Unpopular opinion: the Air & Space Museum on the National Mall is... meh. The exhibits are nice, sure, but it was SO PACKED in there it was muggy inside from all the people bodies squished together. Ew.
This is the Air & Space on the Mall. SO CROWDED.
The Udvar-Hazy Air & and Space Museum by Dulles, on the other hand, was AMAZING. The second we walked in the door, Paul noticed, "This one is nice!" The very nice old volunteer at the info desk suggested we take a lap around over the catwalk, through the shuttle hanger, before joining a tour. (Always listen to the suggestions of nice old volunteers, they know what they're talking about.) A docent led us on a nearly two hour tour through aviation history. I'm not actually a big airplane person, but I love stories, and this guy could tell stories.
Highly recommend the museum by the airport. There's even a Shake Shack inside! Admission is free, $15 for parking.
The Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29, which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. The guy named the plane after his MOM. If my kids ever drop atomic bombs (they'd better not) they'd better not name the plane JiaYing Grygiel. Tip: You can see into the cockpit from the catwalk.The Space Shuttle Discovery!!!!! They built the hanger specifically for the space shuttle. It flew 39 missions into space, 365 days total in space. Every single one of those black tiles is a unique shape.WWI-era Sopwith Camel, AKA Snoopy's plane.You can watch the restoration work!This Lockheed SR-71 flew from LA to DC in 64 minutes! It's basically a big, fast camera (spy plane). But it used film, so pilots had to stop to process film.View of the Lockheed SR-71 from above (the black one).Our excellent docent.Life-size astronaut made of Legos!Ended our day with the requisite astronaut ice cream. It tasted like a cookie.
The evening before we went to Monticello, we bumped into a family at the hotel pool that had gone to Monticello that day. The dad told me, "Hey, Madison's house is on the way, and Monroe's house is right next to Monticello." Wait, WHAT.
That smelled like a giant marketing opportunity to me. The third, fourth and fifth presidents live within a couple miles of each other, and I missed this?? I LIVE for dorky things like the Freedom Trail.
The drive up to Madison's Montpelier house. It was a tobacco farm back in the day.
Jefferson, Madison and Monroe were basically the Three Musketeers. Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, Madison was the Father of the Constitution, and Monroe is best known for the Monroe Doctrine (which warned European nations to butt out of the Western Hemisphere).
Jefferson's house was the spiffiest, with a giant visitor's center and hordes of visitors. At Monroe's house, the visitors barely outnumbered the staff. Madison's house fell somewhere in between.
This house looks like it was meant to be, but it was actually built like Tetris blocks over time. The original house is on the right. Madison added a separate townhouse on the left when he brought Dolley home. Later he joined the two and added wings. The Duponts owned the property and added on a couple dozen more rooms; those rooms have since been torn down to restore the house to how it looked when Madison lived here.One of the few original Madison artifacts. He sold most of his stuff before he died to pay off debts.James Madison was 5'3" and Dolley was 5'6" (and 17 years younger).A room on Madison's mom's side of the house.The tall instrument generates static electricity. This is what they did for entertainment, shock each other.Madison would have sat at his desk at this window writing the Constitution.Monroe's house. Monroe isn't buried here; he's buried in Richmond next to John Tyler.Our guide told us to look for an acorn to take home, then in 300 years we would have a tree just like this one.The original house burned down after Monroe sold it.Southern tradition of painting the porch ceiling haint blue to keep out the ghosts.Napoleon's stepdaughter Hortensia married Napoleon's brother (!) and was good friends with Monroe's daughter. The necklace was a wedding gift from Hortensia.
I knew I wanted to see Thomas Jefferson's Monticello; I did not know it would take two hours of driving on little country roads in rural Virginia. But, worth it. Monticello, which Jefferson designed himself, is filled with natural light. Big windows, skylights, mirrors everywhere. Absolutely gorgeous.
We met Thomas Jefferson!The image on every nickel.Some of Jefferson's many, many books. Apparently he would read 20 books at once.Jefferson put in the bed alcove, replicating the ones he'd seen in France.The antlers are original artifacts from Lewis and Clark.Taxicab yellow dining room. There's a dumbwaiter built into the spot behind the fireplace for bottles of wine to be sent upstairs.Replicas of the artifacts Lewis and Clark brought back in the two-story entryway. There's a wall calendar Jefferson designed (the 7th day didn't fit, so there's a hole in the floor).This is a newer tombstone, a replica of the one Jefferson designed for himself. It says "OS" after his birthday because he was born when Britain used the Old Style Julian calendar.
I am so glad we got another chance to see the giant pandas at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. In November, Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji, are all returning to China.
Baby Xiao Qi Ji, a miracle pandemic baby born in August 2020.Mei Shiang (mom) taking a nap in the AC inside.Xiao Qi JiXiao Qi Ji passed out for a nap.TianTian (dad) lounging in a tree. I was concerned about those little branches supporting his weight!Xiao Qi JiMei ShiangXiao Qi JiThere were other animals at the National Zoo too, not just pandas! California sea lions here.Free-roaming spoonbills in AmazoniaThese fragile PNW children rallied after an ice cream break. Oof, summer in a swamp!
The Smithsonian museums on the National Mall are always PACKED, but just a few blocks away, it was nice and chill at the National Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum.
Half the building is American Art, the other half is portraits. We went to visit our favorite presidential portraits, and had time to explore the third floor. You guys, it was unreal. Like stepping into another world.
Kehinde Wiley's portrait of Barack ObamaConservation lab on the third floorContemplating Albert BierstadtCourtyard between the two museums
Four killer views of Washington, D.C., from 500 feet up. The Washington Monument is actually 555 feet and 5 1/8 inches tall, making it the world's tallest structure when it was completed in 1884.
Tickets to the observation deck are VERY limited because it's a tiny space. The trick to snagging tickets is to log onto recreation.gov 30 days in advance of the date you want to visit, and be ready to POUNCE at exactly 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Be quick!
The HVAC had gone one out when we visited, so it was about a million degrees up there. Absolutely worth the stickiness.
The National Mall was pretty empty. Everyone's hiding out in the A/C!White House viewThe Lincoln Memorial, with water in the reflecting poolThe water's murky because it had just rained. I got to drive through that torrential downpour.The White House was setting up for an event with Congressmembers and their families.Some kind of construction in front of the Lincoln Memorial.Stones inside the monument sold to raise money.Closing time on the National Mall after a full day of museums.
Crossed off a big bucket list item today: took the kids on a White House tour! Been wanting to do this for years. We didn't see the president, but the Secret Service confirmed he was there.
Pictures off my phone because they are STRICT about what you can bring in (nothing).
To get a White House tour, you need to contact your senator or representative (only ONE, or the White House will reject your request) ideally at least 3 months in advance. You submit all your info to the White House, then cross all your fingers and toes and hope for the best. The White House notifies you 2 weeks before whether you are accepted. Remember when we were kids and you just lined up for a tour? Simpler times.
I write about a lot of playgrounds, and this one is extra special. I talked to Mika's mom about the new inclusive playground in Edmonds built in his memory. Mika was a 10-year-old boy who loved playing outside with his friends. At Mika's Playground, there are no wood chips to get stuck in wheels, wheelchairs can roll right onto the merry-go-round, the swing is big enough to lay on and the slide is extra wide so you can go down with a friend.
