A Free Day in the City

Jayla at the WWII memorial with the Lincoln memorial in the background.

Tuesday was our last full day in Washington DC and was free for us to do as we wished.  While we were tired from our late night at the Air & Space Museum and the weather was questionable at best, we decided we wanted to make the most of our day - but do it smart.  That meant getting an early start to try to beat the rain.  It also meant relying on taxis instead of trying to walk everywhere.  That definitely saved us!

After a quick bite to eat - Jayla has discovered she loves the blueberry muffins at Starbucks - we headed out, catching a cab to the WWII memorial.  It wasn't a far drive and we could easily have walked it, but it was nice to save our energy.  This drop off location also gave us a chance to see the Washington Monument up close as it was right across the street.

WWII Memorial

We spent quite awhile checking out the WWII memorial.  It wasn't there the last time I was in DC, and it's a beautiful monument with lots of open space and beautiful water features.  Jason particularly enjoyed the monument and took the opportunity to tell Jayla about his grandfather that fought in the Pacific.  I also snuck in a little about my grandfathers who also fought in the war :-)

Dylan finally woke up to check out the WWII memorial

After spending some time at the WWII memorial, we took the short walk to the Vietnam Memorial.  We told Jayla all about how both of her grandfathers had served in the army during the war and how my father had been in Vietnam.  I really like the Vietnam Memorial because of its simplicity and the fact that it actually lists the names of those that gave their life in the war.  It makes it a much more personal tribute.

Vietnam Memorial

Jayla at the Lincoln Memorial

After the Vietnam Memorial, it was just a bit further to get to the Lincoln Memorial which was our primary destination.  Jayla has learned a lot about President Lincoln, so I felt certain she would be impressed by his huge statue.  In typical Jayla fashion, she liked it but wasn't as awe struck as I'd hoped.  We wandered around the Lincoln Memorial for awhile, but Jayla really wanted to go to Ford Theatre.  As we prepared to leave, the skies opened up and it began to pour.  Because my mother must have been a boy scout in a previous life, she had ponchos for everyone.  We got ourselves ready for a rainy trek to our next destination, but the rain had largely stopped by the time we were ready!  The rest of the afternoon just had a light sprinkling of rain, so it didn't slow us down too much.

Jayla was NOT happy about the ponchos.

We had one more stop before heading back towards the hotel and that was the Einstein statue.  It's tucked away just off the mall, but it's a really fun statue because you're allowed to crawl on it.  Unfortunately, it was wet and a little slippery from the rain, but we checked it out anyway.

Jason and Jayla with Albert

Jason had a few ideas to share with Mr. Einstein.

I opted to just share some love!

Jayla's "bad girl" pose with John Wilkes Booth

From there, we caught another cab to Ford's Theatre which took us back close to our hotel as well.  The actual theatre was closed as there was a rehearsal in progress, but we were able to visit the museum in the basement which was interesting.  It provided us an opportunity to talk to Jayla a little bit about the Civil War and slavery.  She was very attentive and agreed that it wasn't fair for one person to get to own someone else.    She enjoyed the theatre but was a bit upset as it wasn't what she expected.  She was hoping for a good movie and some popcorn!  We caught a quick peek at the house across the street from the theatre where Lincoln died and then headed back to the hotel.

I can't believe I originally forgot to mention that I got to visit the Chico's gifting suite.  So fun!  Chico's is a national sponsor of the Champions program and they had a room all set up to treat the mom's in the group.  We were given the opportunity to choose items from a wonderful assortment of jewelry, scarves and belts.  It was so much fun to be able to pick some special - and guilt-free!

The day went very quickly, and we were exhausted so we went with our old stand-by, McDonalds, for dinner and then settled in at the hotel.  After our night routine was complete and mom and the kids were settled into bed, Jason and I took the opportunity to go for a walk.  We covered lots of ground, walking through the downtown area, strolling along Freedom Plaza and then wandering back over to the White House.  It was really nice to have a little time with him although it made for a late night and tired legs!