Washington, DC (USA)

I woke Mollie up at 0630 and we got ready for our day in DC.  We stopped for breakfast (donuts) at Dunkin Donuts and then picked up Rano and Rachel (0745) for their first trip to the National Mall.  We arrived at the Tidal Basin and explored the FDR and MLK Memorials.  It was cold and rainy but we enjoyed the cherry blossoms.  I moved our car so we would be closer to the Lincoln, Vietnam Veterans and Korean War Memorials.  We also visited the WWII Memorial and then I parked at L'Enfant Promenade so we could visit the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum.  We wanted to see the Infinity Mirrors exhibit but the line was too long.  There was an extremely off-putting painting at the exit for the elevator there (ouch!)...  We then walked over to the Smithsonian Freer-Sackler Museum and saw a good exhibit about pottery, wood and carpet art from Afghanistan.  Our day in the Smithsonian was completed after we stopped in at the African Art Museum and did some crafts.  Before leaving the city, we got hot dogs from a lady vendor at L'Enfant Promenade (1330).  We took the George Washington Parkway and stopped for some walking at Jones Point.  The "Fantasy Club" (i.e., elves, jousting) was there again.  We then drove by Mount Vernon - during the ride, all of us talked about volunteering, jobs and getting ready for college.  We also discussed a return visit to the George Washington Presidential Library.  I was going to take the kids home but Rano had never seen a Wegmans so we went to the one at Hilltop.  Rachel bought food and we had a nice time exploring.  We ran into Steve and his kids (who called our happily to Mollie).  I dropped Mollie's friends at their homes by 1430.  Back at my apartment, we watched Netflix shows and I hooked Mollie's computer up with the printer so she could finish her homework.  We ate an early dinner because I needed to walk to the service station to retrieve my car.  I left Mollie at the house at 1630 and Nicky picked her up at 1715.  After I had my car, I drove to Dave & Busters (Springfield) and met up with Kelly and her kids.  There was a fire "drill" and Emma got lost.  I found her for Kelly and then we played games and had dinner.  The kids borrowed my game cards because they "lost" theirs.  I was home by 2030 after another busy day...