Mikesells see DC

After spending Friday playing with Seth and Meg, we spent Saturday in DC seeing the sites that Marah and Bethany hadn't seen previously (a few repeats). The Holocaust Museum was one of the most memorable experiences from Kenna & Megan's 8th grade DC trip. Tickets for that tour was our first stop. We had 40 minutes before our tour so ran over to see the Washington Monument (Kenna's all-time favorite) and then the WWII memorial - new since Russell and Kenna had been to DC. We spent several hours in the Holocaust museum. I don't have words to describe the experience - heartbreaking, reverent, unsettling. I was grateful for the section dedicated to those who risked and often gave their lives to save others. Their stories gave a small glimmer of humanity in an era of unimaginable cruelty.

Our next stop was the Jefferson memorial and decided when we visit next, we will be the people in the paddleboats enjoying the view of monuments from the Potomac.
Our feet were aching on the walk back to the Smithsonian museums. First, of course, we toured the Aerospace Museum and then a quick trip through the Natural History museum to see the dinosaurs and Hope diamond. We also experienced an evangelical revival in front of the capital with the leaders shouting hoarsely on three huge sound systems with gigantic projector screens. The lower half of the mall was filled with followers. It was surreal...
Believing that we could drive through Arlington (like we did in 1976), I convinced our weary feet that we need to see one more site. We walked further in Arlington than the entire day in DC... First we found the JFK "Eternal Flame", and gratefully, arrived at the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" just as the guard was changing so it was worth the hike (at least no complained to me).

We saved Mt. Vernon for the next trip - right after paddleboating! We got back to Meg & Jon's just in time for Seth's bath - his hair goes fuzzy - and to see Jon's nightly ritual of swaddling Seth like a baby burrito.