For Easter break this year we traveled to Washington DC, North and South Carolina (to see my sister Susan and her family), and New York. Here are some photos from DC.
Since Nate and Will were too young to remember living in the US, and Meredith was born in Switzerland, our kids don't know much about American history and government. So we decided to give them a taste of this by visiting Washington DC. It was a great trip!
Due to a little mishap with the location of Elise's passport (it was on its way from Italy to Switzerland at the time of our flight), Elise and Dave flew a day later and joined us on Monday. Our first day in DC we went to the National Mall. It was the end of the cherry blossom season (the festival had been the week before), and the kids found plenty of blossoms! We walked down the mall to the Museum of Natural History, part of the Smithsonian, then went up to the Capitol for our tour. We saw the old Supreme Court area on what is now the Senate side. The dome area was closed, so our tour was a bit short, but we got gallery tickets and went in to the House gallery, which was great. I told the kids about my experience working for the House Republican Study Committee when I was in college. And after visiting the Capitol we took pictures outside the Supreme Court building.
Tuesday we had a morning tour with a great guide, Clay Steward, organized through Private Tours of Washington. Our guide was a historian and history teacher at a college and he was full of stories and facts. It really was a pleasure to learn from someone with so much enthusiasm for American history. We started at the Jefferson Memorial, then went to the White House, Lincoln Memorial, reflecting pool, Washington Monument, Korean War Memorial and the new World War II Memorial. We also went to the National Cathedral and saw where the vice president lives.
Then we visited the Supreme Court building and the Capitol to visit the Senate chambers.
Since Nate and Will were too young to remember living in the US, and Meredith was born in Switzerland, our kids don't know much about American history and government. So we decided to give them a taste of this by visiting Washington DC. It was a great trip!
Due to a little mishap with the location of Elise's passport (it was on its way from Italy to Switzerland at the time of our flight), Elise and Dave flew a day later and joined us on Monday. Our first day in DC we went to the National Mall. It was the end of the cherry blossom season (the festival had been the week before), and the kids found plenty of blossoms! We walked down the mall to the Museum of Natural History, part of the Smithsonian, then went up to the Capitol for our tour. We saw the old Supreme Court area on what is now the Senate side. The dome area was closed, so our tour was a bit short, but we got gallery tickets and went in to the House gallery, which was great. I told the kids about my experience working for the House Republican Study Committee when I was in college. And after visiting the Capitol we took pictures outside the Supreme Court building.
Tuesday we had a morning tour with a great guide, Clay Steward, organized through Private Tours of Washington. Our guide was a historian and history teacher at a college and he was full of stories and facts. It really was a pleasure to learn from someone with so much enthusiasm for American history. We started at the Jefferson Memorial, then went to the White House, Lincoln Memorial, reflecting pool, Washington Monument, Korean War Memorial and the new World War II Memorial. We also went to the National Cathedral and saw where the vice president lives.
We visited the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where they make money! The tour was really fun - it was an old traditional factory. And we visited the gift shop to see some of the products (including sheets of bills that hadn't been cut yet).
We also visited some of the Smithsonian museums, including the Museum of American History, Natural History, Air and Space, and Native American. We also visited the Library of Congress which the kids loved, and of course we went to the National Gallery of Art.
This is one of the Guggenheim Bibles!
We visited Monticello, George Washington's home, on the way out of DC. Although the weather was cold, the kids had fun finding the sites on their map (and then getting a prize!). Coincidentally we were in line next to a family from Germany, so we got to speak some German.
We had a great time in DC and the kids got some exposure to American history. We had some interesting food experiences (including Lincoln's Waffle House!) and a great Mexican food at Rosa Mexicano. We went to Union Station and went past the pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. In the American History museum we ran into the sister missionaries, and William thought he spotted Malaya Watson on the street!
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