Friday, June 27, 2014

Finishing up the Monument/Memorials

"Put down the map and get wonderfully lost!" - Unknown

Every morning, we strategically planned our day around our trolley tickets. The trolley picked us up at Union Station.  And, on the days that we went around and saw the monuments we would hop on and off the trolley stops. By our second week in D.C. we were well orientated to the area. So, we just tossed the map. 

This day, we road around to the Lincoln Memorial and had a little picnic lunch by one of the reflection pools in front of Mr. Ab Lincoln.



 Then, we hiked toward the Vietnam Memorial.
 This is the book that you can find a person's name. 
It gives you the section of the wall that the name is in. 
It does not say anywhere near the wall the significance of the plus sign  near the name or the diamond. But, because we read books about Washington D.C. the kiddos remembered that the plus sign means they are still missing. When they find them and identify them they change the plus sign into a diamond.

 We are trying to get over to the Washington Monument.....

 And, as we continued our trek, we stop at the Monument dedicated to the signers of the US. Constitution.
  The signers all have their own little stone. 
You can sit on the stone markers and watch the ducks on the pond.

 Our next stop was the World War 2 memorial. 
You are looking at one side of the monument. (The Pacific Side) 
Each column with a wreath on it has the name of each States. 
 
Finally, the big monument in the sky! 
The Washington Monument. 
The monument is two toned but not on purpose. 
When they were building the monument, they used a particular type of stone. 
Due to the War, they stopped their building project. 
Afterwards, they went to the very same area that they were getting the stone from and the material had aged and was slightly different in color.

Historical Fact: The Men use to be the only ones to be able to ride the elevator. 
The Women and Children had to walk to the top through the stair case that was over 300 steps.


It was snack time. 
And, we had heard that the Native Indian Smithsonian Cafeteria was rated the best even among the 4 and 5 star restaurants. So, we headed on over to the Museum.

The architecture of the building is very interesting. 
It is made to looks like river water and it is the color of sand. 
Some Native American tribes believe is is bad to have buildings with corners.
                                     They believed evil spirits hang out in the corners.
So, the building does not have any corners.


The Museum has live story telling/dance every hour.

And, the Native American beading exhibits were amazing. 
This was made all of beads.
 We thought the Native American vehicle that carries the fish off the ice was awesome.

By this time, we decided to catch the trolley back to the Station. 
We still had a little trek to the stations so we stopped by one of the ice cream vendors. 
This reminded me of all the stores that I saw in Korea just on the side of the road.
The little lady that served us was probably from China Town which is just down the road from the Museums.
 We also had a very special dinner surprise for the Children. 
And, so the littlest two needed a nap because our evening was going to be super late. 

3 comments:

  1. Looks amazing!
    What was the surprise dinner?

    ReplyDelete
  2. We were there for a day or two in April when the monument was still being redone. I love the idea of jumping off and on the trolley. I'll have to remember that next year when we return. I saw that ice cream stand too! What was the surprise?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Enjoyed the chronicle of your trip to Washington D.C. Wonderful field trip for school. A trip the children will remember for a long time.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are a gift to me and they warm my heart. I read and treasure every one. If you leave a comment, I will visit you as well. ~ Carmen