District of Columbia

Yesterday, Monday, 25 April, was the last day of spring break for the kids, so we all piled in the van and headed north to the District of Columbia for a full day of adventure. We parked at Union Station and walked to the Capitol and the Library of Congress. The Library is a richly ornate Beaux-Arts building opened in 1897. After lunch in a park behind the Capitol, we visited the National Botanical Garden -- shades of Kew Gardens on a smaller scale. A potty and drink stop at the National Museum of the American Indian was followed by a tour of the National Gallery. I had forgotten what a great collection they have. The final museum visit of the day was to the National Museum of American History filled with all kinds of quirky stuff. We proceeded to the monuments: Washington, WWII, Lincoln, and Viet Nam. The trip home was remarkably smooth with light traffic. We had a very good supper in Manassas at a strip-mall Peruvian restaurant. The ceviche was delicious!

The azaleas are now in bloom everywhere here --
these at the Fauquier library on the way out of town

Union Station: still a station but now with shopping and eating

Capitol dome

East side of the Capitol

Library of Congress

Picnic in the park

View from the top of the greenhouse

Beautiful orchids

The wonderful Indian Museum

Waiting to start our march through the National Gallery

Andrea della Robbia's
Italian Renaissance plaques

Michelle Obama's inauguration gown at
the History Museum

Julia Child's kitchen

A snatch of a view of the White House from the
Washington Monument

The new WWII Monument

The crew at rest, more or less

Kris's honored her dad at the memorial so we were
surprised to see Dale Taylor's name

The greatest American president

The reflecting pool is undergoing
long-needed refurbishment

Anna and Anders at the Lincoln Memorial

What a great day we had. Once again, thanks to Anna and Rob for the great management from planning, lunch making, driving, parking, weather, traffic, etc. It was all spectacular!

That's all for now.

OXO

D.