my favorite part of all the museums. I had no idea how huge it was. And seeing it while reading the words to the song gave me such an immense rush of American pride. We weren't allowed to take any pictures of it. But I found this on the Smithsonian's website.
Parts of it had been cut to give as gifts to several different people in the early 1800s. It was given to the Smithsonian in 1912.
Ben had to go to some meetings so James and I wandered around the museum
for hours. I had really wanted to go to the Art Museums and thought we
had plenty of time but then realized they closed earlier than expected.
We ran over there and only had 30 minutes to walk through. We walked as
quickly as was allowed to see the artists I wanted, got a little lost,
got some inspiration for my guest bedroom, bought some prints and called
it good.
This kid. I seriously love this kid. His thirst for knowledge is amazing. He was the best companion for me. He rarely complained, even after walking dozens upon dozens of blocks. He talked just about non-stop about everything that was on his mind. It's amazing what can be shared with no sisters to interrupt!
We met Ben at the Portrait Gallery and I was completely exhausted at this point. We had walked and walked and walked and with the time change I had not been sleeping well. We took the subway back to our hotel where we all crashed.
The next day we grabbed some more souvenirs for the girls. Found a Shake Shack (!!!) and then headed to the airport.
All in all it was an exhausting, emotional, educational trip that we will all remember forever.
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