our nations parade showcased elvis and benjamin franklin on the same float
Independence Day parade
sweet holiday headgear
riding the MetroHappy 4th of July! We had a great- very long- day in Washington DC. We all started off the day bright and early. I was not sure how early we needed to be in DC or if the Metro's parking lot would ever fill up- so we headed out early, bright-eyed and bushy tailed (even Andy).
I almost forgot. Emilie and Andy slept on our air mattress. It has a small leak in it, so by the morning, they were half sleeping on air and half on the floor. It was kind of funny.
Anyways, we drove to our favorite Metro station to ride the subway into DC for the morning's Independence day parade. It was not packed at all. Oh well. The parade went down Constituation Avenue, and I found us a nice spot where we had a good view of the parade. Andy and Kraig also had a nice seat on some tree roots. Emilie and I rocked out our fancy and festive headgear for the parade and pretty much the rest of the day. Despite what the boys said, we knew that it was cool- we even got some compliments at the Natural History Smithsonian.
Anyways, the parade was fine- very long- like 2 hours long, and I have no idea what we actually saw in those 2 hours! One new thing, I have never been to a parade that had police lining the parade route- so that was interesting. I was disappointed that the parade did not have more and bigger floats, but oh well. It did have a lot of bands and a lot of ethnic dancing groups, so that was interesting. There were also a lot of big balloons that traipsed down the parade route.
After the parade, we headed to the Old Post Office Pavillion for some air conditioning, seats, and a food court. I am pretty sure that we stayed there for a few hours escaping the heat and resting. David actually broke his ankle a few months ago and is still on crutches. I know that over the course of the day, we walked a few miles, and he did it on crutches. I have been on crutches my fiar share of times.. and they are not fun. He is my hero.
Anyways, while the boys were catching the views of DC from the Post Office Tower, Emilie and I were snacking on some Ben and Jerry's. Next, we went to the Natural History Smithsonian to kill some time before the fireworks. The parade started at 11:45 am and the fireworks were set to go off at 9:15 pm. At the museum, we checked out the Hope Diamond (which actually used to be twice the size that it is now), an exhibit on oceans, an exhibit on space and moon rocks, and saw an Imax movie. I got to touch a rock from Mars and see actual stardust, cool huh? We watched an excellent 3D IMAX movie about the deep sea. It was cool seeing it in 3d except for the part where the moon jellies seemed to surround you... a few of us also got in a little nap.
After the Smithsonian, we walked through the Folklife Festival which was taking place on the National Mall. David got some food there, and I tried yucca (it tasted just like a potato). We found ourselves a nice place on the lawn of the National Mall in front of the Washington Monument. It was definitely busy. I am sure there were over 100,000 people there to see the show. They shoot the fireworks off from the reflecting pool by the Lincoln Memorial. We walked around getting hot dogs and dodging all of the people. The fireworks show was not bad, and it was cool to have the Washington Monument in the foreground.
After the show, we waited in line with another 1000 or so people to get back on the Metro to get back home. I did not forsee that! At least people are saving the environment by using public transportation.
We ended the night sitting around and hanging out. Kraig kept taunting emilie that he would not give her the recipe for the oyster cracker snacks that he makes (called Little Doobers). All in all, I think that everyone had a great time. It was definitely an experience to be in the nation's capitol on the nation's birthday and it was fun having our friends here.
I almost forgot. Emilie and Andy slept on our air mattress. It has a small leak in it, so by the morning, they were half sleeping on air and half on the floor. It was kind of funny.
Anyways, we drove to our favorite Metro station to ride the subway into DC for the morning's Independence day parade. It was not packed at all. Oh well. The parade went down Constituation Avenue, and I found us a nice spot where we had a good view of the parade. Andy and Kraig also had a nice seat on some tree roots. Emilie and I rocked out our fancy and festive headgear for the parade and pretty much the rest of the day. Despite what the boys said, we knew that it was cool- we even got some compliments at the Natural History Smithsonian.
Anyways, the parade was fine- very long- like 2 hours long, and I have no idea what we actually saw in those 2 hours! One new thing, I have never been to a parade that had police lining the parade route- so that was interesting. I was disappointed that the parade did not have more and bigger floats, but oh well. It did have a lot of bands and a lot of ethnic dancing groups, so that was interesting. There were also a lot of big balloons that traipsed down the parade route.
After the parade, we headed to the Old Post Office Pavillion for some air conditioning, seats, and a food court. I am pretty sure that we stayed there for a few hours escaping the heat and resting. David actually broke his ankle a few months ago and is still on crutches. I know that over the course of the day, we walked a few miles, and he did it on crutches. I have been on crutches my fiar share of times.. and they are not fun. He is my hero.
Anyways, while the boys were catching the views of DC from the Post Office Tower, Emilie and I were snacking on some Ben and Jerry's. Next, we went to the Natural History Smithsonian to kill some time before the fireworks. The parade started at 11:45 am and the fireworks were set to go off at 9:15 pm. At the museum, we checked out the Hope Diamond (which actually used to be twice the size that it is now), an exhibit on oceans, an exhibit on space and moon rocks, and saw an Imax movie. I got to touch a rock from Mars and see actual stardust, cool huh? We watched an excellent 3D IMAX movie about the deep sea. It was cool seeing it in 3d except for the part where the moon jellies seemed to surround you... a few of us also got in a little nap.
After the Smithsonian, we walked through the Folklife Festival which was taking place on the National Mall. David got some food there, and I tried yucca (it tasted just like a potato). We found ourselves a nice place on the lawn of the National Mall in front of the Washington Monument. It was definitely busy. I am sure there were over 100,000 people there to see the show. They shoot the fireworks off from the reflecting pool by the Lincoln Memorial. We walked around getting hot dogs and dodging all of the people. The fireworks show was not bad, and it was cool to have the Washington Monument in the foreground.
After the show, we waited in line with another 1000 or so people to get back on the Metro to get back home. I did not forsee that! At least people are saving the environment by using public transportation.
We ended the night sitting around and hanging out. Kraig kept taunting emilie that he would not give her the recipe for the oyster cracker snacks that he makes (called Little Doobers). All in all, I think that everyone had a great time. It was definitely an experience to be in the nation's capitol on the nation's birthday and it was fun having our friends here.
3 comments:
did you get to hear any of the concert in DCon 4th aunt b
no- we were not anywhere near the concert
We heard a little bit of it while passing through to the WWII memorial. No Aretha though...
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