Washington DC

The Army Base in Virginia where we visited Luke was 2 hours from Washington DC. We planned a trip to pick him up on our way to tour our nation's Capitol.

We had an appointment with our senator's interns to give us a personal tour of the Capitol. There were evacuation drills just before our appointment time, so it took a few extra minutes to connect.

After our tour, we received passes to sit in the Senate balcony. They were actually scheduled to be in session later that afternoon, but we didn't stick around. Instead, we explored their learning lab areas where we could pretend like we're giving a speech.

A cafeteria was in the basement. Their wide assortment of food options was impressive, especially their cute desserts!

As we exited the Capitol, we saw the Supreme Court building across the street.

Our afternoon was spent at the Air and Space Museum. Eric was distracted by all the jet engines. 

It didn't take long for me to get distracted either. I wandered off to find the Wright Brothers' original airplane that first showed the world what was possible.

Then to the Apollo missions where Gene Kranz's white vest was on display. He was the flight director for several missions, including Apollo 13.  

Encased below is Apollo 11's command module Columbia that brought Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins back to Earth after humanity's first steps on the moon.

On our walk back to the hotel, we passed by the National Guard Memorial building.

And of course, Eric couldn't walk past his favorite Postal Museum without a picture.

We inadvertently came across this beautiful church and decided to attend their Saturday evening Mass. St. Dominic's.

The next morning, we headed out for more sight seeing. The Washington Monument was a nice walk that allowed us to stretch our legs.

Once there, we could see Lincoln's Memorial and the White House. We decided to head over to our President's residence first.

Future home for this one? It's very possible!

At this point, Eric decided to rent a bicycle and head back to the car. The kids and I wanted to see a few more sights, so we walked to the WWII memorial...

 

Along the Reflecting Pool...

And up to Lincoln's statue. 

We still hadn't caught up with Eric, so we kept walking across the Potomac River.

A cute photo halfway across.

Our destination point to meet Eric was Arlington National Cemetery.

It was just as beautiful, peaceful, and solemn as I had hoped. Our fallen heroes deserve this fitting resting place for their role in defending our freedom.