The place to go for Fall fashion.

Notebooks and pens? I’m reaching for baked papyrus and quills with indigo ink. Thirsty? Don’t spend that $1.25 on Aquafina. Just grab a drink from your handy wooden canteen. Are bullies bothering you? I don’t like to advocate violence, but sometimes a musket or spear is just what you need to show who’s boss. Go back to school in style…Revolutionary style!

These are actual items from space missions, on display at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum.

See: it’s not all fun spacewalks and eating cool frozen food and brushing your teeth upside down.

Possibly my favorite purchase from our D.C. trip. I bought it at Mt.Vernon, George Washington’s estate. He probably had this awesome t-shirt in one of his dresser drawers.

Our nation’s first President’s wheels of choice.

An elephant. He/she is not alive.

Kyle and a newly made friend.

The Hope Diamond. Spahh-keling diamonds!

Yikes!

Yikes squared!

The Korean War Memorial.

The majestic Mr. Lincoln.

The Lincoln Memorial.

About to crush the Washington Monument.

I’m back. D.C. (and the surrounding area) was awesome and exhausting. We did so much in such a short amount of time, and yet we did not get to it all. It was a whirlwind tour of sights. We pounded the hot pavement every day in search of history, amazement and new buildings. We were an army. And our legs hurt. It did not help that we visited D.C. during a sweltering heat wave. We sweated, and walked, took the Metro, sweated some more and tried to find shade. If I swore, I would say that D.C. kicked our _____es.

I awoke this morning in a travel-induced fog. I am tired, groggy, and have a cold. Thus, the idea of accurately describing and photo-illustrating our trip seems altogether too overwhelming and exhausting. See how exhausted I am? I am so exhausted I can’t think of a synonym for exhausted.

However, I cannot bypass the trip altogether. That would be a shame. And there has to be photos (such as that of the Capitol Building above). So, I will compromise by gathering strength each day and posting a few photos, perhaps even with accompanying scant or detailed descriptions, depending on my energy and mood each day.

Here is what I think may be my favorite photo from the trip:

The box in Ford’s Theatre where Lincoln was fatally shot by his assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

So my family and I are planning our vacation plans. We are going to Baltimore, Charlottesville, VA, Arlington, VA and Washington D.C. We are leaving exactly one week from tomorrow. I am very, very excited. Thrilled, actually. I love vacations and I love history and monuments and things having to do with Lincoln, our Constitution, government, colonial reenactments and so on. I’ve never been to D.C. I can’t believe that in over a week I will be standing at the feet of the Lincoln Memorial, staring into Honest Abe’s (yes, I know, he didn’t like to be called that) eyes.

We have been working on our itinerary and I have been knee deep in all things D.C. I may have already elicited the advice of some of you, but if anyone has any suggestions for activities, bookstores, restaurants, museums, etc. please let me know.

Things we are pretty much for sure doing:
-Monticello
-Mount Vernon
-All the monuments, including: Washington, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans, Korean War, FDR, Jefferson, Grant, Garfield, Peace Monument
-Capitol Building (including tour) and Reflecting Pool
-National Air and Space Museum (of course), which at the moment includes an exhibition from the currently being renovated Museum of American History
-Holocaust Museum
-White House (no tour, unfortunately — 3 months advance booking required)
-Ford’s Theatre (no question)
-Georgetown
-Neighborhoods such as Adams-Morgan, Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle (how great are the neighborhood names?)
-Eastern Market
-Ben’s Chili Bowl
-Arlington National Cemetery
-Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington

Other Possibilities:
-National Archives (where you can see the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and the Bill of Rights)
-United States Botanic Garden
-Bureau of Engraving and Printing
-International Spy Museum
-FBI Building and tour
-National Gallery
-National Portrait Gallery