Family vacation to DC :)

We were so proud that Madison was selected by her teachers to represent Celebration School at the National Jr. Leadership Conference in Washington D.C.!! It's a week long residential program and understandably Maddy didn't want to make the trip alone so we thought it would be a great excuse for a family trip to one of our favorite places in the whole world:)

Maddy had a dress code for the week and looked so grown up with her new clothes and suitcase at the airport in D.C....

The 4-H Youth Conference Center where Maddy stayed for the week was so pretty:)

She was nervous but shooed us off to start her agenda for the week:)

We first went to D.C. as a family in 2005 when Maddy was just 6 (link here!). She doesn't really remember it but I remember clearly that it was the week that I truly fell in love with America:). It was also the reason that I started my very first blog post because I wanted everyone that I knew in England to see what an amazing place America really is :). If I had to describe the city in just one word I think it would be 'learning'. There is so much history on every corner to completely immerse yourself in. A trip to DC for me is the ideal mental vacation...and just what we needed :).

We got started with our sightseeing at the National Holocaust Museum - such an amazing, informative and powerful place. I really wish I'd paid more attention in History class - I'm always amazed when I learn basic things that I just didn't know when I'm on my travels. For example, I had absolutely no idea that Hitler was never actually elected into power by the German people. Evidently, Hindenburg reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler as chancellor after the 1932 elections had not resulted in the formation of a majority government. If you are ever in DC - you absolutely must visit this museum. It's an indescribable experience...

We walked around the tidal basin to see the Jefferson Memorial close up for the first time...

Then the Mike Early George Mason Memorial...he was one of the United States' "Founding Fathers."

And the Franklin D. Roosevelt memorial. I also did not know that FDR was in a wheelchair when elected to office, served the longest term in presedential history (12 years), and died just a couple of months before the end of WWII...

And the new MLK Memorial...

We thought the Washington Monument looked so beautiful reflecting in the water...

The WWII Memorial...

The reflecting pond outside the Lincoln Memorial is under renovation - not so pretty right now...

But the Lincoln Memorial itself made up for it and I hadn't seen it in the daytime before so it was nice to take some time to soak it all in :)

We walked up to the Washington Monument to escape the heat (it hit the high 90s every day and even broke 100 at one point!) and lay down for a little while. The views are so beautiful of the whole city up there. That's Arlington House over the bridge...

After a break, we walked down to the Vietnam War Memorial...

This was my favorite picture of the day. It's the view of the Capitol building taken from the Washington Monument. The flags were at half mast in honor of the victims of the Colorado shooting last week :(.

The next day we headed out to Arlington Cemetery which I had never visited and Mike hadn't visited for nearly 20 years. It is the only military cemetery with memorials for all American wars in history.

The JFK gravesite which includes the bodies of his widow, Jackie and their two infant children...

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was initially constructed over the remains of over a thousand unknown Civil War soldiers. An unidentified soldier from each war has been added over time to symbolize all of those that could not be identified. DNA analysis recently identified the fallen soldier from the Vietnam war and so he has been reburied. In tribute to all fallen soldiers who cannot be identified prior to DNA technology the site is guarded day and night and has been continuously, through all weather conditions, since 1937. Each guard takes 21 steps and pauses for 21 seconds to symbolize the 21-gun salute which is the highest possible US military honor. We watched the changing of the guard which happens every half hour through Summer...

And then we went to see Arlington House - once the home of Robert E. Lee, the famous Confederate Army leader - and his wife, the great (step) granddaughter of George Washington. When he left to fight for Virginia, his wife lost the house to the Union government on a technicality (she didn't pay her $92 taxes in person). After seizing the house and it's 1,100 acres of land, the Union buried their dead in her rose garden in an act of both practicality and defiance. By the time she regained her property through legal channels, there were over 1,000 soldiers buried there. She therefore sold the property back to the government and that's how Arlington Cemetery began.

Next we headed out to the National Air and Space Museum - the most visited museum in the world:)

The Apollo 11 Command Module from the first moon landing - 30 years to the day before Maddy was born :)...

The original 1903 Wright Brothers' Flyer...

I touched the moon (and I liked it)...

We caught a rehearsal for a ceremony at the Navy Memorial afterwards...

The next day we had lunch in the city just a few blocks away from the Capitol Building. Out of the blue, a couple of cars pulled up and Laura Bush got out with about seven secret servicemen! I took off after her with my camera and before I knew it I was standing about two feet from her!!! The secret servicemen all started talking into their jackets and for a moment I felt guilty that I may scare her so I stepped away and got to a bit of a safer distance. I didn't want to be totally rude so I asked if it was OK to take a photo and the guy said to go ahead. So I got a quick pic... for the blog;)

After we settled down we went up to the gorgeous Capitol Building. I hadn't seen it close up before. It's so beautiful. I don't remember ever feeling more proud to be an American:).

We relaxed for a while on the lawn and then went to the Natural History and American History Museums. We ran into Maddy outside! She looked every bit a future leader of America:). I was more fascinated by the buzz around the Hope Diamond than the thing itself. Apparently it's the second most-visited artwork in the world after the Mona Lisa! People were behaving as if they'd never seen a 45 carat diamond before ;)

We ended our trip at the White House:)

And stopped off for a few cocktails made by Nicole - the world's greatest bartender - at Old Ebbitt Grill...

We had time for one more visit - so we decided to go back to Ford's Theatre, where Licoln was assassinated, since the actual theatre was closed when we came on our last visit.

The room in which Licoln died the next morning...

We had an amazing time but were totally exhausted and ready to get out of the city 90 plus degree heat back to the ... Florida 90 plus degree heat ;).

We picked up Maddy in the morning. She had an amazing time too! She said: "it was one of the best weeks of my life:)" In addition to lots of sightseeing, Maddy's actvities for the week included: daily leadership focus groups, a trip to Harpers Ferry (complete with participation in a Civil War reenactment), a speech from Vietnam War protester Mary Beth Tinker, and an overnight stay in a museum! Here are some of her adorable pictures...

I always feel so sad when our vacations are over and this one was really special. It came at a perfect time though and was the break that we desperately needed before we get ready for the big house move. Hopefully - our last house move :).