Summer Vacation–Day 7

It’s been a month since I last posted, and 2 months since our vacation… the one I’m documenting.
This is a daunting task.
I’m loosing my enthusiasm.
But for the sake of my posterity, I will continue.

Day 7 we made our first stop at Ford’s Theater. This was the infamous place where Lincoln was shot.
Below the theater is a museum packed with information and artifacts. There was too much to see and read in the amount of time they give you. There is actually a countdown clock that limits your stay in the museum. They have to make room for the next group.
We raced around finding answers to the kids Jr. Ranger booklets, which by the way were the hardest we’ve ever had!

I need to see about getting a copy of this poster for Grant. It’s actually a song. I listened to it online and considered downloading it. It was too weird. 
 

Here is Lincoln. In his actual size… very tall. 

And here he is in the actual clothing he wore the night of April 14, 1865. It still has a blood stain on the collar too, which makes it seem so real. 
Obviously is was real, but it just hit me more when I saw the blood.  


The Philadelphia Deringer that John Wilkes Booth used to shoot Lincoln.

Booth was successful in killing the President in a well thought out attack. He worked in the theater and was familiar with the people there. No one thought twice about he walking right up to the box. He propped the door shut so no one could enter, then waited. He knew the performance being played that night, and knew the exact moment the punch-line would be delivered and the audience would be roaring with laughter. He took that exact moment to shoot the President.
He didn’t necessarily have a well thought out escape though. He figured he could run to the South and be welcomed as a hero. Instead he was found and burned.
 

This was the exact location of the theater, but not the furnishings. The theater eventually closed down and turned into office buildings. Finally someone got the great idea to turn it into a National Park and rebuild the theater.
Here are my kids receiving their Jr. Ranger badges. This Ranger drilled my kids. She wasn’t just giving these badges away.
“Who stabbed Secretary of State William Seard on the night of April 14, 1865”
”What is the name of the Doctor that cared for Booth’s broken leg as he fled through Southern Maryland”
”Name 3 people who aided Booth in his crime”

Those are actual questions she asked them!
And they answered right. Crazy kids. Do you know the answers?

Across the street was the Peterson house where Lincoln was laid to rest and eventually died.


The perfectly intact room where he died
 

We were starving by the time we finished our tour. Right across the street we spotted a Hard Rock Café.
One of the few pictures of ALL of us. 

Next stop… National Archives.

We put Shawn’s military ID to good use and were able to just walk in a side door, bypassing the huge line wrapping around the building in the front.
I felt so official.
There was no photography inside. But we took our time examining the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the Constitution.
My favorite part was spotting the spelling errors in the documents.

This is the closest we got to the Capital. Shameful, I know. This means we didn’t even get to see General Grant’s memorial, which was a must-see stop for Grant.
They were setting up for the July 4th Concert and we didn’t even want to attempt walking nearby.

We spent some time in the Air and Space Museum.
It honestly didn’t interest my family. My mom was enthralled. So, we split up.  
 

Eventually we all ended up just sitting on the floor of the museum… arm wrestling.
I’m telling you, we found it boring. 

Smithsonian Castle


I sort of fell in love with this strange plant. I was hypnotized by its thorns. They were everywhere.

The museum of American History

I think we could have really enjoyed our visit here, if we hadn’t been dead tired!
They had the original Star Spangled Banner flag in the museum, but one look at the line and I turned away.
This was my highlight of the museum, an old 7eleven ad.
 

The kids liked the original Harry Potter costume worn in the movie.
True American History, right here.

After going home for dinner, and resting, Shawn and I took the boys out at night to visit the Jefferson Memorial.
We just drove right up and parked. There were hardly any people, the weather was cooler, and the lighted monuments were beautiful. Which made me regret not seeing all of DC after dark. Next trip.


Running around the pillars


On our way back to the car Grant spotted something glowing. Fireflies. We’ve never seen them before, so we were obviously excited. People walking by probably thought we were lunatics.
Which we are.