Summer Vacation: Washington, DC

 Of all the cities we were seeing on this great trip I was most excited to show my boys around Washington, DC.  I wanted them to see the monuments, memorials and buildings that run our government.  We had a wonderful time in DC (Some of which can be attributed to our wonderful location and rental house...we were just a few blocks away from the Supreme Court and Capitol buildings!)

After a long day of driving from Boston we took a short walk when we arrived at our house to see the Supreme Court building lit up at night.  It was wonderful!  There were no other people around and we had the place to ourselves to walk around and explore.

Our first stop the next day was a visit to the Holocaust museum.  This was a wonderfully done museum that really outlined the horrors of the holocaust.  It was interesting and informative to walk through but also very hard to take in at the same time.

The boys reading about the prisoners

A very touching display at the Holocaust museum

The FDR memorial on the Washington Mall

Thomas Jefferson memorial

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument

World War II Memorial.  They let you dip your feet in the fountain and it was so nice to cool off.  We also saw the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean War Memorial (which was under renovation)  I'm so glad my boys got to see these great structures and learn some history.

The next day we started with a trip to the Washington National Cathedral.  What an amazing church!

Stunning interior of the cathedral

One of the many stained glass windows.  This one has an actual rock from the moon incorporated into the red circle of stained glass...so cool!

Beautiful Rose Window

I loved how the colors from the stained glass windows were coming through on this statue of George Washington

I loved the colors and details on this window.  Each window was so unique, it was fun to walk around and see them all.

Exploring the beautiful Cathedral garden

We drove 2 hours outside DC to Monticello, the historic home of Thomas Jefferson.  I had never been to Monticello before but Hyrum remembers visiting when he was a kid and his family took a trip back east.  It was a great place to visit.  Lots of history and I especially liked how they highlighted the lives of the slaves that worked on this plantation.  I thought it was a well balanced depiction of history.

Mirror and piano that were here when Thomas Jefferson lived here.

You could really tell how much Thomas Jefferson loved natural history by the articles he displayed at his home.  He had such an assorted collection of different things and was fascinated by the West and what explorers brought back.

Jefferson family cemetery

Instead of taking the tour bus back down to the parking lot from Monticello we decided to hike back down through the forest.  It was a lovely walk.

Posing with our friend Thomas Jefferson

Since we were so close we decided to explore a bit of the University of Virginia...founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819

Another beautiful University campus.  I would love my kids to go to one of these great colleges, there is so much history just walking around the campus!

We spent a lovely morning (although very hot and humid) walking around Arlington National Cemetery

The home of General Robert E. Lee.  He was asked to lead the Union Army but turned that down in order to lead the Confederate Army.  He said he wasn't able to fight agains his home State of Virginia so sided with the Confederates in the Civil War.

We watched the changing of the guard in front of the Tomb of the Unknown soldier.  I didn't realize it but there are remains from unknowns soldiers in this tomb from every American War from the Revolutionary War all the way to Operation Freedom in Iraq.

I hope my boys got a sense of the reverence we show to our soldiers.  These men and women choose to stand up and protect us and our freedoms and I will be forever grateful to them and their sacrifices.

We weren't allowed to take photos inside the National Archives museum so we took a photo on the steps outside.  It was really neat seeing the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution papers.

We walked over to the White House to see where our President lives.  So glad Biden is in there now and not Trump!!

We met up with my brother and his family for dinner.  They live in Virginia so it was really fun to get a chance to meet up.

It was our final night in DC and Hyrum and I thought it would be fun to walk around at night and see some of the monuments lit up.  We went all the way to the White House to see it at night but it was 10:30 PM when we got there and they had already turned off the lights.  We were bummed by this but still had a fun time walking around.  While on the Capitol building grounds we came across this guy walking a dog.  It turns out this is President Biden dog "major"  They let us pet the dog and it was super cool to pet the dog the President of the US pets...what a neat experience!

The beautiful Capitol building at night.

So sad to think just a few months ago an angry mob of Trump supporters stormed this building in an attempt to stop the government from naming Joe Biden as our new President.  It makes me angry to know there are people in our country that don't support the voice of the people in choosing their President.

Our flight out of DC wasn't until the evening so we decided to go visit the Air and Space Museum outside DC.  This was such a great museum!

Neil Armstrongs space suit!

It was so cool to see an actual space shuttle.  The space shuttle Discovery has been to space 29 times!  It was super interesting to learn all about this space shuttle and it's many different missions.

The airplane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan during WWII.  I had mixed feelings about seeing this airplane.  It was an important airplane in that it was instrumental in ending WWII but it seemed wrong somehow to memorialize such a horrific incident, dropping an atomic bomb on civilian Japanese.

One of Julian's favorite movies is "Full Metal Jacket" which is about Marines that train and fight in the Vietnam War.  I wanted to make sure he got the chance to see the Marine Memorial:)

We didi a very quick run through the Museum of American History.  It has changed so much since I last visited.  I remember it being a lot more interesting with artifacts from across American history and culture.  Maybe things were different due to Covid but it really wasn't that well laid out.

You weren't allowed to take pictures of the original Star Spangled Banner so I grabbed this photo off the internet.  This was my favorite exhibit at the Museum of American History.  It was this flag, flying during the War of 1812, that inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem that turned into the Star Spangled Banner, our nations National Anthem.

And just like that our East Coast adventure was over.  Three weeks traveling, sight seeing, exploring, learning, playing...what a great adventure.  I hope my kids have great memories of our time spent on the East Coast!

Summer Vacation: New York City, NY

 Everyone should visit New York City at least once.  There is just a different feel in this city than anywhere else.  I love all the many races, cultures and people all blended together in one place.  I love the grittiness of the sidewalks and subways.  I love all the things to do and places to see.  We packed a lot into our 3 days in New York and in the end my boys said their favorite part was: the pizza 😋 Maybe when they are older they will go back and enjoy some of the more sophisticated things New York has to offer:)

We got really good at navigating our way around the city on the subway.  

First thing we did, took a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Such a great view of the Manhattan skyline!

Coming up to Lady Liberty.

Up close it really is amazing.  We enjoyed the museum on the island that walks your through how the statue was built and how it has become a symbol of freedom for people all over the world.

On Ellis Island we took a minute to research our Durtschi family that came through Ellis Island in 1908.

Hyrum's grandfather Fredrick Durtschi (listed as Fritz) on line 21 of the immigration form.  It was really neat to see the actual roster that listed the Durtschi family as they immigrated from Switzerland so long ago!

One of the many halls that processed immigrants as they came to America through Ellis Island.

A view of Ellis Island from the ferry boat.

We walked past Trinity Church in Manhattan where Alexander Hamilton is buried.  We were not allowed into the church or cemetery because of Covid but we got this photo through the gate on the sidewalk:)

At the 9/11 memorial.  This fountain is such a great place to sit and reflect on the events that happened on 9/11/2001.  I felt the memorial was very well done and honored the victims of that day.

A white rose is place on a name when it is the persons birthday.  What a beautiful way to celebrate a life.

The 9/11 museum was also very well done.  It was heartbreaking and educational and totally brought me back to that day and the feelings I felt.  My kids, who were all born after 9/11 really took their time in this museum to learn and read about the events of that day and the stories of the lives that were lost.  It was a wonderful, but hard experience.

A pillar that survived the collapse of the World Trade Center became a place for people to leave photos and messages to those that were lost.

Walking around beautiful Manhattan after seeing the museum and being amazed at how a city can come back from such tragedy.  Way to go New York City!

Enjoying a slice of Joe's pizza.  I had to teach my kids how to eat a real New York pizza.  First you fold the slice...then you eat the slice 😆

The kids wanted to just rest up at our apartment so Hyrum and I took a walking tour around Washington Park neighborhood in Manhattan.  This place was hopping with people selling things, playing music, hanging out and eating good food.  What a fun place!

The subway gets pretty crowded at night!

The next day we took the kids to the Natural History museum.  We thought we would spend a few hours here but our boys were having such a great time exploring around we stayed for 5 hours!

One of the main halls in the museum.  This place is unchanged since the 1930's and was really interesting to see how they displayed the animals.  I can imagine that in the early 1900's this would have been amazing to see these animals up close.  Now, with such amazing photography and film we really forget how rare it must have been to see these animals on display.

The amazing Hall of Biodiversity

I found this quote to be quite right!

So many wonderful and amazing things to see in this museum, I guess I can see why my kids didn't want to leave.

Having fun exploring China town

Dinner in China town was an "experience" ...just not sure I want to experience it again:)

So much to see!

After China Town we made our way to the Brooklyn Bridge and walked across this famous structure.  What a cool experience!

Sunset on the Brooklyn Bridge

Simply a beautiful structure

On the way back to our apartment we got to see a REAL NYC rat eating some bread on the subway tracks!  Now I can truly cross off all my NYC must sees:)

The best way to start a day in NYC...bagels!

Sesame bagel with cream cheese and lox...delicious!

Our trip to the Museum of Modern Art didn't go as Hyrum and I expected.  We thought the boys would find the paintings and sculptures at least interesting or funny but they were completely disgusted with this artwork.  Many comments of, "this is shit" or "I could paint that myself"  And for some of the museums collection I would agree with them but I was sad they couldn't at least enjoy the fact they were seeing world famous works of art by important artists.

Checking their iPhones instead of looking at the artwork...maybe when they get older they will appreciate this stuff?

I loved this museum and thought it was neat to see all these paintings I had only ever seen on slide in my Humanities Classes:)

But then you had things like this...is this really an "art" installation or just some helium balloons?

Ummm...OK?

I guess this is art?

Julian, "get me out of this museum!"

Even though my boys didn't like the museum I still thought it was a fun and interesting introduction for them to modern art.

We needed to get some fresh air after that museum experience so we headed over to Central Park.  This is the Alice in Wonderland sculpture at the park, I liked the cat:)

Exploring Central Park

Emerson took a photo of Hyrum and I on this pretty bridge

After the calm and beautiful Central Park we made our way to the crazy and loud Times Square!

A view of the Empire State building from  Gramercy Park.  We didn't spend the money to go to the top of the building but it was still a beautiful building from the outside.

After dropping kids off at the apartment Hyrum and I spent a lovely evening walking along High Line Park.  This was an old elevated train line that they made into a walking trail with benches and plants.  It was really lovely

We ended our evening with a sunset over the Hudson River

On our way out of NYC Emerson really wanted to stop and see the "Joker stairs" made famous by Joaquin Phoenix in the movie "Joker"  There is a scene where he dances down these stairs.  It was a fun last stop in NCY before heading out of town.

From New York City to Washington DC we had 3 choices.  

1. Stop in Philadelphia to see some historic sites and eat a Philly cheesesteak

2. Visit Gettysburg and learn about the famous battle from the Civil War

3. Go to a beach on the Atlantic Coast somewhere

After so much traveling and walking around busy, crowded cities we decided we needed a break from the chaos and chose to visit the ocean.  Hyrum found a great spot on Fenwick Island in Delaware.  What a great time we had playing in the waves and soaking up the sun. Although I lost both my hat and glasses...I would pick the beach again:)

Having fun in the ocean

Jumping in the waves!

Enjoying some yummy frozen custard after our day at the beach

So long New York...off to Washington DC.  I thought New York was wonderful and such a great place to visit and explore.  My boys, not so much.  I think Emerson said, "I will never go back to that wretched city."  😆