July 6-13

Yorktown- kids are wearing one of the signs that the soldiers would have worn if they were being punished for a minor infraction.

Outside of the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor's Center

Trouble at Colonial Williamsburg

Jamestown

Mount Vernon

After July 6 my laptop lost its "connectivity"- whatever that is. To me it just meant I could not access the internet, and all of the pictures were on my computer. We left DC on July 7 and went to Williamsburg. We stopped at Mt. Vernon on our way down, and it was very nice. They have built a very nice museum and visitor's center there since our last visit 8 years ago. The kids enjoyed the stop. While we were at Williamsburg we visited Jamestown, Yorktown, and Colonial Williamsburg. We started running out of steam, so we took some easy days. We stayed at a nice campground, visited the outlet mall, and ate a good meal for our anniversary. A good time was had by all. I uploaded close to 600 pictures to Shutterfly yesterday, so our trip was well documented.

Now we are home. The trailer is unloaded, and we have a few repairs to do. At least this year we returned without any major problems. We need to replace a seal on the toilet, and the closet rod broke, but those are minor issues. We have had a couple of discussions about where to go next year, but noone is in agreement yet. It is time to stay in the house, hide from the heat and relax!

Fourth of July

We started off the day at Ft. McHenry, which is where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner. He was on a ship out in the harbor watching the British bomb the fort in 1814 in the Battle of Baltimore. When the large flag was hoisted above the fort the next morning, they all knew that the "flag was still there" and that we had been victorious in battle. It was a great place to visit on the 4th. We got to unfurl a replica flag inside the fort, then everyone sang the Star Spangled Banner. It was very moving. We saw the original flag in DC the other day. The kids enjoyed walking around the fort. We had a mini picnic by the water, and we got to watch them fire the 18 pound cannon for the first time ever. I can't even imagine what a battle would have sounded like. By the time we left about 2:30 a crowd was moving in to stake out spots for the fireworks. We headed to Jeff and Becky's and spent the rest of the day at their house with her family. It was a nice day. The kids played in the water, and Becky had various fun things for them to do. They love her and had a great time. It was about 75 degrees all day with a breeze, so they turned a bit blue in the water, but we had to pull them out. They would have stayed in all day. It was nice. We were able to see the fireworks from the street out in front of their house, so it was nice to be able to do that without fighting the crowds. We got in late, and the dog was very happy to see us. She has been a good traveler, but she is not too happy when we leave her all day. Off for the next adventure!

Sparklers!

Pinata

Fun in the pool

Cannonballs at Ft. McHenry

Unfurling the Star Spangled Banner

Day 3 in DC was nice. We started out the day with a little Dunkin Donuts, then met Jeff, Becky and Kendall at the train station. We went to the Museum of Natural History when we got to the mall. The kids fought over who was going to hold Becky's hand, who was going to walk next to her, who was going to push the stroller, etc… all day. We were ready to strangle them, but we survived. The museum was pretty busy when we got there, and ridiculously crowded by the time we left. I have never been here when it was so busy. We saw everything we want to see, and they have a temporary exhibit about bones that was really neat. By the time we left the museum there were long lines out both entrance doors with people waiting to get in, and the mall was packed. You could tell it was a holiday for a lot of people. We walked from there to the Lincoln Memorial, and went by the Vietnam memorial on the way. No matter how many times I see these places, they still move me.

We had a really nice day and finished it off with dinner with Jecky (Jeff, Becky and Kendall- Serena and Keeg call them this) before we headed back to the trailer. The kids wanted to swim, but it was only 75 degrees and a bit breezy, so we talked them out of this. They spent about an hour at the playground instead. I think they will sleep well tonight.

We are not sure what our plan is for tomorrow. We had thought about going in for the parade down Constitution Avenue, but seeing the amount of people there today is giving us second thoughts. We are going to Jecky's for fireworks, etc… tomorrow evening.

It is amazing the variety of people we have seen this trip. DC is definitely teeming with tourists at the moment. We aren't leaving here until Tuesday, so I hope some of them clear out on Sunday. It is wild.

July 1 and 2 in Washington DC

We have spent the last 2 days walking all over Washington D.C. The weather has been nice. Thank goodness it is not as hot as home. We got here on Tuesday around 4, and I headed straight to the laundry. It is just not good to go more than a week without doing laundry. I spent a couple of hours doing that while Coley entertaind (tried to keep from killing) the kids. This RV park is really nice. It is close to DC, yet you don't feel like you are in an urban area. We have about a 5 minute ride to the metro, and about 30 minutes on the metro lands us downtown.
Wednesday - On Wednesday, we ventured off early to get the lay of the land. We found the metro lot, and of course, we had to park way out! Serena likes riding the "train" and thinks we should take one wherever we go. We managed to find our way to Union Station, and we rode the DC Ducks. The tour was not bad. It was an hour and a half, and I saw streets and buildings I had never seen in DC. You also get to go out in the Potomac, and that was neat. We went right by the Pentagon, and we were right in the approach path for Reagan International. The planes went right over us when they were coming in for a landing. That was wild. The kids enjoyed it, and their quackers have already been hidden. We did lunch at Union Station, then decided to check out Ford's Theater. There was a long line, so we headed to the Museum of American History. Thank goodness they are all on summer hours and don't close until 7 because we were in there until 6:45, but we saw everything. Serena slept on me through part of it. Keegan loved it. It is really nice since they redid it. They have the original Star Spangled Banner displayed in it's own special display now, and it is really touching. We were beat by the time we got back to the trailer, and Riz was very miffed that we had been gone all day. Jeff, Becky and Kendall came out to visit, and we had a good time. 4 adults, 3 kids, and one confused Chiweenie barely fit in the 5th wheel!
Thursday- Today we had timed tickets for the Washington Monument. Ihad forgotten to turn the alarm on when I set it last night, so we all slept late and woke up refreshed. The monument was neat. We had never been up in it before. The views were fabulous. Then we walked up the mall making our way to the capitol for our tour there. They have a folk festival set up on the mall for the weekend, and they are getting everything set up around the capitol itself for the 4th. I am not sure if we are going to venture in or not on that day. A new visitor's center has been open at the capitol, and it is very nice. The tour was way quick and the guide was condescending, but the building itself is as impressive as ever. When we were hear 10 years ago, we walked wherever we wanted and never had to stand in a line. Times have changed.
We decided we would try to "pop" into the Archives to see the documents, and of course there was a line. It moved fast, so we were able to check that all out before heading back around 6:30. We actually had dinner, and the kids watched a movie. Coley carried his GPS with him today, and we walked 5 miles. No wonder they were tired! Tomorrow we are going back in to DC and taking the kids to the Natural History Museum. Jeff, Becky and Kendall are going to join us. I hope they are up for a day of touring Dobbs style. Time for bed....it is finally catching up to me!


I can't get pictures to upload tonight....sorry. I will have to try again tomorrow!