The first stop...
Our first night in DC, which included a hugely memorable visit to the Lincoln Memorial at 10pm - seeing the magnificent statue of Lincoln and reading all (ca 270) words of the Gettysburg address was quite something. The view of the Washington Monument and the Capitol at night was a spectacular and fitting start to our trip.
Washington also set the bar for the cultural dimension of our trip. We took full advantage of the Smithsonian - and saw 6 museums in 2 days. The girls enjoyed the National Air & Space Museum, where they saw the 'How Things Fly' exhibit and we all marveled at the foil-wrapped lunar module.
We all found something we loved between the National Gallery, the Sackler and the Museum of the American Indian. The girls were super well behaved (mostly) and really got into the spirit of exploring the Mall. This was, of course helped by the promise of spending their pocket money at the ever-present museum stores. One can never have enough keyrings, diaries and secret boxes....
We've also seen a lot of old friends already. In DC we miraculously managed to meet John and Mary Smith and 3 of their 4 girls Marina, Catalina and Charlotte, and Janet Klein - under the elephant at the Museum of Natural History. This, on the day the heavens opened and we were all still wringing our clothes dry at the end of the afternoon. Nina had to wade through the pavements barefoot. No kids were lost as we went round the Gems exhibit! We also saw old friends Nick and Alyssa for dinner at a very buzzing Georgetown venue - thanks for giving us the Washington insiders' view and giving us a feel for what being in Obama's DC is like.