On the first day of our DC adventure, the Pope was addressing the masses on The Mall with a parade to follow. We decided to stay clear of that area until later in the day when the insanity died down. People are crazy. On every corner there were people selling Pope shirts, hats, key chains, bags, etc. It was quite entertaining. I was going to buy Mitch a Pope shirt but he said "No, no thank you."
National Archives
This was our very first stop on "our tour." What a great place to start. LOVE, love, LOVED seeing the documents that are in this building. It is amazing the time, energy, and respect that go into protecting the documents that our country was founded on. They have armed guards standing next to the documents! Wish I could have taken some pictures but like a lot of things in D.C. no cameras were allowed. Every building in Washington D.C. has the most awesome architecture, the massiveness of the buildings are unbelievable!
National Portrait Gallery
We
went to the National Portrait Gallery and got our fill of culture. I
didn't take one picture while I was in there. They did have some cool
things. They had a big framed picture of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.
They also had pictures of the gallows and hangings of people that were
involved in Lincoln's assassination. Like I said, lots of culture :)
Ford's Theater
Visiting Ford's Theater was surprisingly one of my favorite things we did! (I do have to say, that everything was my favorite so my biased opinion probably is of little use to any one.)
I should have zoomed out when taking this picture because it is fascinating to see how all around the theater is being updated and look like shops from 2015 but they keep the theater the exact same. You are walking down a normal street with normal stores and then just like that you are standing in front of FORD'S THEATER. I also loved how the still have shows playing in the theater and on any given night you could attend a play in FORD'S THEATER. Crazy.
We were able to peek into the balcony room and see where Lincoln was shot. They had a huge museum with everything you would want to know about the assassination. I loved the artifacts they had. They had everything from Lincoln's theater tickets to the suit he died in (the blood still on it), the gun that killed him, and his famous hat!
White House
We originally were hoping to go on a tour of the White House but with the Pope in town no tours were taking place the week we were there. The security around the White House was intense due to the Pope being there that morning and there was lots and lots of extra fencing up. Washington DC owns lots of fencing, BTW.
On a side note: The amount of people I saw using "selfie sticks" in DC was pretty incredible. I didn't think people really used them. I now take that back!
The Monuments
We walked around the Mall and the Tidal Basin to see all the monuments on it and in the surrounding area. That is not a short walk! By the time we were finished for the day we all could barely walk. When we were done that night we limped back to the hotel and into bed.
Memorial of the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Vietnam Wall
A Vietnam vet spoke to us at the wall and explained that the men with diamonds next to their name were killed in action. The names with crosses next to their names are men missing, presumed dead. When they find a missing person they then put a diamond over the cross.
Korean War Memorial
World War I Memorial
We thought it was a little strange that Washington DC has so many monuments to so many different events and people and this is the only one for World War I. It actually is a monument to the men and women who served in World War I from the District of Columbia.
Lincoln Memorial
What an absolutely beautiful monument. It is huge and I love how when you go in them there are signs to be quiet to show respect for the person and events that took place.
I LOVE the thousands of different inscriptions that are all over these monuments!
Martin Luther King- I have a dream speech location
WWII Memorial
This was a beautiful memorial for WWII. While we were there, lots and lots of veterans were there to pay their respects. It was a very touching sight, to see them there.
Martin Luther King Memorial
FDR Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
We were lucky to walk around the Tidal Basin (some in my group would disagree!) because none of the transit was running due to the Pope. We got to walk next to the famous Cherry blossoms and mom even dipped her blistered feet in the water.
Random Memorials
There is a memorial on every corner of DC. If you took your time to read every inscription it would take months. I didn't take a picture of all of them, there was just too many!! I did try to soak in all of it and can say that I LOVED and enjoyed every minute of it.
