Washington Trip - day 5

 We left Washington this morning and headed south towards Manassas, where the first major battle of the Civil War took place. We also saw an incredible movie about the two battles which were fought at here. After that, we left Manassas and drove towards Culpeper, Virginia. Once we arrived in Culpeper, we ate lunch at the Frost Cafe. In the afternoon we visited the Brandy Station and the Graffiti House, another very important Civil War location.

The house of Judith Henry who died at the age of eighty-five. She was the first civilian casualty in the Civil War.

                                        Arwen enjoyed seeing the cannons!

                                                     The grave of Judith Henry.

        The Stone House, a temporary hospital for both Union and Confederate soldiers.

                                                          We enjoyed skating...

                  Then Lorien got a little bit carried away and attempted a back flip

The Graffiti House, which is supposedly haunted by the ghost of Michael Bowman, was Lorien's favorite part of the whole trip. The graffiti was made by soldiers who were hospitalized here.

                                              A part of the graffiti on the walls.

Washington Trip - day 4

Today has been a very exciting day for us. To begin with, we went to the Supreme Court Building, and saw the actual chambers where the justices meet. From there we went to the Library of Congress, which we thought was the most beautiful building in Washington.  The next time I come to DC, I will get a library card, so I can go to the reading room! Then we went to the Capital Building where we ate lunch and took a tour - the inside of this building is beautiful also.  This day was the most exciting day we have ever had - we were honored to meet our U.S. Congresswoman, Virginia Foxx.  She took us on to the House floor where we were allowed to actually cast votes! She also introduced us to several Congressmen, including Paul Ryan. We also got to meet the Speaker of the House, John Boenner, who sang happy birthday to Arwen! We met briefly with our Senator, Richard Burr.

                                                      The Justice Chambers

          A statue of John Marshall, the second Chief Justice of the United States.

                                                  The Library of Congress. 

                         The Gutenberg Bible - I didn't see the No Photography sign!

                                       

                                                We went on a tour of the Capitol.

                    The center of the city - the Capitol is the center of Washington D.C.

                              The inside of the Capitol Dome was extremely beautiful.

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx worked hard to make sure our day at the Capitol was very special.

Washington Trip - day 3

Today we went to the Arlington National Cemetery. We have always wanted to go there, and it was well worth it. We then went to Air and Space Museum, where we ate lunch and went to a planetarium. After spending about three hours there, we went to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and ended our busy day.

                                      Graves at the Arlington National Cemetery 

                                       

                                                  The gravesite of John F. Kennedy.

                                           

                                                           The house of Robert E. Lee

               Once, this little plane went twice the speed of sound! That's really fast!

                                      I wouldn't want my nose to look like that!

                                      A German blimp called the Hindinberg

                                               The Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

Washington Trip - day 2

Today we arrived in Washington, D.C.! Grammy and Papa are taking us on this trip for for Arwen's 13th birthday. We started by seeing the Washington monument, and then the Lincoln monument. After that, we visited the WWII and Vietnam monuments. They were very amazing. Then it began to rain, and so we went to the Smithsonian Museum of of American History. Then we walked around to see som other places, including the old post office, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the National Arboretum. 

                                   

                                       Our first view of the Washington monument.

                                                          The WWII monument.

                                     The Lincoln monument was beautiful.

                                           

                                         The Vietnam monument was truly amazing.

                                    A model train in the Smithsonian museum.

Lorien met a nice man and stopped to talk to him. He looked exactly like a statue! And he acted like one too...

                                           Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers!

                                         

                                                                   Kermit the frog.

                                                        The old post office

                                   A glass elevator inside the post office

                              A mounted policeman! Arwen was really excited.

Then we went to the Museum of Natural History. We saw an elephant...

                                      

                                                       Got attacked by a tiger...

                                     As well as seeing these interesting things.

                                      The flowers in the arboretum were gorgeous! 

                                         

                                        This huge tree was inside the arboretum!

                                                   There are plants everywhere!

                                      

                                                      Smile for the camera, Papa!

                                         

                                           Grammy found the orchids - she's happy now.

Washington Trip - day 1

Today we headed out for Washington DC with Grammy and Papa. We drove a lot! We also have four friends traveling with us - Dalen, Diggy, Chico and Hunter. Tonight we are staying at a hotel in Virginia.

                                                     We're finally on our way!

                               No Grammy. It should look like this when you finish.

                                                             Matching shirts!

                          We wanted a group picture, but Diggy went to bed early.