Exploring DC during the 100th Anniversary Cherry Blossom Celebration!

We started our trip on the Washington DC Mall, visiting the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, FDR Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial!  We saw the Reflecting Pool, (which was under construction) as well as the Tidal Basin, surrounded by blooming Cherry Trees. It was gorgeous!  We walked along the Potomac and even ventured into the DC Metro, which was a lot of fun; we became pros by the end of the week. 

We spent a day at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, which the kids couldn't get enough of. Between sample controls and computers to make your own postal flight we saw the Spirit of St Louis, the Mars Rover and  the first hot air balloon to circumnavigate the globe!

We spent a very full day at the Smithsonian's Natural Science Museum, where Tessa was bowled over by the stones exhibit.  Caiti loved the gems (who couldn't help ogling The Hope Diamond?) as well as the dinosaurs and other paleontology exhibits. Micah was drawn to the fish and underwater displays and Carson, well, Carson kept asking if we could just go back to the Air and Space Museum.

We spent a day at Mount Vernon, former home of George and Martha Washington. It was a big hit with the kids.  It is still a working farm, so the kids saw everything from mustard growing to baby animals.  We toured the old residence and outbuildings; we saw George Washington's experimental garden; and of course the farm. We talked to in-character people who lived on the farm and explored the museum.  The kids had the most fun with the Adventure Map they were issued upon arrival where they had to solve a puzzle on the farm. They each won a flattened penny with a unique print you can only get at Mount Vernon when you complete the adventure.

Following Mount Vernon, we toured downtown Old Town Alexandria.  We saw so many neat old buildings -- many with plaques reflecting their age - and even saw the Apothecary where George and Martha used to go to get their herbal supplements and other medicines. We stopped and enjoyed ice cream and saw a party of colonial actors in the Town Square. 

On Thursday we took the Metro to the National Zoo where we saw a plethora of animals and exhibits of all imagination -- everything from giant Pachyderms to Komodo Dragons, Anacondas to Zebras -- we saw it all!  We saw an exhibit on animal brains and intelligence that fascinated Caitlin and even stopped to enjoy the Prairie Dog Playground. 

We wrapped up the week with a trip to Historic Fort Ward which was the only outpost serving the Union that was designed to protect Washington DC from the Confederacy in the Civil War, that was inside Confederate territory.  While we were there, we saw archaeologists digging (we were told that so far they'd found a bullet or two but not much more than that).  We saw civil war cannons, the old trenches and toured the museum where we were given some great oral history by the curator. (Oh and we had fun on the jungle gym, too!)