Last Day

This day, weather wise was the best. It was 70s most of the day with some cool wind, perfect weather. 

We went back to the mall and looked at all the monuments. There is something humbling about seeing all of them in person. No movie or tv show does them justice. 

White House one this side was packed. Not sure if this is the front or the back. We walked around to the other side, which lead us to the Washington Monument. 

This is the side that I think of when I think of the White House. There was a lot blocked off, so we couldn't get super close. We could get closer than this, I just didn't take a picture there. 

Washington Monument. Very tall and VERY windy right next to it.  

Us and the White House way in the back. 

Notice the flags. The left go one way then slowly start to go the other way. It is so windy right around it, and somehow make the flags go different directions. 

Each state had one of these, and I believe in the order they became a state. 

I really thought the reflecting pool was going to be, well reflective, but it was not, actually pretty dirty. It was only about 8 inches deep, which surprised me as well. 

This is after we walked up the Lincoln Monument. It's so beautiful. 

I knew this was big, but didn't realize exactly how big it really was. 

Next we walked to the Vietnam War Memorial wall. I didn't realize how long it really is. At each end is a book that you can look up your family's name and it will tell you where they were from, when they passed away and where to find their name. This was the most humbling I think. It was so long and just for one war. Even these don't give you a full picture of the reality of it's length. I saw a man with a Vietnam Veteran hat on and wondered how many of these men he knew and served with. 

After we got lunch. I will say that each place we tried was really good. We tried new places for each meal and  found some delicious places. 

We had about a half hour before our next appointment so we went to the Old Post Office Tower. It was a post office for a while then Trump bought it and either made it a hotel or it was a hotel as well. But this section had to stay open to the public. While the government owns it now, this section just opened up very recently.  The tower allow you a good view of the city. Very windy and blocked by these wires. 

Next was the Ford Theater. Almost all places here are free, you just have to have timed tickets. I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. It's fun to see these old buildings that have so much meaning in-between all of these modern high buildings. 

The night he was shot, there were 1700 people in attendance. Today they still do plays and other shows here and 650 is the max they allow in. So it was packed. 

This is where he and his wife were sitting when Booth came up and shot him, timed with a joke he knew was coming in the play that night. He knew the audience would laugh and possible cover the sound of the gun. This happened about 10 pm that night. 

The size of the gun used and the size of the single bullet. 

After he was shot he was taken to this house to be treated. 

This was the room he was in and about 730 am the next morning he passed away. I did not realize he was alive for so long after being shot.  The rest of this museum went to a building next door. It had replicas of his casket, a few things off the actual one, an area showing how they finally got Booth and his accomplices and other facts. 

This is a tower, that wrapped all around, all are books written about President Lincoln. We were on the 5th floor of the building. One mans legacy lead to this many books!

One including a guest appearance in Spider-Man. 

Our last dinner was at a place called Famers and Distillers. They make everything fresh and you could tell. It all was so good and you could tell it was fresh. Today we did over 8 miles of walking. A lot of walking over the week, but fully worth it all. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, just maybe in a cooler time of the year. 

The next morning we got up at 4:30 am and took off for home. We flew the same path home as we did out. This time we could see Mount Rainier. at 10,000 feet in a plane you can have your devices out, the mountain was still taller than where we were at when that happened. It looks like a small mountain with lots of snow, but its clouds. 

The end of the trip was a treat too, but as bad as the beginning, but 3 of our bags were left in Seattle and didn't get on our flight. There was a later flight coming in that they were put on and the airline delivered them to Paul's house. It has been a while since Brad and I took a trip alone and this was so much fun. It was something different than we would have thought on our own, but we loved it. Good company, food and sites to see. 

I was semi nervous to leave the kids. While they are older, it's weird that first time leaving. Not only leaving over night but we were one the opposite side of the country. The three boys were at our house, and Emery went to Jayson's. I think that ended up being the best arrangement that could have happened. The day we left was Zander's birthday, so all the boys hung out all day. This was the picture we got from their time together. 

Thursday my friend Abby had an appointment in town and picked the boys up for lunch. It was nice to have someone check on them. They loved going out to lunch with her as well. 

Because Blogger didn't want to place this where I wanted, This is the Washington Monument, it is really tall. 

Since everyone did so well this trip, I think it's time for Brad and I to start planning our next one.