Day in D.C.

One thing I really wanted to do this summer was take some day trips into Washington D.C. . It is such a fun city with so much to see and do. Typically when we head over that way it is to go to the temple so we don't have time to go into the city. We finally made a trip on Monday.  I had hoped to do more than one trip before school stared but no such luck. Mark goes back next Wednesday on the 12th. We headed out around 8:40 stopping for donuts on the way and got downtown around 10:45. We really didn't have any traffic coming in and it wasn't too bad going out either.  It would have been nice to stay longer but Mark really wanted to get out of there before traffic started so we left before 2:00.  Jared and Lydia were so sad when we left.  They both asked if we could stay longer and we told then not to worry we would be back. I hope we do a better job getting over there this coming year and next time we go we stay longer.  I know they are young but they really enjoyed it! Lydia was so goofy. As we were walking around she kept asking "where is D.C.?" We tried to explain to her that we were walking thorough it but she could not quite grasp it. I wondered if she associates D.C. with the temple and wondered why we didn't see it. If she didn't see the temple how could we be in D.C.?

We did see some of the monuments but our main focus was the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.  We planned on going there then stopping by the National Building Museum (which looks super fun but is not free like the others) but got sidetracked by the National Archives Museum. Mark was telling Jared what the cool building was and Jared said wanted to go in so we did.  We didn't check out very many exhibits but instead waited in line for the main attraction, seeing the original/official Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. It was great.  It was about a 25 minute wait so not bad at all. It was really neat to see those documents.  I am glad Jared wanted to stop, I didn't even know they were on display there.  It was great.  The air and space museum was fun. Jared and Lydia have not shown a lot of interest in Outer Space things but Ihtink it is mostly because Mark and I aren't that interested in it.  We loved seeing the NASA exhibits and feeling the moon rock and they have a room of "time and navigation" with ships so our little Pirate was super stoked!

 National Archives Museum 

Air and Space Museum

 Tired, but keeping good attitudes!

 It was fun to walk around the city and we were blessed with really nice weather. It was hot but not humid at all which makes all the difference.  It was a great outing. I am glad we did it, glad that Jared and Lydia loved it and that we all can't wait to go again! Its just sonic to have that option. We were talking to a man in the ship room and he asked if we were going to the National History Museum and I said we had gone last time we were in D.C. .  He was actually visiting from Sacramento and had heard of Yuba City, even been there. It was a fun coincidence. I just love that we do have the option to do a fun day trip to a cool city like D.C. .

On the way home we stopped at Moo-Thru a very popular local ice cream place.  It is about 45 minutes from our house so we had not gone before but a lot of people here rave about it. It was delicious! They put a lot of focus on the fact that they have cows "on hand" (grazing nearby) and use lots of fresh cream. I would not make a special trip to go there just for ice cream but it is a convenient stopping place on the way home from D.C.