The Marsians have visited the leaders of this country. That right - we took our summer vacation this year to Washington DC. Here's everyone preparing for the outbound trip...It has been many years since our last trip to DC (Dan and Les' wedding, I think?!). We tried to carry on the ancient Breezewood tradition of making art with our leftovers at the Bonanza / Steak & Buffet, but alas, we discovered that the restaurant has folded. 
Upon arriving for our first night, and checking in, and swimming in the pool, and a walk around the National Mall, the first item of real business was to buy the new Harry Potter book, which was just going on sale. We found a Barnes and Noble in DC, and went there at midnight to do the deed. We were number 274 in line, and we made it back to the hotel by about 1:30 am.
The air and space museum was our first museum visit, and we liked it enough that we went back twice. We also checked out the museum of natural history, the museum of african art, and the library of congress. Wow! Kids loved them, and they were all free! (not counting gift shop). The Library of Congress tour was fascinating. We saw a Gutenberg bible, and a hand-lettered bible from the same time and place. Here are kids with the Viking Mars lander, and a steel tire used on the lunar lander...
We visited many of the great monuments that teach us about the great moments and people and ideas of our nation - the washington monument, the WWII memorial, the Lincoln memorial, to name a few. We were amazed at how big a place it is.
Here is Dad and Lydi with President Lincoln. He is my hero, and I was truly awed to "stand in his presence", and to read his inspired words (the Gettysburg address, and Lincoln's 2nd inaugural speech), which are carved into the walls of the memorial. Lincoln was our greatest president. The trip to DC would have been worth it if this memorial was the only thing we had seen.
Here's Joe in front of the White House.
Here's everyone in Chinatown. We rode the metro and checked out some of the sights outside the immediate vicinity of the Capitol - Chinatown, the national zoo. We ate Mongolian Barbeque. Yum.
Other than the hotel pool, the kids' favorite spot was the fountain in the sculpture garden in front of the National Archives. The spray from the jets is very cool in hot weather, and you can dip your feet in the water. Don't wade though, because there is always a guard on duty.
We also dropped in on our congressman, Jim Jordan. He was travelling in Iraq, but his aides let us sit in his chair!
