Vacation, Part 10 (Friday)

Last post about vacation (maybe) :-)

Changing of the guard

JFK and Jackie O.

I can't believe the Obamas didn't invite us in for dinner!


Just like on tv, but so much bigger in person!

These are pics from our last two stops - The White House and Arlington National Cemetery. Owen was really looking forward to seeing the White House. Next trip we'll have to get tickets for the tour.

Both the kids were unsure about going to Arlington, but once we got there, they seemed awed at the scope of the cemetery and what enormous sacrifices it represents. They were very impressed by the changing of the guard. I was too; it was so hot and humid that day!

These pictures are only a small sampling of the number of pictures that Daniel and the kids actually took. Daniel took nearly 400 on his camera and both kids took lots on theirs as well. Stop by sometime and see them all.

Vacation, Part 9 (Friday)

English Nerds: Continue reading.

Regular people: Skip to next post.

A personal welcome from the Bard himself.

Inside the halls

Caesar sculpture on the outside.


THE best site in all of DC!!!

The Folger Shakespeare Library was AWESOME! I was in absolute heaven. There were sculptures of scenes from the various plays along the sides of the building. The docent at the entry was a former English teacher from North Carolina and we hit it off immediately. She and another docent took us on the brief tour. Unless you're lucky enough to be doing actual research, the books here are off-limits too, but we saw a small theater, lots of Shakespeare memorabilia (including a First Folio!!!!!!!), and got to peek inside the reading room. The gift shop was small, but adequate. I got a Shakespeare bobble-head you just have to see. It's adorable!

Vacation, Part 8 (Thursday)

Sara Camp reporting live from the Nation's Capital...

A piece (a BIG piece) of the Berlin wall.

Sara in a journalist's hat at the gift shop.

The Newseum was lots of fun. It was very interactive and had many interesting stories to tell. The 9/11 exhibit was a great tribute to the journalists who kept us informed that day. it had a good exhibit about the recent Inauguration and had a good mix of print and broadcast exhibits. Owen got a chance to record the weather report and Sara saw a snazzy hat in the store. There were stunning views of the city from the balcony on the top floor. Even though it isn't free, I still highly recommend a visit.

Vacation, Part 7 (Thursday)

Outside the Library of Congress reading room.

Man, the Library of Congress is much nicer than our Middle Tyger!

The sun shines on the Capitol.

Our tour of the Capitol was short, but neat. I had never been inside before. The millions spent on the new visitor center made it look nice, but the food was the WORST we had in all of DC. The hot dogs from the street vendor were much better than the gritty mac and cheese (good ol' Kraft would have been an improvement) and the absolutely tasteless burgers. From the price of lunch, I think I now know where the economic stimulus funds are coming from... Anyway, it was a good tour and the tunnel to the Library of Congress was neat. The Library itself was grandiose and beautiful. Tourists get to look at the architecture, but the actual books are safely hidden away.

Vacation, Part 6 (Wednesday)

Sara and Owen assist the pioneers of aviation.

Look out! Sara's at the controls!

On the moon, Owen would only weigh 12 pounds!

The kids really loved the Air and Space museum. It was my favorite when I was a kid too.

Vacation, Part 5 (Wednesday)

Route 66 exhibit - (It's the Joads' trip from The Grapes of Wrath)


Julia Child's kitchen!!!!!!!!!!!

Daniel is about to be attacked by C-3PO.

I think Daniel and I enjoyed the Museum of American History most of all. It's amazing how many things we remember from our childhood are now 'historical'.

Vacation, Part 4 (Tuesday)

Zoo kids

I think he's looking at me...

The elephant diva

Such a sweetie!

The zoo was lots of fun. We saw the famous Pandas. They were adorable. My favorite was the elephant who, during the middle of her training show, saw some ducks in her watering hole and got very ticked off. She charged at them and threw one of her toys at them until they flew away. Much of the zoo is under remodeling right now so we'll have to go back some day to see how it turns out.

Vacation, Part 3 (Monday)

Posing with a monkey at Natural History Museum

Sara is the one on the left...

What a mouthful!

Lots of fun at the Museum of Natural History with dead things - bones and stuffed ones too.

Vacation, Part 2 (Sunday)

Riding the Tourmobile for the Twilight tour

Riding an escalator/work of art

Resting outside the art gallery

In front of the Capitol

Riding the Metro

Vacation, Part 1

This year we decided to go BIG for vacation so we loaded up the kids and went to the Nation's Capital. We had a great time, but by the end, we were all thoroughly exhausted!!!
This adventure started at about 5:45 AM with trusting our GPS, Helen for directions for the fastest route. We started out on the major interstates, but soon, she found smaller and more scenic highways for us to take. We were grateful because we all really dislike the boring and monotonous interstate (Sorry, Mr. Eisenhower. It was a good idea, but that's not how we like to see America.).
We arrived around 3:00 PM and got ourselves unpacked so we could explore the hotel and surroundings. The Marriott was nice and it was connected to an underground shopping area and a Metro station. If you ever go to DC, the Metro is awesome. It saved so much driving in and out of the city, fighting traffic, and locating parking spaces. I HIGHLY recommend using it as much as possible. (For those worried moms out there, it's clean and safe.)
** As I am reviewing this blog, I feel I must address the tragic Metro accident of 6/22/09. It is such a terrible tragedy and I am sure in the coming days we will find out more details about what went wrong. My heart and many prayers go out to the families of the deceased and to those who were injured. Though we did not ride the Metro at that particular location, we did take many of the trains (including the red line) and may have actually ridden on one of the trains involved in the accident. I am counting my blessings that God gave us safe trips every time, but I still firmly believe that even an accident such as this one is part of His vast plan. When it is His desire to call us home, He will find us whether we are riding a Metro, driving a car, or resting comfortably in our own beds. We cannot live in fear. I would still ride the Metro if we were in DC today.**

This was our general itinerary for the week:

Sunday - Union Station, walking on the mall, Smithsonian National Gallery of Art, Tourmobile Twilight tour of the monuments and memorials (pricey, but a good way to fit it all in).

Monday - Holocaust Memorial Museum (for Sara and I), International Spy Museum (for Daniel and Owen), Smithsoniam Museum of Natural History.

Tuesday - Smithsonian National Zoo (and that's it because our feet were killing us that day).

Wednesday - Smithsonian Museum of American History and Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Thursday - Newseum, tour of the Capitol building (don't eat at the restaurant, no wonder lawmakes get grumpy) and the Libray of Congress

Friday - Union Station (again), Folger Shakespeare Library (my favorite part), Smithsonian Hirshorn Art Museum, return to Smithsonian Museum of American History (First Ladies' Exhibit for the girls and America at War exhibit for the boys), walk around the White House, and Arlington National Cemetery.

We saw much, but there was so much we didn't get to see. Another trip is definitely in the cards in a few years.

Last Day of School

Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was the last day for students in our district - a half day:-) Daniel took the day off and spent the morning with Owen at Reidville. I didn't have exams this morning so I was able to make it to Reidville in time for the graduation ceremony. Sara had a half day of hanging out with her friends at school. When she got home, the three of them were off to Uncle Lawrence's and Aunt Linda's for an afternoon of swimming and fishing. We'll cap off the day's festivities at Frankie's Fun Park with Sara's youth group from church.
So our year ended much the same as it began and progressed- busy, busy, busy.

The Trees

We spent some time this spring planting (and replanting) two trees. This all came about nearly two years ago when we attended a USC football game. I was taking the family on a tour of my alma mater when we arrived at the Horseshoe. Sara was very impressed by the size of the oak trees there. It's what always drew me there as a student too. She picked up a few acorns off the ground and decided to take them home. Several days later at home she asked me if she could plant her acorns. They were ragged looking things and I didn't think anything would come of it so I said, "Sure, wherever you want." She planted them in one of my daylily beds alongside of the house and we thought nothing of it until the next spring when one of them sprouted! We left it alone and let it grow. This spring it grew even more and we knew we had to move it somewhere more roomy. We transplanted it near the back line of the yard and it has shot up since then. It loves its new surroundings and is now known as "Sara's tree."
Of course, Owen decided he wanted a tree of his own. He took some time to think about exactly what he wanted -Owen doesn't make rash decisions- and finally settled on a magnolia. He loves the one at Granny and Pa's and wanted one of his own at home. We went to the garden store and found a teddy bear magnolia (so it wouldn't take over the entire backyard). He and his Daddy planted it last night and our yard just got a little greener.