There and back again (and again and again)

We had the privilege of spending a week at the Causeys' right after Thanksgiving and had a blast.  We took advantage of their proximity to DC and did a little sightseeing. 

Isaiah went along and it was a beautiful day - sunny and nearly 70!  Awesome for walking around and seeing the White House...

The Washington Monument...

The Lincoln Memorial...

And the completely torn up reflecting pool.  :(

We also took in the Museum of Natural History on that day and had our fill of walking around.

So, Scott and I left the kids home the next day and headed back to DC.  I had never seen the Jefferson Memorial before - by far my favorite!  Worth the hike around the tidal basin.  It was also beautiful that day; 75 and sunny, so we walked and walked and walked.  It was great.  Took in the Air and Space Museum on Washington Mall; went in the Smithsonian Castle, saw a few more monuments and memorials and had lunch near the Capitol building.

A few days later, Scott and I hopped on the Metro once again and got a tour of the Pentagon, thanks to Charles.  By far, the highlight of our sightseeing.  This is the only place that pictures are allowed to be taken in the Pentagon, so Scott quickly briefed the nation and then we headed out on our tour.

We got a private tour from Charles and a couple of people he works with - one was at the Pentagon shortly after the plane hit on 9-11 and it was fascinating to hear his account of that day.  He took us to the chapel and the memorial that are now at the site where the plane hit the building.  It was amazing.

Each corridor of the Pentagon has a different theme and artifacts and displays line the hallways.  Several areas have quilts, etc. that people sent after 9-11.  My favorite was by a little old lady, who made a beautiful quilt...of a hexagon. So cute!!  Our tour guide told us there is a warehouse full of those kinds of things and they are traded out periodically so they will eventually all be on display.

We ended our trip with a morning at the Air and Space Museum by Dulles Airport.  The one on the Washington Mall ran out of room, so they built another one.  (Airplanes take up an awful lot of space...)  We thought the second was the coolest (and not just because one of the Transformers movies was filmed there).

It was a great trip!  Thanks to the Causeys for the hospitality!