This past Saturday, Matthew and his best friend Chandler and I, went to Washington, DC to enjoy the warm weather (70F) and visit the Holocaust museum . Recently, Matt has been interested in World War II. To visit Mall in DC, we drive about 75 miles, park and take the closest Metro substation (about 1/2 hour ride) and take the escalator up to ground level only a two blocks from the Washington Monument. Just taking the trip is an adventure in itself. We look forward to the trip every year. However, I was perplexed by the amount of people when we arrived. Usually you park, walk up, get your ticket and you wait - maybe 3 minutes? It looked like 10 buses had dropped off their passengers. What was going on? Nevermind, how long it took me to figure out how to purchase Metro tickets for 3 passengers and which ticket machine to use? After about 30 minutes, and one extra $30 ticket I need to send back for a refund - we still were feeling optimistic.
The ride was nice - with smiles from the boys. We walked a few blocks to the museum in 50 mph winds only to find out that the soonest we could get to see the permanent exhibit was at 2:45 pm. Matt and Chandler had to attend a priesthood session in Newark, DE by 8pm that evening. We did see two exhibits: Don't forget the children, Daniel's Story; and a Nazi propaganda exhibit. The boys were amazed and touched by what they saw. We spent the rest of the day walking along the mall enjoying the sun, the fresh air, and all the different types of people that were there for the festival. We didn't go near the parade or the festivities because I didn't want to lose the boys.
However, we walked probably close to 5 miles that day up and down the mall from the Washington Memorial down to Capitol Hill and along Independence Avenue. We spent a small fortune on hot dogs and soda and then decided we were ready to go home. As we headed towards the Metro we were told that it was now an exit for new people coming up from the subway. We had to double back and take the next entrance a few blocks from Capitol Hill (almost 16 blocks). After finding the 2nd level to our train, we were so happy to see the tram. While feeling our feet tingle, we agreed the day was definitely an adventure. Matt wants to give it another try in a few weeks.
We made it home in time for the boys to change into their dress shirts and ties. Amazingly, the night was just beginning and they were still interested in having their "young mens" night together. After they were picked up by a fellow "Brother", I went to usher at the Smyrna Opera House for the 2nd in a 3 series of "Smyrna's Got Voice" competition.
A great day of culture, art, music, spirituality and friendship/family! How was your Saturday?
2 comments:
Sounds like a great day. The Holocaust Museum is my absolute favorite in DC. They do have that newer ticket kind of system where they pass out free passes or something like that at the beginning of the day. It changed my life the first time I went through and had such an impact on me. Even knowing my way around, I always end up walking soooo much more than I thought possible. Glad you all enjoyed the time - I can't wait to go myself this year!
what a day! This is a crazy time of year to be in DC...the Cherry Blossoms drive people crazy. I have not seen the holocaust Museum yet but I think I would enjoy seeing that. Just watched the movie you had mentioned last week....oh my gosh! moving is all I can say. Glad the boys made it to the priesthood meeting. Brian really enjoyed the one they had in Smyrna...icecream to boot!
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