Williamsburg

Last Sunday afternoon we drove to Colonial Williamsburg and then to Virginia Beach. We spent two nights in a hotel on the beach and had a wonderful time. We didn't have enough time to really appreciate Williamsburg, but at least we stopped to take a look. The living history part was over for the day, but we enjoyed strolling around the town.





This is the Governor's Mansion. Thomas Jefferson lived here at one time.

The kids liked playing in the stocks. Maybe we should bring back this kind of public punishment for petty offenses. It might be a good deterrent!

Isn't this a nice picture?

National Museum of Art

Saturday, May 30, we went to the National Museum of Art. There are two buildings, the West building has the old masterworks and the East building has the Modern and Contemporary art. The consensus was that we loved the West building and that we didn't quite "get" the East building.

There was such an amazing feeling being in this place that held famous artwork from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. It was a feeling of being in the presence of something special, something exquisite, something bigger than us. There were security guards in each room to make sure we kept our distance, but most of the paintings were not behind glass so you could really see them as they were meant to be seen.



Monet. We loved the Impressionists the best.



This is the only Leonardo DaVinci in the Western Hemisphere. (This one was behind glass.) He painted "Genevra" when he was 23 years old. He only painted three portraits. "Mona Lisa" was painted over 20 years later.


Calder's enormous mobile takes up most of the space in the atrium of the West building. We liked Calder's smaller mobiles too.

This was some of the art we didn't quite understand. But Mara is trying.

Bonsai!

Thursday, May 28 we went back to the National Arboretum to see the Bonsai collection.

We had to stop and feed the amazing koi fish first. They can live up to 50 years! Jeffrey discovered that the coin operated fish food feeder didn't need any coins so the kids helped themselves, and the fish, to the free food. It was a little bit disturbing to see all of those gaping mouths!

The Bonsai exhibits were really interesting. We didn't realize that any kind of tree or bush can be trained to stay miniature. This is an azalea bush. We also didn't realize all of the work and care it takes to create miniature tree art. It is almost like having a pet!



This one is called "Goshin" and was created by Bonsai master John Naka. There are 11 trees here, one for each of his grandchildren. Jeffrey loved this one. It was pictured on the brochure so he was on the lookout for it!


This tree started its training over 400 years ago! It was passed down for generations in a Chinese family. Now the Chinese family's descendants come to the U.S. to see their "American" family member.

Memorial Day

On Sunday before Memorial Day we took the advice of many local residents from work and church and ventured to the west lawn of the Capitol for the National Memorial Day Concert. We are so glad we did! Not only was it a star-studded event with Broadway stars, a four star General, a piano prodigy, an opera diva, award winning actresses, and an American idol. It was a very touching reminder of what Memorial Day is all about and that our freedom has come at great cost.

We arrived two hours early and got a good spot on the lawn. Books, Uno, and snacks helped pass the time.

Just a little game of catch on the lawn of the US Capitol! (Until a security guard saw one of Jeffrey's wild throws and asked us to stop.)

There were about 300,000 people in attendance.

The man at the piano is Chinese superstar, Lang Lang. The entire program was outstanding, but the best part was near the end after the Chorus sang the Armed Forces medley and the veterans in the audience stood up. A soldier played "Taps" and Colm Wilkinson, aka Jean Valjean from Les Miserables, came out and sang "Bring Him Home." Wow. I don't think there was a dry eye.

Monday, Memorial Day, brought some excitement when the fire alarm went off in our building. Apparently it was a false alarm. It happened several more times that morning. We decided to get ourselves ready and get out because the alarm was rather unbearable.



We went to the Korean War memorial first. We missed this one the last time we were on this part of the Mall. It was very impressive.


Emily is carrying a small tribute to our Uncle Rey. We took it to the Vietnam Memorial to place by the panel with his name on it.

This was a touching moment for us. We haven't had the opportunity to honor a fallen war hero in our own family on Memorial Day before. And to be able to do it on the National Mall was just beyond words.

You can see the Wall behind us with all of the people. There were flowers and flags and mementos at all of the memorials, but this one had the most by far.

The World War II Memorial is massive. It is impossible to get it all in one photo. You really get a sense of the worldwide conflict with the pillars dedicated to the states and to both the Pacific and European theaters of war.

The day wouldn't have been complete without a look at Arlington National Cemetery. Freedom is not free.

Good Morning Baltimore!

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale. A tale of a fateful trip that started here in Baltimore,

. . . aboard this tiny ship.

The Mate was a mighty sailing man, the Skipper brave and sure.

Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour . . . . a six hour tour.

Sorry, I just couldn't help it! Our day in Baltimore was great, but it was also a test of endurance and patience in waiting for our water taxi. Neil had read the guidebook, so he was our guide.

He knew where to get the taxi, and where to get off. He also knew where to get delicious cinnamon rolls at the Blue Moon Cafe.

It's a good thing we ate those cinnamon rolls, because we made a fateful decision at the last second. You see, we left our lunch in the van thinking we would ride the taxi around the harbor and then go back to get our lunch before driving to Fort McHenry. But, two taxi's pulled up at the same time. Neil and I shrugged our shoulders and said, let's just go to the Fort on the water taxi!

We saw some amazing sites on the way. The ships in the harbor were enormous!

The fort was very interesting. It was the fort the British attacked during the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key was being held on board a British ship and "by the dawn's early light" the sight of the American flag still flying above the bulwarks inspired his immortal lines, "Oh say, can you see? . . ."

The boys liked the big guns.

And the Star Spangled Banner yet waves! But we were getting hungry and tired and we really wished we had our lunch with us! We went back to the dock to get our water taxi, but there was a big crowd and no taxi in sight! Neil and I sat on the hot pavement to keep our place in line. The kids sought out the shade. Our provisions were low--a few cheese and peanut butter crackers and water.

"If only . . ." But the wait wasn't as long as we at first assumed. We made it back to the Baltimore harbor. Several taxi changes, and about an hour later, we were back at our parking spot. We didn't die of hunger and the kids were actually still in pretty good spirits! After replenishing ourselves we did one last drive around the city in search of crab cakes!

We found just the place! We bought one crab cake (very pricey!) and all shared. Three of the kids had instant gag reactions, but two of them tolerated it rather well, and Neil and I loved it. Then we drove through Little Italy and found a bakery recommended in the guidebook and bought cannollis for everyone. That helped make up for the crab cake. :)

The Great Falls of the Potomac River

We liked the Great Falls Park so much that we went to both the Virginia side and the Maryland side in the same week! (Well, the Maryland side was on the way home from the temple and the entrance pass was still good.)It is a lovely place. It is amazing that it is only 12 miles from downtown DC! It is just getting greener and greener here. When you are in the woods, even the air seems green!

This is a ruin of a lock. In the early 1800's the C & O Canal Company built canals and locks on both sides of the river for a length of over 200 miles! It was a way for boats to get around the falls.

Jeffrey, the intrepid Junior Ranger. He was very serious about earning his badge and keeping all of the rules (Which is unlike Jeffrey! I loved it!)

This is a functioning lock in the Maryland side. For a fee you can ride in a boat pulled by mules and led by guides dressed in 1800's canal workers style. We just watched this time. This lock was based on a design by Leonardo DaVinci. It was built in such a way that it could easily be opened and closed by one person.

Emily was our photographer this time. She had the only functioning camera in the family. Good job Emily!

Coolest Museum Ever!

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center just about takes your breath away! It is a sister to the Air and Space museum and is part of the Smithsonian Institution. It is enormous. It has to be. There is Space Shuttle in there! Along with hundreds of other flying ships of all shape and size!There is an observation tower where you can watch planes land at nearby Dulles International Airport.

This is a stealthy Blackbird. It was in service for 24 years during the Cold War and the Gulf War. On it's last flight it flew from LA to DC in just over an hour!

The Space Shuttle seriously gave us chills. It is so large! This was the shuttle that they used for testing. It actually hasn't been in space. It was impressive nonetheless.

Yes, this the actual plane that dropped atomic bombs on Japan in World War II. One the more memorable things for the kids was watching a display film of veterans who had won the Medal of Honor talk about the events that earned them the medal. They were harrowing tales of bravery that I can hardly imagine. Yet the men who told their stories were extremely humble.

Watching the planes land.

An ice cream cone does wonders to lift the spirits of museum weary kids! Even in the coolest museum ever, we still get hungry and tired.