We then rode to the Tomb of the Unknowns and arrived a few minutes before the changing of the guards. As luck would have it, we were right in front of the inspection of the guard coming on-shift so were fortunate enough to see this ceremony up close.
After the Tomb we visited the markers for the Space Shuttle Astronauts from the Challenger and Columbia crews as well as the Beirut barracks bombing. It is sobering to see these reminders of the sacrifice so many have made for our country and civilization. Back on the tram we decided to pass on Arlington House as Veronica was more or less done with the cemetery and ready to move on.
Back to the Metro and one stop later we were outside the Pentagon. Not a lot to see because of the 10 foot fence and as we walked down the sidewalk we found a memorial to the Pentagon attack on 9/11/01. I was going to take a picture of the building itself until a guard strongly suggested I not take a picture. No problem, I'll just put the camera away. We'd like to see the inside of the Pentagon, but I don't think breaking their rules is the best way to do it. :)
Back on the Metro to Arlington to pick up the 2nd half of our tour bus from yesterday. We hopped on after a frantic walk/run when we saw it pull in to the parking lot and enjoyed the AC for a while.
We got off the bus at the Smithsonian and walked to the Museum of Natural History. The kids really enjoyed this museum as it was more interactive than Air and Space and they didn't have to be as respectful like we did at Arlington. The Hall of Dinosaurs was impressive and we stopped for a quick bite at their cafe. Now we know why the museum is free - they subsidize the exhibits with cafe revenues! By and far this was the most expensive meal of the trip and quite honestly, left me longing for Subway! LOL!
We walked through the Ocean, mankind/evolution, Wild Animals and finally mineral exhibit where we saw the Hope Diamond. Of course, Sydney liked the diamonds, emeralds and rubies while Max wished we were looking at just about anything else! After a few hours in the museum, we decided to hit the bus again and relax a bit. We "finished" the tour and changed to a different bus to start the same tour again - it is one of those "hop on/hop off" deals. We rode it to the White House and got off on a quest for a non-Subway dinner, hopefully featuring some Vindaloo. We found the restaurant but alas, it wasn't open until 5:30 and it was 4:40! We decided to hit the Metro, pick up dinner for the kiddos and I'd come back when they open and get dinner for Julie and I. The kids decided that even they were tired of Subway so we went to Five Guys and picked up burgers, dogs and fries. We went to the hotel room and they started eating while I ordered Indian for Julie and I. I headed out to pick it up and it was delicious! I remembered we were flying Southwest and needed to print our boarding passes so did that. We were a bit concerned that we were B 32-36 and were hoping that we could all sit together. For those who have not flown Southwest, part of their low cost airfare is that it is open seating when the plane boards so there are no assigned seats. Always a gamble and when traveling with a group, an A boarding pass is preferred, but only the first 60 get those. Julie had started the sad task of sorting clothes and getting ready to roll in the morning so vacation was winding down. Max and I read some more of the Percy Jackson book (Book 1 if anyone is interested) and then we all hit the hay. The nice thing about vacations is that we all go to sleep at more or less the same time when we share a hotel room so the extra shut-eye comes in handy.
Dawn brings the final morning in DC and we get ready to roll and go eat breakfast at the hotel's buffet. It was delicious and our waiter was awesome. He gave us containers to take some fruit on the road for the kids and was very personable. Way nicer than the Indian dude at Subway who acted like he'd never seen us even after the 3rd straight visit. ;) We ate our fill and then grabbed our stuff and began the journey home which of course started with the Metro. We rode to Union Station and found the MARC machine to get our train tickets. We had about 45 minutes to spare so Julie and the girls went on a bathroom and Starbucks run while Max and I worked on Percy Jackson. We boarded the train and were headed north to Baltimore! Max and I kept reading (it really is a good series if you are into mythology and stuff) while the girls colored and played. We got off at the BWI stop and worked our way to the shuttle bus to the airport. Our driver was in a rush and scolded us for waiting while the people on the bus got off before we boarded. Oh how I love the east coast - NOT. His quote of the day was "We're on a schedule - get on the bus." Knowing the free shuttle bus is not really on a schedule made it even funnier - "Whatever, dude. We're on vacation."
We got in the airport and checked in with no issues at all and had some extra time before our flight. The plane was delayed coming from Boston so we were delayed getting out, but no biggie. We eventually got on the plane and were fortunate enough to find seats in the next to last row that we could all sit together (3 x 2). The flight home was uneventful, which is the way we like them. We loaded into the Durango and were off to Sunbury to pick up the Odyssey that we had dropped of for service Monday before we left. It needed its 100,000 mile service so cha-ching! A timing belt, water pump, plugs, transmission and more. Never ends, does it? ;) It has been a great van and we want to keep it humming so it is a fair investment. Dinner and starting laundry were the order of the day when we got home. Vacation is certainly over. :(
Saturday brought more laundry and the first mowing of the year. The tractor was just returned this week from its Spring service - more cha-ching. Like my Brother in Law said - "Nothing runs like a Deere and nothing costs as much as a Deere when it is time to fix it." Truer words could not be said as we needed a spindle for the front wheel and more misc things that I'm not handy enough to fix on my own.
On a side note, nothing in the mail from USCIS but we did see they cashed our check for the amendment to our home study, so that is a hopeful sign. Also, Julie has determined that we need umbrella strollers for China for Veronica and Lil Bubba. 3 days in DC and Julie's arm is uber-sore. Veronica won't let me carry her so poor Julie has her on her hip and in her arms most of the time. Pretty lazy for a 3 year old. :)
The work week is starting and we're hoping the next trip will be to China - though it may end up being Montreal for the F1 race in June. We're getting concerned about reading blogs where there seems to be little advance notice for travel so dropped our agency an email to get their perspective. I like to plan things out and 5 days travel notice isn't going to cut it for a 2 week stint to China to pick up our son. Let's hope these reports are all out of the ordinary and that we don't have a few day mad-scramble/dash to get everything collected. That said, we're considering putting a suitcase out to start throwing things in that we'll need when we think of them. Have a good one and thanks for reading this diatribe!
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