Ok, ok...this has taken me quite a while to get back to. I'm sorry, I'll try to do better!
Saturday, 7:10am: up and going. I think we all slept better last night, perhaps due to exhaustion! LOL
8:15: Leave the campsite and head to Wal Mart for umbrellas and a couple of coats that won't soak up the rain all day. Stupid rain! *grumbling*
We found a really decent parking space on the street, close to the Washington Monument. Took some pictures as we went along. Again, I can't wait to see what the kids took pictures of themselves!
First you'll see some pictures of the FOG on the way to DC...and the 'lovely' skyline we faced.
Washington Monument. Tori will be unhappy that I posted the picture with her hair blowing up into a 'Mohawk' style...but I did that to show you how windy it was that day! Thank goodness it was in the 50's, or we'd have gone home much sooner!
World War 2 Memorial fountain area. Got a picture of the kids &Don in front of the fountain with the Lincoln Memorial in the background. Then, I put the kids on a random ledge for a picture with the fountain in the background. I didn't even realize it was next to the Colorado pillar! So...here's a shout out to family in Colorado (hey, at least I'm honest, I could have told you I picked that one on purpose!). Then, we found the Indiana pillar, and Don took a much better picture of the fountains in the background.
I am NOT one who likes to have my picture taken, but this seemed like an opportunity I couldn't pass up. Being that my birthday happens to fall on Pearl Harbor day, I had Don take a picture of me next to the pillar that has the dedication to Pearl Harbor on it.
Ok, I had to show you all the absolute FAVORITE part of the day for DJ and Jr. What you're looking at (in the greenish water) is the 'reflection pool' that's between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial...it wasn't a good day for 'reflecting' apparently (too windy and icky). But, the ducks were having a great time eating. Now, having grown up in a not-so-rural area, DJ and Jr were absolutely excited about seeing live ducks. But, the really important part was that they were eating...and not bread that people were throwing to them...they were eating what was under the water. Therefore, these became known as the 'duck butt' pictures to them. They laughed forever about the 'duck butts' I'm sure we'll see a few pictures in their cameras!
On to the Lincoln Memorial. Quite a walk, though it doesn't look like it's THAT far from the Washington Monument. You can see how absolutely THRILLED the kids are to be there and having their pictures taken! LOL I got a nice picture of the Washington Monument in the background while we were there.
Then, due to the rain, we headed home (stupid rain). Jr was soaked as holding the umbrella up in the wind and trying to keep up with the long legs was just too much, so she folded her umbrella down and just tried to stay under mine (which didn't work out so well for either of us). We were going to check out the National Aquarium, but they don't take plastic (fair warning to you!), so we gave up for the day (though we sat in the lobby of the National Aquarium to rest Jr's legs and warm up a bit before trekking back to the van.
Back at the campsite, the kids had a great time running around outside and throwing stuff into the creek next to our campsite. The rain had stopped and the creek was flowing much faster, so this was entertainment enough for them.
Don was showing DJ a map of our camping site while we were 'stuck' there.
Don got his computer out to burn some time. We got a fire going around 5:30pm. This time, mom (with her vast Girls’ Camp experience!) got the fire going while dad split the wood into smaller pieces to catch faster. Don said that I'm the new 'fire starter' for camping, 'cuz I manged to get the fire going faster than he had the day before! LOL With it being so wet around here, we did pretty well. We cooked hot dogs and had applesauce cups. Then, ‘cuz we brought hamburgers and they would not last ‘til Sunday night, Don got out the frying pan and cooked them up. By far, these were the best burgers ever! They were SO juicy!! The kids got a kick out of it when Don caught the grease in the pan on fire (it helped cooked the burgers, I’m sure!). Then S’mores…YUMMY! Don’t get tired of those! An earlier bedtime tonight with a movie (Don and I watched one for us on his laptop). I’ll admit to some frustrations, but things went pretty well on the whole. Jr’s teacher at school has a way of helping her student deal with issues at school that can be upsetting. They put their hands out and say, ‘No big deal!’ Well, at one of my frustrations, Don did exactly that…and it even works for big people!
