Washington D.C.

Our trip to Washington DC didnt take as long as our other trips.
We stopped off in Phillidelphia and saw the Liberty Bell and then walked to Betsy Ross' house. We saw where Benjamin Franklin was buried and saw the Old Quaker Meeting House. Also where the Decloration of Independence was debated and signed, the original Capitol of the United States.
Hershey's World in Hershey Pennsylvania was a favorite stop of ours. We went on a small ride that explained the making of Hershey's Chocolate and the boys got to make their OWN chocolate bar!
Then we went and did an Auto Tour of the Battle of Gettysburg where Lincoln made his famous Gettysburg Address. We took our car and listened to a CD as it told us where to go and dramatized some interactions that may have gone on during the battle. We all loved learning about the history and seeing the amazing veiw of the Civil War Battle Fields.
We arrived in Washington DC, got into our room and almost immediatly fell asleep. We knew we had a long day ahead of us.
Our first day in DC we got our tickets for the Holocaust Museum and Washinton Monument first thing in the morning and then went off to take our scheduled tour at the Capitol Building.
The tour was very interesting. The history behind many artifacts and paintings was intriguing to us all.
We left the Capitol and went to go up in the Washington Monument which was unfortunatly shut down because of the weather. It was starting to get cloudy and rainy.
The family then decided to walk to the Holocaust Museum where we took our time seeing how far our country has come.
We realized that the Holocaust really wasnt THAT long ago. We are all sobering about the horrific event. We all were incredibly interested in each exhibit. We spent a great deal of time there.
That was the way day one ended and we rode the subway back to the hotel.
Our second day we woke up and had breakfast. Dad and I sat down with a nice gentleman by the name of Jim who began to tell us stories of the life he has lived. He is a World War II veteran and we enjoyed listening to his stories. Mostly about his home life.
The rest of our day consisted of touring the Smithsonian Museaums along the mall.
Our favorite, I believe was the Air and Space Museaum and The Museum of Natural History.
We took a tour of the Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot and then to the house across the street where he died. We recieved more insight on this event in our history.
We then walked to the White House and took pictures outside. The backside of the magnificent house was the next place we walked to. It was very beautiful.
On our way to our next place was the World War II Memorial where we stopped to honor our Great Granfather who served in the war.
Our tired feet went all the way to the Lincoln Memorial where we had a fantastic view of the mall and the Washington Monument reflected in the water.
There are memorials and statues on every corner in DC. More than anyone has time to see in two days.
We woke up this morning, ate breakfast and packed our things and headed up to the Arlington National Cemetary where we proceeded to walk to the top and see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and watch the Changing of the Gaurd. An incredible and moving sight to see.
Of course we all were hungry so we stopped off at a very good small country restaurant. "The closest we hav come to 'home cooking' this entire trip" says dad(:
Again we all packed into the car and headed off to Colonial Williamsburg. This Historical place really put us back in the 1600's.
Our final destination of the day will be Chesapeak Bay, Virgina where we will catch some sleep at another hotel and drive again tomorrow.
"On the Road Again"