December 20, 2014

• Fun In Spite Of The Traffic

  Even though we live relatively close to Washington, DC, we rarely get there for field trips. I'll take a look at the notice of a planned trip (we're part of a homeschool group that puts together great field trips) and groan at the possibility of driving in THAT TRAFFIC, and decide that we'll skip it this year. I have gradually gained more experience driving inside the beltway and decided that we would give DC a try when we were presented with the opportunity of a free Air Force Band concert at Constitution Hall.

  

  I googled like crazy to make sure I knew how to find it and where to park. I found a parking garage where I could prepay for a reserved spot and made sure to include plenty of travel time. We made great time and then our only problem was that we arrived too early and walked all around Constitution Hall taking pictures and trying to decide which entrance was the correct one.

  

  I had forgotten my camera but that's what phones are used for, right? Try as I could I just couldn't get a good picture inside the hall, but that didn't prevent us from enjoying the concert. All the boys enjoyed the music and I've heard them humming snatches of the music in the week since.

  

  JJ had never been to Washington, DC, so I wanted to make sure that he had an experience he would remember. Of course we couldn't get close to the White House, but we enjoyed the model trains that were set up around the National Christmas tree. The boys all chose a favorite train and even tried to get a coin in one of the cars as it drove past. This was JJ's favorite part of the display.

  

  We decided to visit the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History and even though we limited ourselves to one museum we still didn't do it justice. We decided that we would find the Hope Diamond, but the boys were much more impressed with parts of the gems and minerals collection.

  

  We also wanted to look at bones. The dinosaurs captured our attention less then the other skeletons.

  

  The turtle interested the older boys, but I was more impressed with the walrus head.

  

  The preserved specimens also captured our attention. We all got to touch elephant teeth and tusks. By the time we got to the stuffed animals, I was ready for a break and found a place to sit while the boys wandered around looking at lions, and tigers and bears. Oh, my!

  

  I know that the boys get tired of posing, but I wanted them to make the same face as the stone carving outside the museum.

  

  I guess I didn't clearly communicate to Joseph.

  

  By the time we walked past the Washington Memorial, the shadows were lengthening and we were all ready to get back to the van and on the road. I left thinking, "hey, I can do this." The boys left thinking that it would be better to do in the spring or fall when the weather was more comfortable. We all think we'd like to do it again sometime, but I need to mentally prepare for THAT TRAFFIC.

  • 7:44 am
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