We were so glad we did because the kids had an absolute blast! As with most museums I didn't get to read as much as I wanted, but I did learn a lot of interesting things. We were all given a secret identity at the beginning which we were to commit to memory for later questioning. Ryan was an 18 year old art student from Britain, Laney was a 25 year old fashion designer, and Brayden was a 13 year old boy from Canada.
The kids were also given a mission scavenger hunt of things to be sure to find on all the floors of the museum so they were practically obsessed with that the majority of the time. There were a few favorites - the girls loved climing through the air ducts to see how little noise they could make and listen to the voices below. They even dragged me along once!
They all also loved the hang test from one of the James Bond movies. I believe it was an attempt to simulate hanging from a building with wind blowing in their faces. Ryan was the only one to make it to the one minute target and a believe she did it twice!
At the end of the museum the kids were all quizzed on their identities and their secret missions. Ryan was the only one who successfully completed her mission and maintained her identity. I guess she has another job possibility in the future. Of course, we will never know about it.
After the final clue was found outside, we headed next door to the Shake Shack for birthday milkshakes. The line was just about out the door so we knew these were going to be good. There was even a separate line for shake-only orders! We made sure to sing "Happy Fake Birthday to yoooouuuuuu...." to Brayden all day which received a lot of "Mooooooooommm...." and rolled eyes. I guess that's 12 for you. What he doesn't seem to get is it just makes us embarass him more!
Next we went to the White House Visitors Center. We figured if we couldn't just walk into the White House like citizens could do when Abraham Lincoln was president, this might be the next best thing. Plus we were hot and it was nice a cool in there!
We all learned so much about the White House! The kids especially loved learning about the families that lived there and how they lived their every day lives. There were great photos of Betty Ford, The Eisenhowers and all their grandchildren, The Carters, and The Reagans just living like regular people. The kids also loved reading about the different additions to the White House the different presidents made. We all enjoyed watching the movie which simply had photos and voice overs of different presidents and first ladies talking about their awe and appreciation of the building and their place in it.
Next we found a park for lunch and presents. We laughed at all the funny cards and Brayden loved the legos the girls picked out for him. Instantly they all made plans to put them together as soon as we got back to the campsite.
On our previous trip to Washington D.C. Dave and I were unable to figure out how to get to Arlington Cemetary before our flight. On another trip with his parents as a kid, they were unable to as well. This time we decided to go by Metro and finally get him there!
After grabbing a map we headed toward the Kennedy's grave first. Within minutes we were completely surrounded by white headstones in every direction. It was beautiful and sad and shocking and humbling all at the same time. The peaceful spot where The Kennedys were buried was on a hill overlooking much of the cemetery.
Then we made the trek up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. Dave seems to remember some of the remains being identified through DNA so it might not be plural anymore. We were treated to a somber display of the changing of the guard as we walked up.
Since we weren't sure how busy the airport would be at this hour we decided to head back to the visitor's center and say our goodbyes to Dave. We'd all gotten so used to him being with us it was hard for the kids, but we knew he'd be back in a week. We all still wished he'd been able to stay the original 17 days.
After a quick trip to the gift shop Laney and I talked the other two into walking to the Iwo Jima Marine Corps Memorial. It was about a 15-minute walk around the outside edge of the cemetary the kids most enjoyed because of the shock of bicycles whizzing by us. Ryan said she was glad she came once we heard the bells of the Netherlands Carillon next door. The giant tower full of bells at the top was given to the U.S. for our assistance in World War II.
And they were both glad they came once we saw the enormous monument.
The Marine's involvement in each war was inscribed around the monument. Perhaps I'd purposely forgotten some of my history class lessons, but there were wars I didn't even know happened on there! The memorial was immensely larger than I'd ever imagined.
After a very hot walk back we hopped back on the Metro to our car and off to stock up on groceries and such. The night before when I'd been ready to cook dinner there was an issue with my last propane tank for the grill so everyone had to settle for crackers, cheese, and fruit for dinner. Brayden was also wanting to pick out something fun for his birthday breakfast in the morning!
It was dark by the time we made it home so I cooked some pasta by headlamp and we all collapsed in our tents for the night. Tomorrow we would explore again and celebrate one kid being 12 already!
