destination: our nation's capital

After our 13-hour drive from Portland, TN to Takoma Park, MD, we were very glad to sleep anywhere, so the gym floor at Takoma Academy was fine with us. We got in early enough Thursday night to settle in and take showers before going to sleep.

John Watkins told me he once saw Victor Borge perform in this gym. That explains the giant grand piano on the stage? Or maybe he took his own? I wouldn't want to travel with a piano . . .

Friday was our full day in DC. We started out by going to the Pentagon and seeing the new Sept. 11 memorial outside for those killed on the plane and in the building. The Pentagon doesn't allow photography so I don't have any pictures for you.


After leaving the Pentagon, we ate lunch at a nearby mall food court, then headed to the Capitol building. We had an appointment to meet with our district's representative, Bart Gordon. The kids enjoyed doing gymnastics on the Capitol steps while we waited.








After the kids finished talking to Bart Gordon, we headed inside the building for a guided tour. We were all given headsets so we could hear our guide in the noise and echoes inside. He showed us the rotunda, old Senate room, and old House meeting room. I liked when he whispered from one side of the House room and you could hear it on the opposite side like it was amplified.

Following our Capitol tour, we walked over a mile to the Holocaust Memorial Museum (also does not allow pictures). We were each given a victim of the Holocaust on a little biography card. Some of our people survived; others didn't. My lady survived and ended up in the US. The museum is really well done, if you haven't ever gotten to see it. It's very visual and has tons of information, I just wish more of the German had been translated. Hopefully that museum will help make sure something like that doesn't happen again.

For supper, we drove over near the FDR Memorial for some sloppy joes beside the bus. I had fun walking through the FDR Memorial for the first time. We took pictures of ourselves standing in the bread line.


I liked FDR's little Scottish terrier, Fala. The statue isn't little and I'm kinda glad terriers aren't this big. Can you imagine a dog with that amount of energy and this size?

We had a good view of the Jefferson Memorial (my favorite) from across the tidal basin.

We spent the rest of the evening visiting landmarks in the dark, including the closed Teddy Roosevelt island. It was a little creepy out there.

Sabbath morning we slept in later then headed to the Sligo SDA Church. We all sat in the balcony and listened to the Disability Awareness Sabbath program. They fed us a Filipino potluck that was really good after church.

We quickly ate and drove over to Arlington National Cemetery for our wreath presentation at the Tomb of the Unknowns. I remember watching the changing of the guard when I was little. I think it's really cool that our students got to present a wreath. We put ours up approximately 2 minutes after a middle school put theirs up.


I like how you can see the Washington Monument from almost anywhere in DC, including the hills in Arlington. I wished the trees were brighter in the cemetery, but they were still pretty.







Lindsey came and met me at Arlington and hung out with us until we headed out for our Samurai activity later in the evening. We took some kids to the Natural History Museum and walked around the mall area.

The most fun we had was probably feeding this crazy squirrel. I think it liked its reflection, because it kept charging my camera. It made for some funny pictures!

Lindsey and I let the three kids run up and touch the Washington Monument while we watched from a distance. We didn't want to have to run all the way back to the Smithsonian castle to meet the bus. The sunset was really pretty on the mall that night. We had perfect weather for seeing the sights in DC.

We met the bus and rode over to Union Station. Who knew they had a parking garage? After a very hurried (so hurried I didn't eat) supper break, Lindsey left on the metro to go back to her car and head home. I wished that I could have gone up and seen their condo and stayed to watch the baseball game that night!

Saturday night we saw a one-man "play" called 7 (x 1) Samurai: An Epic Tale . . . Told by an Idiot. He used sound effects and acted out all the characters without much talking. I thought it was pretty hilarious. I especially liked seeing him play both parts of a fight at the same time, even if it got a little gory by the end (if that's possible with one guy miming). Here's the review from the Washington Post.