DC Day 2

We started the day at the Natural History museum. We got there about 15 minutes before opening and there was already a very long line. They opened at 10 sharp and the line moved fast. Around 1115 we decided to have an early lunch (hoping to beat the crowds, which we did) and we met up with Summer, Ireland and Mason! I kept meaning to take a picture, but never did. We all walked around the exhibits we hadn't done. By about 1:15, we had seen just about everything, including the Hope Diamond, Insects, Dinosaurs, Mammals, Gems, Ocean room, Evolution of Man, etc. The museum is huge! So, while we saw many displays in each of those areas, we didn't come close to seeing everything. But, I think we saw a nice sampling of the main exhibits. A lot of it was the same as when we last visited, which was probably close to 5 years ago. However, the Dinosaur part had been renovated and had some cool interactive features that were new. It was amazing to see the Webbs and the kids were all so surprised and happy to see them!

Kara and "her penguin" through the years: 2014, 2017, 2019 and now 2023.

This one made me laugh. Two "humans" taking selfies.

Anna and a giant sloth

We had tickets to see the Washington Monument at 3 and decided to spend an hour at the Art Museum before heading over. We walked over, but there was a huge staging area for the parade and we were worried we would get trapped and miss our tour time. So, we headed to the monument. The only problem--it was raining. The forecast had this as a possibility, but the probability that morning had it down to like 33%. I had been hoping we would avoid it, but alas, twas not meant to be. We broke out our ponchos and walked in the rain. We saw Marine One land on the White House lawn.

Right before the rain.

Marine One!

Around 2:30 we got in line for the 3 o'clock tour. Then, they closed the monument. They said it was like a giant lightening rod and if there was lightening within 30 miles, they had to close. There was no lightening that we could see or hear, but 30 miles is a pretty large area. We were told we could come back another day. So, we will try again on Wednesday.

We debated whether to go to the art museum or see the memorials/monuments. We decided to get out of the rain and headed back to the art. And, it stopped raining. We took off our ponchos and enjoyed what turned out to be a brief reprieve. We put our ponchos back on and while our clothes stayed pretty dry, our feet got soaked. 

We stayed at the art museum until they closed at 5 and it did not disappoint. Everyone (except maybe Luke) loved it. He claimed he "just doesn't understand art." Being there brought back memories of an art appreciation class I enjoyed in college. I tried to encourage Luke to find something he liked in each room and to look at the artist's perspective or use of light or even just to figure out why he liked one painting more than another. He did find some things he liked, but it wasn't his favorite. However, he was a good sport and patient with the rest of us.

Jack and Napolean

Some of the paintings we took pictures of :)

Anna really loved all the Monets. I was surprised to see so many of them. My favorite Monet was probably "A Girl with a Watering Can". I generally think of Monet as more of a scenic painter, so it was fun to see the paintings of people. 

Anna with her favorite.

We took the metro "home", stopped to have dinner near the rental and walked home in the very cold rain. It was a relief to be in for the night! Our feet were completely soaked through our sneakers and we were all very tired. It was another day with 10 miles of walking!

Walking "home" in the rain.