Sam and the kids flew out to visit me (and Washington, D.C.) during one of my work trips.
Notes from Sam on the travel day:
We arrived at the Salt Lake City Airport, checked in, and went through security in good time. With over an hour to kill, we wandered through Terminal A getting food from various locations for the kids to eat something before boarding the plane. I was dragging my carry-on bag, holding a small pizza box, while balancing a fountain drink and waffle on top of the pizza box. The kids had their bags and they were holding water bottles and other food items. With all our items, I told the kids to descend the escalators to the B terminal where we would go to our gate and eat our food. Douglas and Penny got on without a problem. Diana got on next. I was behind her. However, as she was getting on, she panicked and failed to grab her carry-on bag. I snatched it with my right hand along with my carry-on bag. However, I couldn’t lower the handle of her bag, making it awkward to hold and balance. I dropped her bag, which Diana caught on her left side. In my effort to grab her bag, the fountain drink I was balancing on the pizza box in my left hand tipped over and spilled down the escalator. Luckily, no one was in front of us, the drink spilled on the left side, Diana was on the right, and somehow the drink missed the majority of Diana’s carry-on (a few sprays got on the front and were easily washed off). Wow! We were lucky!! That could have been so bad if the lemonade spilled all over Diana, her bag, or someone else. Nothing got on us or our shoes.
Funny things from Penny and Diana while we were on the plane flights:
Diana (sitting by the window, about 30 minutes until landing in Houston for our layover): “Hey Mom! When I look down it looks like Google Earth!”
Penny (headphones on, engrossed in watching Bluey. We haven’t pulled away from the gate in Houston yet. She turns to me and yells): “Have we launched yet?!” I explained that we still needed to leave the gate. She was enjoying her show!
Diana (Descending into Washington DC. Diana sitting at the edge of her seat, feet not touching the ground says): “I am levitating!”
The next day, Sam took the kids to the National Air and Space Museum.
Standing in front of Dusty Crophopper.
Tiny Douglas next to the Discovery space shuttle.
We spent our first weekend in the Williamsburg, Virginia area. Here we are touring the Peyton Randolph house.
Our weekend in Williamsburg was the only time during the two-week vacation when the kids needed their little fans. It was hot and humid!
Touring the capitol building in Williamsburg.
Learning how to play "Game of Graces".
Visiting the "gaol" (jail).
I think the kids enjoyed the indoor pool and hot tub at the hotel as much as (or more than) anything else in the Williamsburg area.
Next, we drove over to historic Jamestown.
Native American village at Jamestown
Upon seeing the skin of a dead fox, Diana exclaimed, "I would rather see all the humans in the world go extinct than have a fox be killed."
I bought a large sun hat for the trip. It didn't work well in the wind.
We got to see part of a church built hundreds of years ago in Jamestown.
On Sunday of that weekend, we drove back to Northern Virginia to visit our good friends, Mary and Josh Carlson and their three girls, Annabelle, Clara, and Emmy. Sam hadn't seen Mary in eight years or so. I made crepes for everyone and the kids had fun playing together while the adults caught up a bit.
On Monday, 19 May, I worked while Sam took the kids to George Washington's Mount Vernon.
Here they are with Martha Washington.
They even got to see a snake as they waited for the shuttle to take them back to the visitors center.
Tuesday and Wednesday, 20-21 May: Sam and the kids rode the metro into D.C. where they visited the U.S. Supreme Court building, the U.S. Capitol building, the U.S. Botanical Garden, the Washington Monument, Arlington Cemetery, and the Pentagon Memorial.
They also saw the Florida Gators men's basketball national champions touring the capitol at the same time. The Gators met with President Trump at the White House the next day.
From Sam's journal:
One of the players on the team, a freshman named Olivier Rioux, stood out and above all the people in the room--literally. He is 7’9”! I did a Google search and found out he is from Quebec, Canada, and was 6’1” at 8 years old. He is the Guinness World Record holder for being the tallest teenager.
Botanical Garden
Washington Monument
We played Rook, Hearts, Spoons, and a fun game we picked up in Williamsburg called "Shut The Box". We also enjoyed watching some of the NBA playoffs and the Women's College Softball World Series.
On Thursday, 22 May, we woke up earlier for our appointment to tour the White House.
The Oval Office is in the background of this photo. That was not part of the tour. 😁
I tried to put on a tough, Trump face, but ended up with a crazy face. Some would say there's no difference between the two, but this blog will try to remain apolitical. Hehe.
Diana's favorite room in the White House: the library
Now I know why President Trump spends a decent amount of time at his Mar-a-Lago residence. The White House is old! I'm sure his Florida residence is far more modern. Regardless, that was a neat experience for us to tour the historic residence of every U.S. president except George Washington.
We walked from the White House to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. There's nothing fancy about that place, but I enjoyed the tour. They only make bills there. No coins. You aren't allowed to take pictures of the machinery during the tour. We saw them printing the new version of the $100 bill, which will be released later this year. We also learned that the paper they use to make the bills is a mixture of linen and cotton, and it is illegal to purchase that particular kind of paper. It is only used for U.S. currency.
On Friday, 23 May, we relaxed in the morning and then we drove to Gravelly Point in Arlington, Virginia, where we watched the planes take off from Ronald Reagan National Airport.
The kids sang "Happy Birthday" to their cousin, Denali, in the morning before we left the hotel, but I'm too lazy to move the other photos and video to put this video in the proper order. 🙃
Following our plane-watching adventure, we stopped by the townhouse where Sam and I met for the first time in April 2012. Sam and her roommates lived there at the time. I came to drop off our friend, Dustin, who wanted to watch General Conference with Sam. The rest, as they say, is history!
The townhouse is located on Glebe Road.
That evening, we picked up Dustin and went to a Washington Nationals baseball game. I wish we had recorded Dustin's reaction when we arrived at his apartment complex and he saw Sam in the vehicle. It was cute. He was so happy! He didn't know Sam and the kids were in town. Sam hadn't seen Dustin in person in about seven years.
The Nationals played the San Francisco Giants and ended up losing 4-0, but we had fun and the game was not as long as we anticipated. The next day, the Nationals beat the Giants 3-0. In fact, I found out that the Nationals had won six of their last seven games. Which one did they lose? The one game we attended. Ha!
It was cold and windy at the baseball game, but they still wanted ice cream.
Saturday, 24 May: A day of relaxation, playing at parks, playing games, watching sports, etc.
Sam took a picture of this lizard at the park.
Sunday, 25 May: We began the day attending our church meetings. Then we drove up to visit the Washington, D.C. Temple visitors center.
In the evening, we drove into D.C. to visit some of the memorials/monuments at night. Here we are at the Jefferson Memorial.
Jumping off the Jefferson Memorial.
WWII Memorial
WWII Memorial with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.
Inside the Lincoln Memorial
Standing where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.
Vietnam War Memorial
Memorial Day (Monday, 26 May) was another chill day for us. We walked the streets of the beautiful neighborhood around the hotel. We played at a park, played games, watched sports, etc.
This is the "etc." part of my previous comment. 😁
Tuesday, 27 May: Surprise! Penny loves pandas. SHE LOVES PANDAS! She talks about going to China one day to see pandas. Sam had the great idea to take the kids to the National Zoo, which I believe is currently the only place in the United States with giant pandas.
Diana with a red panda statue.
Sloth Bear
Otters
Fennec fox
The Tamarin monkeys were my favorite creatures at the zoo.
This photo is for Grandma/Margaret, who loves rodents. 😜
Nemo
We let the kids pick one or two souvenirs during the trip, but we told Penny to wait until the last day to choose her souvenirs. She's happy she waited.
We ate food and played games on top of this hotel-room counter, and sometimes underneath it as well.
Here we are pictured with Angel, the hotel manager who was kind enough to upgrade us (for free!) to their largest suite for the duration of the visit.
I loved having my wonderful family out here with me!
