Two days of Air and Space- December 10th and 11th

O.K. is wasn't really two full days of Air and Space, but David was touring with us for the weekend so Andy was thrilled there would be more airplanes and less First Lady dresses.

Just like being on a real aircraft carrier.

Had to make sure Kristen saw a little girl power-  Amelia Earhart's Little Red Bus. 

The Smithsonian now has two Air and Space Museums.  In addition to the National Mall location there is a huge hanger style building near Dulles airport.  We heard they had a space shuttle so we made the drive to Virginia.  It doesn't have the displays and exhibits found on the Mall, but it has airplane after airplane after airplane.

 Best thing about the Smithsonian museums- forget replicas and photographs.  

 "Look kids, it is the actual Enola Gay."

The Capitol Building

First on our to do list- find the flag of Washington State and Patty Murray's office to pick up gallery passes.  I thought this would be a quick, inconvenient stop, but the kids thought it was so cool  we stayed and  toured each corridor and checked out the state flags and different Senate offices.

On to the Capitol Building.  We used our gallery passes right away because Andy wanted to see the "real" capitol.  It doesn't get much more real than touring the Senate during the tax bill filibuster. The kids have been so excited to watch C-span and the news at night to see what is happening in Congress.

Because there were so few people touring the Capitol that day we got an extended tour of the building including the old Supreme Court and Senate chambers.  The kids loved our tour guide's story of how Charles Dickens visited the US Senate and said there was so much spit and tobacco juice on the floor that if he dropped his wallet he would not pick it up even if he was wearing gloves.  Definitely not a place I would have wanted to visit.

I am such a bad Washingtonian.  Each state has two statues in the Capitol and I did not recognize either of Washington's- Marcus Whitman and Mother Joseph.  I guess I have a lot to learn about Washington history.

After touring the Capitol we walked across the street to the Library of Congress.  Andy was very disappointed  we couldn't  walk among the stacks and perhaps search for the President's Book of Secrets.  Even if I came up with a good research excuse to get a pass for the reading room they did not allow anyone under 16 on the floor :)  The building is beautiful but the kids mostly enjoyed the children's library where they could just sit and read for awhile. 

After a whirlwind week at the conference center I was very stressed about getting back into the motorhome.  We have not settled our debate about where to spend Christmas and I have no itinerary for the coming weeks.  David took pity on me and signed up to take another class so we can stay in Baltimore for another week :)  We honestly just needed a little vacation from our vacation.

Washington, D.C., cont...

On Thursday we awoke to one sick child and the other child complaining about being out in the cold all the time.  (She really is her father's daughter.)  Thankfully, the sunshine was encouraging, so the kids rallied after lunch and we headed back to the city.

We didn't make it in time for a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as planned, but next door is the Holocaust Museum.  Although I wanted to see this museum it had not been on a list of places to take my kids.  I was so wrong.  They have an amazing exhibit called "Remember the Children: Daniel's Story."   Even though Andy was disappointed that Kristen was too young to view the main exhibit I am adamant that this is the perfect exhibit for children of any age.  It puts a personal perspective on the Holocaust  I have never experienced before.  You walk through Daniel's house in 1937 Germany, experience the Nazi's rise to power, travel to a German ghetto and then to Auschwitz.  I knew the kids really got it when we were in twelve year old  Daniel's room looking at his toys and photos. They kept asking why the Jews were hated when they were just like us.  I am glad we didn't tour the more graphic exhibits because I want my kids to remember Daniel as a child who is just like them and know how completely senseless all of this was.   We are all to quick to blame others for our problems and we should all be reminded about what happens when prejudice and hatred overcome reason.
 

The World War II memorial near the base of  the Washington Monument.

The memorial truly captures the idea of a "World" war.  It is symmetrical, with one side dedicated to the battles in the Pacific and the other to the battles across the Atlantic.  

Washington, DC

Even though I am a huge fan of public transportation and don't enjoy driving in strange cities, we realized it was much cheaper for me to drive from Baltimore to DC than to take the train. There is plenty of free parking on the National Mall, if you are lucking enough to find an open space. One day, as I searched we got so lost and turned around we drove back and forth to Virginia twice.  Of course, even if you are lost in D.C. there is still tons to see.  If we hadn't gotten lost we probably wouldn't have gone to see the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon.  Anyway, I digress...

On our first day we made a circle of the National Mall, parked and visited the National Archives.  The size and grandeur of the buildings really is astonishing. (yes- I did make Andy pose for this picture). 

 I thought we were just going to see the Declaration, Constitution, etc. but the Archives has so much more.  In addition to the exhibits, they have an entire area set up like an actual research room in the "stacks."  Kids can search through "primary sources" while donning white gloves.  We completely lost track of time, but what a fun way to start our tour of DC.

Next stop- The National Museum of American History.

 

Kristen and I loved the "First Ladies at the Smithsonian." They even have Michelle Obama's dress already.  Days later when Andy was bothering me I told him  if he didn't stop I would take him back to the exhibit and read every information card, including shoes and accessories.  Worked like a charm.

Thank goodness there was an "America at War" display nearby.  Andy got to try his hand at being "Rosie Riveter."  Sorry Andy, don't quit your day job.



If Kristen is this excited to see Dumbo in a museum, I can't imagine what she will be like at Disney World.

The next morning we started at the other end of the mall with a trip to the Supreme Court.  I had scheduled our visit to see oral arguments but I had no idea that it would be one of the Arizona immigration cases.  Once we got inside and realized what was going on we understood why the bottom of the courthouse steps was blanketed  with reporters.  That night I think the kids really understood what being in our nation's capital meant.  What we had observed as tourists that day was on the national network news. 

Just to show what a bad tour guide I am- the first day in D.C. Andy said he wanted to go up in the Washington Monument.  I said, "Sorry, we are going to do the free stuff instead."  Turns out, IT IS free to go up in the Monument.  Plus being the coldest day yet on our trip, wind chill around 16 degrees, we didn't have to wait in line for tickets. 

Waiting at the elevator we saw a very familiar statue of George Washington.  We have seen this statue in so many places on our trip it is becomming a bit like a game of  "I Spy."

The National Christmas Tree the day before the tree lighting ceremony.  I know they want it to look amazing lit up at night, but all the nets of lights make it look tied up and not very attractive during the day.   It is funny Kristen is smiling in this picture.  The whole time we walked over to the White House she was crying she was so cold.  I did mention that wind chill didn't I.

The Crawford Family Adventure- Brought to you by Wal-mart

Sunday, December 5th

We have reached the end of the first leg of our journey.  We are now checking into the conference center at David's union's headquarters in Baltimore so he can participate in a week long seminar.  We are moving out of the motorhome and into a hotel for a week, which means:
 no searching for water and dump stations,
 no cooking,
real showers,
and a pool.
Believe it or not,  I have been a bit apprehensive about this because I thought we would be cramped into a small hotel room for a week...what a surprise.  They put us in one of the penthouse suites.  Now, it is a bit dated and definitely not as fancy as it sounds, but it is by far the largest hotel room we have ever stayed in.  We all agree it is even bigger than the "condo" we rented  in Honolulu a few years back. 

Just a few stats on the trip so far:

28 days

19 states

3415 miles

A depressing amount of gas

...And 13 nights camping at Wal-mart

Each night we pull in the parking lot the kids say, "Wal-mart- Welcome Home."

Valley Forge and the Battle of Antietam

We started off the morning having our own Winter at Valley Forge.  According to the park ranger the continental army was conceived at the continental congress in Philadelphia, but it was born at Valley Forge with the help of a French General and intensive training. 

no words...

Andy hanging with the new recruits to the Continental Army.

The original "Pentagon"- George Washington's command center at Valley Forge. While we were inside we were joined by about 20 boy scouts.  It gave us a great idea of what it was like when 27 people were living in the house for the winter- CROWDED.

The night before visiting Valley Forge, I was reading my favorite guide book, 1000 places to see...., and it mentioned a spectacular luminary display at the Antietam Battlefield the first Saturday of December- which was the next day :)  We very spontaneously changed direction and headed to Maryland.   After the three hour drive we arrived just after they opened and prepared to wait- for hours. 

David was having an argument with the GPS over her directions down windy backroads when she told us "go 2 miles, turn left on Stottlemeyer Rd."  We thought we must  have really made her mad, she had given up, and sent us home.

I thought I was being quite Martha Stewart-ish making my family lasagna and garlic bread while waiting in the hours long line at Antietam.  It took me a minute to realize the strange smell in the motor home was the dirty cutting board I had stashed in the oven when we ran out of water to wash the lunch dishes.  You have to actually open the oven to light it, so this is especially stupid and embarrassing. 

We all agreed that this was the most memorable thing from our trip so far, and not just because of the long wait and bizarre things we had for dinner.  This picture can not begin to do it justice.  The battlefield is lit up with 23,000 luminaries- one for each American casualty during the single bloodiest day of war in American history.   It takes an hour to drive through field after field filled with lights. 

Amish Country - Friday, December 3rd

I was so excited to visit Amish country but I was never really certain what we would do there.  I know people travel there to buy furniture, go antiquing, stay at quaint bed and breakfasts, and relish in a slow paced life.  Since we had only one day, are living in our motor home and travelling with two kids I knew we would be doing none of the above. 
So plan B...As we drove into Lancaster  I told the kids all about the Amish lifestyle.  I explained how the Amish people were not tourist attractions, but people who lived a simple life in accordance with their religious convictions.  We talked about shunning electricity, transportation by horse and buggy, and their desire to not be photographed.  Our official "Amish" day was Friday.  What a surprise to see a horse and buggy in the parking lot when we pulled into the Lancaster Costco.  About half the people shopping in Costco that night were Amish.  Andy said he was just watching for someone to have a 46inch flat screen in their cart.  No flat screens- but lots of food and batteries.
 

A turkey that survived Thanksgiving!  He was sooo loud.  I think I would have eaten it just to stop it from gobbling.  He is living a nice life on an Amish farm- at least for now.

At the Amish Farm and Museum the kids most enjoyed seeing the animals and feeding the goats on the "Golden Goat Bridge."

A break from homeschooling- one room schooling

Instead of paying for a buggy ride or a van tour we grabbed a free map to Amish farms and covered bridges, released my car from the motorhome, and roamed the countryside.

We saw so many  buggies the kids started a game of slug "buggy"