WHERE AM I?

Last Thursday we took off for Washington DC for the girl scouts "Rock the Mall" event. This is my 12 year old's last year to be in the group and she wanted to go out with a bang. We drove half way, stopping in Wytheville, VA and then drove the rest of the way to DC. This was the longest I have been in the car with my family on one trip, ever. I had reservations about the travel, nightmares actually of the girls abusing each other in the back seat from boredom but I have to say, they did really well. The last few hours were rough but we made it, all sane.

We scored a beautiful hotel off of Priceline, which I highly recommend, both Priceline and the hotel.
We are at The Madison, a beautifully updated lap of luxury that we were able to get for 100 dollars a night.

We didn't last very long on Saturday, the day of the event. It was scorching outside and you could not move anywhere. Girl scouts were everywhere and all of the museum lines were ridiculous. We went and viewed the memorials which were very moving. On the lawn of the Vietnam war memorial were several articles put down by family members. This one was particularly moving for me. I imagine the hat belonged to the fallen soldier.

The architecture inside and outside of the buildings was amazing. The marble was exquisite.  This picture was taken of the ceiling in the National Museum of Art.

I was constantly looking up today. These pillars are part of the National Archives building. What an amazing treat to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in person. Not just those two, but the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights and others. I was completely shocked at how much history I have forgotten. 

It was really, really hot today and the lines were long. My girls did a lot of this............

and this......

But hopefully after we are done, it will be a trip that they will remember for a lifetime. Tomorrow is our Capitol Tour and pictures with our Senator. It should be a fun day!