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Baseball Trip '07- Washington DC
We arrived in Washington DC around 5, got settled in and decided to walk around and check out our nation's capital. Our hotel was downtown toward the Capital side of the Mall, so we walked down to the Capital and the Supreme Court to take some pics, then we headed back and took a tour of the National Archives. We saw the Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, among other national treasures. Unfortunately, they didn't allow flash photography, so all the pics we took just look like tanned pieces of paper and you can't tell which one is which. The next day we had planned on going to the Smithsonian, which is somewhere I have wanted to visit since I was a child. But of course, when I actually get the chance to go to DC- it was CLOSED! It closed last summer and will remain closed until next summer for renovations. So we decided to go to the National Air & Space Museum, which is also ran by the Smithsonian Institute and it had about 100 pieces from the closed museum on display. The boys learned a lot and enjoyed all the airplanes and rockets hanging from the ceiling. There was also models of the Lunar Lander and the Space Station which were quite cool. I got to see Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, Kermit the Frog, George Washington's Military Uniform, Jackie Kennedy's Inaugural dress, a baseball signed by Babe Ruth, and other pieces of Americana that are on loan while their home is being remodeled, so at least it wasn't a total loss. After the museum, we went up in the Washington Monument and got to take in the whole city from 555 feet in the air. Our view from the top allowed us to plan our hike to the White House to take some pics and then we took the subway back to the hotel to get ready for the game. We used the subway quite a bit while we were in DC, including to and from the game, and the boys quickly became obsessed with this method of travel. The Nationals are getting a new stadium next season, which is a very good thing because RFK Stadium was not impressive at all. The only things that were cool were the mascots, the main mascot is an Eagle named Screech, but then they have four big headed presidents that also dance around and have a race in the middle of the game (see pic of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt). Unfortunately the Cardinals lost in the bottom of the 9th inning, 3-2, but at least this game was a nail biter and not a blowout. The following day we visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, and the WWII Memorial, which has a beautiful fountain- I love fountains! It was about 100 degrees and we had to do a lot of walking, but we all made it through. We left DC later that afternoon and drove to Columbus, Ohio where we crashed for the night. The next morning was our final leg home and Alena and Dixie were very happy to see us when we got there. In all we crossed seven states and traveled over 1700 miles. We get to mark two more stadiums off our list, bringing our total to 13 (if you count both Busch Stadiums). All in all it was a good trip, not the most relaxing vacation we've ever taken, but it was an experience everyone will remember for a long time. I can't wait to see where we get to go next year!
We arrived in Washington DC around 5, got settled in and decided to walk around and check out our nation's capital. Our hotel was downtown toward the Capital side of the Mall, so we walked down to the Capital and the Supreme Court to take some pics, then we headed back and took a tour of the National Archives. We saw the Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, among other national treasures. Unfortunately, they didn't allow flash photography, so all the pics we took just look like tanned pieces of paper and you can't tell which one is which. The next day we had planned on going to the Smithsonian, which is somewhere I have wanted to visit since I was a child. But of course, when I actually get the chance to go to DC- it was CLOSED! It closed last summer and will remain closed until next summer for renovations. So we decided to go to the National Air & Space Museum, which is also ran by the Smithsonian Institute and it had about 100 pieces from the closed museum on display. The boys learned a lot and enjoyed all the airplanes and rockets hanging from the ceiling. There was also models of the Lunar Lander and the Space Station which were quite cool. I got to see Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, Kermit the Frog, George Washington's Military Uniform, Jackie Kennedy's Inaugural dress, a baseball signed by Babe Ruth, and other pieces of Americana that are on loan while their home is being remodeled, so at least it wasn't a total loss. After the museum, we went up in the Washington Monument and got to take in the whole city from 555 feet in the air. Our view from the top allowed us to plan our hike to the White House to take some pics and then we took the subway back to the hotel to get ready for the game. We used the subway quite a bit while we were in DC, including to and from the game, and the boys quickly became obsessed with this method of travel. The Nationals are getting a new stadium next season, which is a very good thing because RFK Stadium was not impressive at all. The only things that were cool were the mascots, the main mascot is an Eagle named Screech, but then they have four big headed presidents that also dance around and have a race in the middle of the game (see pic of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt). Unfortunately the Cardinals lost in the bottom of the 9th inning, 3-2, but at least this game was a nail biter and not a blowout. The following day we visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, and the WWII Memorial, which has a beautiful fountain- I love fountains! It was about 100 degrees and we had to do a lot of walking, but we all made it through. We left DC later that afternoon and drove to Columbus, Ohio where we crashed for the night. The next morning was our final leg home and Alena and Dixie were very happy to see us when we got there. In all we crossed seven states and traveled over 1700 miles. We get to mark two more stadiums off our list, bringing our total to 13 (if you count both Busch Stadiums). All in all it was a good trip, not the most relaxing vacation we've ever taken, but it was an experience everyone will remember for a long time. I can't wait to see where we get to go next year! 
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