Washington DC - Day 4

James generously offered to go for a run in the morning to get in line for tickets for the Washington Monument. Luckily he was 2nd or 3rd in line. The person in front of him was a tour guide and took 30 tickets!

After he ran back to the hotel, we took the bus and walked to the White House. Unfortunately, we were not able to get tickets to go inside. Apparently those are VERY hard to get these days.



While walking to the Washington Monument for the tour, we took some fun photos.




Next for the day was a tour of the Capitol. We had arranged a tour through Congressman Erik Paulsen. We had two tour guides: Tim and Will. They took us all over the capitol. The boys even got to stand in the center of Washington DC.


While observing the House of Representatives in the gallery, we had to leave our backpacks and phones outside of the area. After we were done, James checked his messages and the Congressman's office called. He had just gotten back into town and he was wondering if the boys wanted to go on the house floor and help him vote. What a fun surprise! He took them on the floor and James & I viewed from the gallery. They each had a turn to put in his card and vote on two different items. We heard they could be seen on C-SPAN. A friend recorded it and is going to make a DVD for us. The boys also got to vote for other Congressman. They met representatives from Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Unfortunatly, we don't have any photos of this one.

We took our first train ride on the "Metro". We ate a light dinner and then made our second stop for gelato. YUM!!!!

Jack's steps: 32,500 - 7.7 miles

Washington DC - Day 3

Another adventure -
We took the bus into Georgetown and then walked to mass at the Church of the Epiphany. After we arrived, we found out that the mass would be said in Korean. Even though we didn't understand the language, we were able to follow along the mass. After mass, a nice woman invited us downstairs for refreshments.

We had brunch at a great little place in Georgetown - Cafe Bonaparte.


We rode the bus to the International Spy Museum. Jack loved his "new" identity and cover. Adam liked the "cloak and dagger" exhibit. We walked across the street for the National Portrait Gallery. Adam liked the JKF portrait and the sculpture of George Washington that looked like Julius Caesar. Jack liked the portrait of George W. Bush.

We talked around and found ourselves at Ford Theatre. We unknowingly snuck in at the end of a tour - we walked in the exit.

Dinner -
Barbecue at "Old Glory" - YUM!

After getting back to the hotel, James taught the boys how to do belly flops. All three of them had red chests.

Jack's steps: 15,000 = 3.6 miles

Washington DC - Day 2

Our first adventure of the day was when Jack locked himself in the bathroom. After the maintenance worker got him out, we found that the door lock was broken. :)

The hotel was on the Circulator bus route. James bought us each a bus pass for the week. There were several routes around Washington DC. We were able to go on and off the bus as needed.

First stop - Smithsonian Visitor's Center a the Smithsonian Castle. The boys were excited to see a prop from the Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.



Next stop - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Adam enjoyed the spacecraft and planes. Jack liked the planes. They bought a snack of a space ice cream sandwich.

For lunch, we decided to try something new at the National Museum of the American Indian. The boys LOVED the fry bread with honey and powdered sugar.



Next stop - Museum of American History

Adam loved all the "military things" and Jack liked the "war craft" and "Star Spangled Banner". They each got to stand at a podium and pretend to do an inauguration address: Adam - Ronald Reagan, Jack - JFK (of course).





We had heard about a burger place in Georgetown called "Five Guys Burgers & Fries". If you are a fan of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, this may be listed as a "dive". All the boys LOVED it.


HEAVEN IN A BOWL -
After dinner, we walked to a place called "Dolcezza" in Georgetown. We had never tried gelato. WOW! We were in LOVE! Jack - "the chocolate classiso is the best!"



We ended the day swimming at the hotel. WOW! I'm tired just typing what we did that day!

Jack brought a pedometer. Jack walked 30,330 steps. With his stride length - 7.2 miles.

Washington DC - Day 1

The Vettels needed a family vacation. We had decided to see the sites at Washington DC. After a 2+ hour delay at the airport, they held our connecting flight in Milwaukee and we made it to Washington DC around 10:30 PM. After negotiating a rate with the taxi driver, we made our way to the Holiday Inn in Georgetown. The hotel was pretty basic, but we were looking forward to seeing the sites the next day.

Duluth and Gooseberry Falls

Adam had a game scheduled for his traveling soccer team in Duluth on June 11. After my last meeting of the school year, I picked up the boys and we headed north. I decided to take them to Gooseberry Falls. I wish we would have had more time to explore.



We had a little bit of time before the 7pm game, so I showed them around Canal Park.