Washington, DC (USA)

[rejuvenated from a good night's sleep, everyone (including Erin, Brenna and Mollie) was ready when the "tour bus" (our mini-van) departed around 0800 - we used I-395 at first and got off on George Washington Parkway - there was already a huge traffic jam near Arlington, but we were able to get around that and arrive at our first stop, the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington (one of Aunt Judy's favorites) - we then crossed the Key Bridge and drove (carefully, to avoid tickets) through Georgetown and the Mall to my office parking lot - the weather was great again, this time for Memorial Day! - we walked across the Mall to visit the Newseum (0900) - the girls have been there before (school trip) and had a great time pretending to be news broadcasters (ala "Anchorman") and reading/viewing many amazing news reports - we stayed for several hours and saw almost all of the exhibits (9/11, Berlin Wall, FBI, "First Family Pets", journalist memorial wall, etc.) - around 1230, we walked a bit farther to see the Navy Memorial - lots of people were already gathering for the Memorial Day Parade (scheduled for 1400), so we stayed away from the crowds along the route - we ate lunch at the nearby Hill Country Barbeque restuarant (see APR 2014) - everyone had fun with the format for ordering and enjoyed great food (we were stuffed by the time we left) - we then rode the Metro over to the White House (a little stressful the first time for Aunt Judy and Uncle Jim - but it is for everyone!) - we got some more great photos and strolled around the grounds for a bit before heading back to L'Enfant Plaza - we picked up the car and headed towards home on I-395 - along the way, I took them to the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial and Air Force Memorial - with the great weather, there were some amazing views and photo opportunities - by the time we arrived at home, the kids needed to get back to studying (they have been all week, preparing for big standardized tests) - what a good day with the family!]