Washington DC Day 2

July 8, 2013

Day 2 started out early as we headed back to the Double Decker Bus Tour.  I loved this tour!  Have I mentioned that yet?  Jay and I think it was some of the best money we spent on the entire trip.  We got to see practically the whole city from the fun seat on top of a bus.  We were able to get on and off the bus as much as we wanted and could spend as much or as little time at the spots as we wished.  After another ride into town on the Monorail we boarded the bus and headed to the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.

The museum was interesting to say the least.  The kids and adults got to pose with all the Presidents and many other famous faces.  The kids had a ball "interacting" with the Presidents in their scenario.  Most of the exhibits had jackets, hats, or other paraphernalia to wear that were similar to the Presidents.

M & M even got the chance to sit at the President's desk!!

Our next stop was the National Cathedral and the Famous Two Amy's Pizzeria.  After all our planning and strategies, this stop was our FAIL of the week.  The National Cathedral was closed for a choir group recording and the Pizzeria was closed until dinner.  Ahhh!  Very frustrating for a hungry group of this size.  Luckily we found a nearby mexican restaurant with great margaritas.  With food in our bellies and tequila on the brain we were all smiles to finish the day.

Did I mention the all smiles?!  And remember even when your reflexes are a little numb, you have to watch out for branches when sitting on top of the bus in Georgetown.  Whoops!  or should I say Smack!

The next stop off the bus was the Boat River Tour.  Sadly it wasn't a 3hr tour, and we didn't find a deserted island in the middle of the Potomac, but it was great views of the city.  The monuments were all very picturesque from the water view.  The boat ride also gave us a time to sit and rest (&sober up) while taking in the views and not walking.  

After the Boat Tour we jumped back on the bus and headed to more monuments.  Our next stop was the Lincoln Memorial .  We were able to snap some great family photos here with Abe.

Then we decided to walk the National Mall and see the Korean War Memorial.  The soldiers pictured above are very touching to see.  The reflection wall to the side of them made it appear as if there was a large group of them tromping through the rice paddies.  

After the Korean War Memorial we walked to the World War I Memorial and then onto the World War II Memorial.  This was special to me because both my Grandfather fought in this war.  My mother's father was a B24 Liberator pilot and my father's father was an Army mechanic.  



Max did his oral report here and was very proud to talk about his great grandfathers and their sacrifices to our freedom.  He and I spent time before the trip reading and learning about the war and what Pa and Bull did in the war.  He did a great job talking to the family about it all.  I found the Freedom Wall below to be very interesting while we were walking around the memorial.  On the wall are 4048 sculpted gold stars.  Each of the stars represents 100 Americans that died during the war.  These facts really touched me as I stood and took it all in while explaining to Max.