Hail to the Chief 'cause He's the Chief and He Needs Hailing

On our last day in DC we drove out to Mount Vernon which is George Washington's estate just outside of DC.  Did I mention the record breaking heat?  I did?  Well, it continued into Wednesday, and we all were about dead by then.

The Calls, Cort and I went through the house together, but T3 only ended sending Nate through.  His ticket was for a few minutes after us and not even Nikita could be convinced to go.  Ryker is famous for being a normal little boy who does his utmost to create havoc during any and all tours he is forced to join, so KiLee had just planned to sit in the shade with him, but Kita, was also done and chose to stay behind.  Once we met up on the other side of the house tour - we walked down to GW's tomb.




The docent down there was also from Utah, and she assured us that even though she had lived on the east coast for the last 20 years she still wasn't completely used to the heat/humidity combo.  So...that's something to look forward to.

Walking back up the hill was so tiring that we took a break here:



Seriously, look at how red Miss Macklyn's face is.  It was HOT!





Once we made it back to visitor's center (and their A/C) the kids perked up enough to be really cute together.








After we cooled down sufficiently we all headed back into town to visit the Museum of Natural History.  After looking around there, T3 headed back to Philly, Cort and I headed back to the hotel, and the Calls stayed and walked the all around the White House.  I am still waiting for pictures, Madam President!

Washington, DC

The days we spent in DC had record breaking heat and humidity so it was basically miserable.  That didn't stop up from seeing what we had planned, although we all trudged a little more slowly, especially at the end of the day.

The first day we arrived mid-afternoon and went straight to Arlington Cemetery.  I love the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as always have a special little moment of gratitude for all those who have served our country, and especially those who have given the last full measure of devotion to it.

Before seeing the changing of the guard, however, we trekked up to the Kennedy memorial and eternal flame.  Even though I had visited Arlington before I had never stopped there.





I LOVE this photo so much!  Photos like this is why I believe in taking candids.


We walked from the Washington Monument (well actually a little further beyond it) all the way back across the bridge to Arlington which means that on this day, we walked the distance from the Kennedy Memorial to the Washington Monument - in record breaking heat.  It was worse than walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (which T3 and I had done a couple of weekends before.)







After Arlington we hopped on the metro and rode to the Washington Monument stop and then walked down past the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial, the reflecting pool (which is all torn up, drained and under construction right now), to the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial.  KiLee and Nate had a little car key mishap so KiLee had gone back to Arlington and then hightailed it across the bridge to meet up at the Lincoln Memorial.  I didn't take any pictures during this time...I had photos from my previous trip, plus it was just so darn hot.  I'm hoping to see some posted by LaNae, KiLee and Cort at some point.

In talking with KiLee we decided it would probably be fasted to nix the return trip on the metro and just walk back over the bridge to Arlington.  We did, it was long and hot, but the pay-off was dinner at Oohs and Aahs.  T3 discovered this soul food restaurant on a previous trip to DC, and it has become the standard.  We have to stop there when in town.  The portions are huge (easily shareable for 2) and they have the best fried chicken, mac and cheese and potato salad this side of the Mississippi River.

Lap of Luxury

One of the things I told Cort we needed to do was spend a night at the Philly Ritz Carlton - primarily because she would have to join me if I were going to get the employee rate!

After we left PMoA we drove downtown and checked in. Let me tell you, the room itself was a little disappointing, but the bathroom was AWESOME.  If I'd been there by myself I totally would've taken a long luxurious bath.





The were really fond of putting the RC Lion on EVERYTHING.









After checking in and then going down to the bar and eating an order of their spectacular pretzel bites and beignets, we walked over to Love Park and "the domino park" as Kita calls it, but I didn't bring my camera along for that part, so I've got no pictures. I may end up never having photographic evidence that I've visited the iconic LOVE statue ever. /shrug.

The next morning it was up and outta there as we headed down to DC with everyone for a few days.  The Smithsonian stuff is up at 1000 Places, but look for Mount Vernon here.

PMoA

The first Sunday everyone was in town the Calls went to church with T3 while Cort and I slept in and packed for our upcoming week of adventures.  After church was over, we all met at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  The first Sunday of each month is pay what you wish at the museum, so the timing was perfect.

I decided that I wanted to take Cort down Kelly Drive.  It's really a pretty area, right on the river with the boat houses and such, but we soon discovered that the Drive was closed that day for a bike ride.  This did not stop us from driving around lost in the Great Northeast and through some neighborhoods I felt less that comfortable in.  Cort had mentioned that she wanted to so the PSPCA while she was in town, and I flat out told her no because it's located in this very part of town.  So, I was really anxious to get out of there and back on track.  We made it to the museum incident free, but it was a stressful drive for me.

Once there it took a little while to find the Calls and Nate/Kita.  KiLee had decided to stay home and prep for vacation, as well, as have a normal day for Ryker to rest.  We met everyone out by the Rocky statue.


The part ran, part walked, part ambled up those famous stairs.



This is just the top-most section of those stairs.  :)

We finally got in and wandered upstairs to view the exhibits.  It was so boring I nearly threw myself over the atrium.  I can appreciate the inherent beauty and importance in Old Masters and Renaissance, pre-Renaissance work, but really, it just doesn't do anything for me, and the family was taking forever to look at everything.  It wasn't until I broke away and went back downstairs that things started to look up.

There I found the good stuff.  Impressionists, Pointillists, Dadaists, Expressionists, Contemporary and all things Modern Art.  I hung out there until they announced the museum was closing and then found the rest of the group.

The Calls and T3 were going back to T3's for a birthday dinner for LaNae, but Cort and I had reservations for a little luxury at the Philadelphia Ritz Carlton.

Amish Country

The first day that everyone was out here we drove out to Amish Country. KiLee and I wanted to take them somewhere besides just Kitchen Kettle so I did a little research and came up with an Amish Farm. I thought it was a little pricey for the tour, but I learned a lot of stuff about the Amish culture that I hadn't known before - things like what the colors stood for, and that they pin the aprons on with straight pins, and the shapes of their bonnets signify (generally) if they are Amish or Mennonite. I also learned a little about the misrepresentation of Rumspringa, and how the culture functions for those who delay baptism. It was really fascinating and educational.


Just in case you were unclear.








I loved the little school house and the opportunity to speak with an honest-to-goodness Amish schoolteacher. She was very kind and very funny. She indicated that she had a pretty big class of younger kids, and that she had pretty much decided that the school teacher life wasn't so much for her. I don't know why, but I had just assumed that once they became the school teacher that was the end of that. I was a little embarrassed that I had just assumed they couldn't change their minds.


Lesson plan




Bren was sitting at a regular desk, but in a super small chair.


The first of many cute cousin photo ops.

We also went to Kitchen Kettle, and while I love it there it is all about the food. The reasons I go include the excellent soft pretzels, the fudge shoppe, and the cinnamon toasted almonds. Last time I was there with KiLee and the kids I also discovered an awesome insect shop. They have glass mounted, really cool, colorful and sometimes creepy bugs/butterflies.

Vacation Stories

I just got back from a two week vacation that involved meandering through nine states and the District of Columbia.  Quite a bit of the vacation sites were chosen for their inclusion on THE LIST (you know, the list of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die), and, as such, photos and stories will be posted on the 1000 Places blog, you should see a post a day for the next several days over there. Everything else will show up here...at some point. :)

Rainbow Alert

Nate sent me a rainbow alert this afternoon; I guess that means the world is not actually ending tomorrow.  Sigh, now I really have to clean my bathrooms.