Buckle up, because this is going to get long.
We started the day walking a block from our hotel to the bus stop for some real life, big city, mass transit adventure. The girls (and all of us, really) have limited experience with mass transit, so it sounded fun. The bus went right past the Marine Corps War Memorial (the statue of the Marines putting the flag up), which we probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. We got off the bus, walked a block to the metro station, (figured out how the metro worked) and took it just 2 stops before getting out and walking a half dozen blocks to get to the zoo.
Official mascot of the National Zoo
We then went inside to see the Pandas, and found them there sleeping, though they were stirring enough to convince me that they were real. Then we went to see some bison, cheetahs, gazelles and things, ugly birds (vulture and Abyssinian hornbills) and Asian elephants. The bird section was nice, with some nice ducks, big flightless guys of all varieties, flamingos and cranes. The girls were excited to see the flamingos, and the picture also shows off their stuffed panda souvenirs, and I learned that Shannon is a much bigger fan of cranes than I ever knew.
Flamingos, Pandas and Turkeys
We decided to make another pass by the pandas on our way out of the zoo, and were well rewarded for our efforts. Just as we were walking past one of the outdoor areas, one of the pandas came walking out and sat down in good view and started eating. All in all, the zoo was nice, the signs were decent, but the map of the zoo isn't all that detailed.
White House
All too soon, it was time to leave and walk the half dozen blocks back to the metro to ride it back to the Mall area. A few stops later and we got to walk a hand full of blocks to the White House. Honestly, I thought the girls would be more excited to see the White House, but they only needed a 5 second glance and were ready to move on.
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is so photogenic, that both times I've been to DC, I find myself taking pictures of it from close up, from across the tidal basin, from Arlington, from the WWII memorial, from Lincoln. Pretty much from anywhere it's visible - and it's visible from just about everywhere. And even someone like myself that doesn't really enjoy photography at all can't stop taking pictures of it. We did not get tickets to go up inside.
Tidal Basin
Because we're cool parents, we rented a paddle boat and paddled around the tidal basin for an hour. I think the girls really enjoyed it, and it gave them a nice long break from all the walking we had already done. The highlight of the ride was definitely at the end when a duck swam over to us, and then hopped onto the back of the boat right next to the girls. She road with us for a minute or two and then hopped back into the water. Shannon got some pictures, which I'll let her share.
After some overpriced food, we continued our walk over to the Jefferson Memorial. We tried at the various stops to talk to the girls about what these people did that merit a monument - maybe some of it stuck. I gave Ella a nickle there and she was excited about that, at least.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
FDR was next. I didn't see this when I was in DC years ago, and didn't realize how large it is. It follows his presidency chronologically, and we went through it backwards, death -> WWII -> Great Depression. I thought it was very nice. Julia and Ella stood in the bread line, and I thought they did an excellent job looking tired and hungry. I was also struck by the quotes about war and poverty, and how I could never imagine certain people running for president today every saying anything as noble or eloquent (ahemtrumpcough).
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."
Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial
We had seen MLK from the boat, so we didn't linger too long. It's interesting trying to explain segregation and racism to little kids who clearly have no notion these things.
A little memorial for people from DC who served in WWI.
Korean War Memorial
My legs and fingers are getting tired just thinking about this day again. Korea was next - we kept Ella from going after any of the money in the little pool there.
Lincoln Memorial
This was a pretty Lincoln heavy trip (Gettysburg address, memorial, Ford's Theater) and we live in Illinois so the girls were pretty up on who he was. I think what left the bigger impression on me was that they have the spot marked on the steps there where MLK delivered his "I have a Dream" speech.
The Vietnam Memorial is so simple, and yet so powerful. I feel bad for whoever designed the Korean Memorial, because they got upstaged. And yet, I apparently didn't take any pictures of it. Let's just say I was "living in the moment", and not "worrying whether Ella would make it to the bathroom in time".
Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial
On an island in pond on the north side of the reflecting pool there is a memorial to the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Both times I've been there, I've had the impression that it isn't visited very often, which made it a good spot to stop and have a snack while Shannon and I looked at the names. Sadly, we could only see about 52 of them, because there was a couple there (on a date?) sitting on the names of some of the signers. It seems like there must be a bench somewhere in that city that those two could have used to sit and talk without planting their rear ends on someone's signature.
WWII Memorial
Finally, we made it back around to the WWII Memorial.
Reflecting Pool
I forced us to make a last minute detour past the reflecting pool on our way out, because we'd skirted around it all afternoon without ever really seeing it. The East end of it was closed off for construction stopping us from getting any end on shots, but this was more about checking it off the list before heading home.
Still smiling, miraculously.
Finally, we had to walk to the metro station (tears of exhaustion were finally shed by someone who had just walked too far that day), get on the train, then wait for us bus which dropped us off, thankfully, right across the street from our hotel at 9:30pm or so - a very long day. I estimate that we all walked between 8 and 8.5 miles over the course of the day. The girls were extremely impressive troopers through it all.
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