Washington D.C. - Walking the Mall

4/15/2017

Jeff and Devon considered and rejected a variety of ways of getting into Washington, D.C. for the day to view the Capitol, the Mall, and pursue a Junior Ranger badge for Sierra. Requiring two car seats stood as an impediment to a number of options. They finally came up with a somewhat creative travel solution. They took our car into the city with the children in their car seats, and Clark and I used Uber. This more cost-effective combination of travel options worked well.  We met at a parking garage at the Holiday Inn near the Air and Space Museum and walked from there.

Walking the Mall towards the Capitol

Capitol Building

Statue in Mall

Tax-day Protesters in Washington, D.C.

Trump Chicken - afraid to show his  tax returns

Family Pose in Washington, D.C.

Food trucks surrounding the Mall

We walked and walked. Sometimes Sierra got a free ride.

Sierra in a backpack carrier

Views as seen walking along the Mall.

Washington Monument

Weather for today and tomorrow, Easter Sunday, looked promising for exploring the city; however, high temperatures predicted for Sunday prompted Devon to dress the kids in their Easter clothes today. With all of the Mall to explore, Sierra made me laugh by enjoying jumping on metal grates on the ground, digging in the dirt, and climbing a tree on the grounds.

Sierra in her Easter Sunday clothes playing in the dirt -
 one of her favorite activities

Sierra climbing a tree at the Washington Mall

Clark observing the activities

Whole crew watching Sierra play in the dirt 

After Sierra had literally covered herself in dust, we moved on to view the World War II Memorial.

Pacific

Atlantic

In Walkway

Looking up

Stars of Freedom -
remembering the 405,399 soles who died or went MIA during WW II

While at this memorial, Sierra indulged in another of her favorite past-times - playing in the water.

Fountain at WW II Memorial

Feet in fountain acceptable - walking in fountain not

Violet in her Easter outfit at WW II Memorial

From the WW II memorial, we moved on towards the Martin Luther King and FDR memorials. As we walked along the path, two helicopters flew low over our heads.

Action in the Sky

We walked through the MLK memorial to the FDR memorial.

Martin Luther King Memorial

at FDR Memorial

Wise sayings of a great man

FDR and his Scottish Terrier Fala

After walking through the park-like setting of the FDR memorial, we headed back towards the car via trails leading to the Jefferson Memorial. The views were spectacular.

"Gift of Friendship" from Yokohama, Japan in 1957

Navigating the low-hanging trees on the trail.

Washington Monument

Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Clark and Ev enjoying the city views

Last of the Cherry Blossoms

When we reached the parking garage, we once again split up. Clark and I called for Uber again, and we met at National Harbor for dinner out at Redstone.

Happy Nana with Violet

and Sierra in National Harbor

Sierra making friends at dinner

Instead of a sunset picture to end today's story, Clark captured a Ferris Wheel reflection.

Ferris Wheel at night at National Harbor

At the end of the day, my FitBit indicated that I had walked well over 8 miles today. Having visited a large number of memorials, we accomplished our main objective for the day . Even though we just missed the Cherry Blossom period, Sierra acquired the Cherry Blossom Junior Ranger badge. It was definitely a good day spent in the city.