Washington DC - first week - Nick

3/1/2017

Today we woke up at 6:00 in the morning. We ate breakfast as fast as we could. We had to be to a tour by 8:15 and it was super far away. We drove to a metro train station and we went 9.3 miles. It was my first time being on a subway. Then we went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It is one of the only two money printing factories in the country. They printed $850,000,000 a year. They used to print $500, $1000, $5000, $10,000, and $100,000 dollar bills. When we were done with the tour we walked around D.C. for a while. We took the Metro back to our camper and Andi and I played on the playground. We had dinner and then went shopping for a while.

3/2/2017

Stained glass window with an actual
moon rock in the moon (red circle)

National Cathedral tower

Today we took the Metro to the Washington National Cathedral. It is the sixth largest cathedral in the world. We went on an audio tour of the cathedral. It was about an hour long. We got to meet the pastor and he took us into a room that most people can’t go in. It was called the Canon room. The priests and other important people got dressed there. We went to a 35 minute sermon which was like what we have at home. The organ in the cathedral had 10,000 pipes. The smallest was as big as your pinkie and you could climb through the middle. 

Fibonacci playground

After the cathedral we took the Metro to the Fibonacci playground which was rated the 2^nd best playground in the world, but the playground my Dad built at our house was more fun than it. We left right away. We took the Metro back home and had steak for dinner.

3/4/2017

Iguana at the zoo

Yesterday we took the Metro to the Rayburn Office Building. We got to go into our Congressman’s office. He was not there but we picked up our passes to the House and Senate Galleries. The Rayburn Office Building looked very similar on each floor and when we took the elevator from floor 1 to floor 4 Andi was convinced we didn’t change floors. After we left the office building we took the metro to the Zoo. At the Zoo we saw the buffalo. They didn’t have a very big area to move around in. then we went to a café and ate lunch. The café was in the zoo. Next we went to see the tigers and lions. One of the tigers wouldn’t stop pacing and the biggest lion was growling. Next we saw the reptile house. We saw snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, and turtles. One of the turtles was probably 4 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet tall. One of the other turtles looked like it was a million years old. We also saw an anaconda that was 6 feet long. Then we went to the Think Tank which is where they study how gorillas’ memories work. There was a video on it and it was very interesting. There was a game that I played with Dad and I had to make a pattern out of a bunch of blocks and you explain it to your partner who has the same blocks and they try to make it without looking. Next we went to see the pandas but we only got to look at them for a few minutes because the Zoo was closing. After the zoo closed we went home and had dinner.

Today we looked at the next campground we’re going to so we could pick a site. Then we went to pick up my grandparents because they are staying with us for a week. Then we all went to Mt. Vernon which is where George Washington lived. He fought in the Revolutionary War. He fought in 13 battles. He only won 3 but they were all important. George Washington also fought in the French and Indian War. George Washington served two consecutive terms of presidency and two years later he died. After Mt. Vernon we ate dinner at Gadsby’s Tavern. The food was delicious. Then we went swimming at my grandparent’s hotel and Andi and I spent the night there.

3/5/17

Today we went to the Smithsonian Castle. It was the first Smithsonian museum. Smithson is a person that dedicated a bunch of his money to making a bunch of museums called the Smithsonian Museums. Then we went to the National Botanical Gardens. My favorite tree I saw was a banana tree. The bananas grew really close together. We also saw a royal palm tree. Each leaf could weigh up to 50 pounds. Next we went to the Postal Museum. I did not find it very interesting. We also met a police officer named Keith Atkins. He told us to call him Officer Dqqki. He was really nice and funny. He recommended a restaurant called Hamilton’s. He said they had really good cheese curds. Then I spent the night with my grandparents again. We also swam in the pool.

 

Andi, Officer Dqqki (Atkins) and Nick

3/6/17

View of the Washington Monument
from the Capitol Building

Today we went to the Holocaust Museum. It was about World War II. I went in the adult exhibit even though it was supposed to be disgusting. It was recommended for 11 years and up. There was one gross picture at the beginning but the rest was interesting. The museum was about the camps the Germans kept the Jews in. the conditions were horrible. After I was done in the adult exhibit I briefly checked out the children’s exhibit. It was not as interesting. Some of the ways the Germans tortured the Jews was they put them in chambers filled with poisonous gas until they died. They would also bury people alive or just shoot them. After the Holocaust Museum we went to the Washington Memorial. It was closed for repairs so we couldn’t go in. I touched the side of it. I also ran around the outside of it. Then we went and got lunch. I got pizza at a pizza place but everyone else got Potbelly. Then we went to the Jefferson Memorial. It was way bigger than I thought it would be. There was a museum underneath it but I didn’t find it very interesting. Next we walked around the National Mall and we are planning on having Chinese for dinner.