Northeast Tour Part 3 - Washington D.C.

We got up early Wednesday morning and started packing up our car for the trip home. We left a little later that I had wanted, but we got out on the road heading toward Washington, D.C. First of all we started running low on cash from all the tow roads that we had been driving on. Well when we got to Maryland we took an even bigger hit to our cash supply. We got to a toll and I paid the $4 just like I was supposed to do. A few miles down the road our GPS told us to exit the interstate to get onto another road. I listened to it just like I always do and as soon as I got off it told me to get back on the same interstate I was just on except going the opposite direction (North bound). At this point I knew that something was wrong so I pulled off to the side of the road. We looked at the map and in fact we should have been going our original direction of South bound. I saw a place for an illegal u-turn but I had done that once on a family vacation and it ended up costing over $200. So after consideration we decided to go back through the toll and ask how the best way to get back on track would be and just see if they would let us pass through. They gave us directions on the best way to turn back around and collected another $4 toll. We turned around and got back headed in the right direction South bound to Washington, D.C. Then we got back to the toll booth and I made sure to go back through the exact same booth that I had gone through less than 10 minutes ago. I explained the situation and even showed a receipt that I had gotten from the other side. She said sorry and asked for our $4. Welcome to Maryland! So, we turned a $4 toll into a $12 journey. We had no more issues and made it to our nation's capital around four o'clock in the afternoon. We quickly got to work and started walking around to all the monuments.

We started at the Washington Monument and then headed to the World War II Memorial. Then we stopped at the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and then finished our night with a trip to the White House.

My wife and kiddos with the Washington Monument.

At the World War II Memorial. Thankful for all those men and women who lost their lives.

The kids found some ducks in the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

A picture full of Kentuckians. While we were visiting the Lincoln Memorial I told Brinley about how Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, was our 16th president and the one she would probably relate to was that he was the man on a penny.

Jennifer and Brinley with FDR. Brinley really liked his doggie!

Brinley in training to become a 1st lady. At least she has the stance down.

We got to meet up with a childhood friend of ours Andy and his wife Laura Leigh. They both work for the IRS and we met up and had dinner with them after they got off work. It was good to see them and catch up. We had dinner at a restaurant called Matchbox in the Chinatown district. 

After dinner we headed over to the White House. They had a new barricade that was surrounding the fence and had police stationed all over the place. I asked one of the policemen and he said the main fence was getting some adjustments and that the guardrails would be removed again when the renovations were complete. He also told me that the President was in house, but I didn't know if I should believe him or not.

If you have an elaborate camera it is often hard to decide who to let take your picture. I typically find someone who has one that is similar to our DSLR. Well we hit the jackpot when we asked this lady to take our picture at the White House. She was visiting from China with her parents and they worked as a complete team. The lady took our picture while the mother went around and asked everyone to get out of the way. I wish they could have been on the whole trip with us!

One last picture of the White House before it got too dark. We also wanted one that didn't have all the fencing in it.

We made it to the hotel and got to bed because we were all exhausted. I told the kids to get some sleep so that we could get up in the morning to swim. After breakfast as we were going back up to the room I noticed that the pool didn't open until 5 pm. I asked at the front desk to make sure that it wasn't a mistake and they said that in that county it was a requirement to have an on duty lifeguard and that they wouldn't be there until 5. Needless to say Brinley was devastated and didn't really understand because she asked for the next hour if we were going swimming. We contemplated heading home because we had been so busy for the past week and a half, but we ultimately decided to head back into the city to explore the Museum of Natural History.

The kids and I with the huge elephant that is located in the entrance area of the Museum of Natural History.

The kids loved the animal exhibit area. They kept running up and pointing to all the different animals. Giraffes are one of the kids favorite animals.

Next we headed up to the rocks and mineral area. Brinley loves rocks so I thought she would love this area. She really liked all the exhibits that allowed her to touch things.

Some of the things that we did at the Museum of Natural History. We got to see a trantula eat a cricket, saw the bones of a turtle, a bunch of gold, Brinley with the Hope Diamond and the Heflin's with T-Rex.

Here Brinley is touching a rock that was brought back from Mars.

Last time we came to Washington we visited this museum and we really loved the butterfly gallery. We decided that it was well worth the money for the kids to get to see all these beautiful creatures.

Landon pointing out a butterfly.

Brinley is pretty happy in a room full of butterflies.

I was really surprised at how well the kids did. The rules said to not touch any of the butterflies. Both kids only pointed at them.

Landon pointing out a butterfly on top of my head.

Leaving the museum we got one last little treat before heading home.

Finishing up our treats at the base of the Washington Monument.

One last picture to finish off our trip.

All we had left was an 8 hour trip back home to Lexington. This vacation was difficult at times with the kids not being on their own schedule and in their familiar setting. We made a lot of memories and I am so glad that we were able to take the kids on this journey. I plan to take the kids back to Washington D.C. sometime because I would still like to tour the White House and go to the top of the Washington Monument. Thanks for reading and God bless!