Washington, DC - Night Monuments

 

There is a lot going on in our family this year. Olivia has a summer class that she must take this year and each of the other girls have various camps. Addison has NC State Large Animal Science Camp and Horse Camp, and Appalachian Service Project and Emily has Roanoke Christian Camp and Horse Camp. Addison also has a school trip to Scotland and Ireland. Time is tight and so is money but we did make way for a four-day trip to Washington, DC. This is a stop at the rest area in Virginia.

When we arrived in Washington and got settled into our hotel, it would not be long before we had to make our way to a scheduled evening tour of the monuments. Off to the Metro.

We had dinner at Union Station. We all chose something different and had just enough time to eat and appreciate the architecture before we began our tour.

When I went to Washington many years ago for a vacation, I went on a evening tour of the monuments. There was only one of them then and it worked out perfect; you see all of the same things without the heat. Fast forward to this trip and every tour company does night monument tours and all of them were full. We did find, however, that since our party was large we could get a private tour for just a few dollars more. And so, we did. A private tour that was to our liking - wherever we wanted to go for however long we wanted to stay there. And, all of the these pictures were taken by our personal tour guide. As you can see, evening fell during our tour, we began our tour in daylight.

These photos are from the gardens at the National Botanical Gardens.

Capital Hill

This is the church where the incumbent President of the United States has chapel on election day.

A lot to see in Washington but our girls were fascinated with the lightning bugs as the sun began to set.

The Jefferson Memorial

World War II Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Memorial of the Korean War

We didn't get to them all as we wanted to get back to rest but it was a great tour and it did give us the lay of the land.

Magic

 Our last day of vacation is at Magic Kingdom, but first, dinner at Kona Cafe at The Polynesian. Disney's food has struggled this trip as they struggle to find staff but this was one of our best meals at Disney.

From the Polynesian we took this water taxi to the main gate of the Magic Kingdom.

On the dock was this mother duck protecting her little ones,

Small world, Little Mermaid, 7 Drafts Mine Train and then back to the house before lunch for a nice afternoon nap or swim.

We took the boat in for re-entry to find a much crowded Magic Kingdom.

These sisters had time in line while Megan and Olivia rode Big Thunder Mountain.

The fireworks were next.

Give Disney their due. No mater your age at some point in the fireworks shows you feel enchanted - Just like this.

Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Winnie the Pooh and then back to another short boat ride and long walk to our car because Disney is not running the parking lot trams because of some combination of the following 3 reasons: Covid-19, can't find enough drivers, or there is no money to be made with the trams. Great last day at Disney all the same.

Dry Day Wet Night

The last two days of vacation are full Disney Park days. We began our day at Animal Kingdom. There were many rides down which sent the large crowds to the few open rides. Even so we were able to make our way around. We were able to get on the safari before the large crowds came that way.

We got in line for Avatar and some familiar faces came by on boats. 

The line was long and allowed for a lot a pictures in the cue.

Next we found the end of the line for Expedition Everest and stood in the line. Though the lines were literally 1/4 to 1/2 mile long it is amazing how fast they move.

At 2:00 we hoped over to Epcot where we had lunch reservations at San Angel in Mexico. These clouds that you see were not just putting on a show - they had serious weather in mind.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends

Trading pins become a major concern for all of our girls. Here they are trading at the Seas pavilion.

The food and garden festival was going on at Epcot. I can't believe I didn't get more pictures of these topiaries. Oh well, at the end of the day I guess they really are just bushes.

We rode just about everything at Epcot (which is under very heavy construction). I came with two goals: See the fireworks and hear Voices of Liberty. The weather cancelled Voices of Liberty and the Fireworks; well, we had a long day and had ridden all there is to ride in Epcot. We were wet and cold in a steady rain and there was three hours left before the fireworks. I really wanted to see the fireworks but even I could not vote for that long of a wait - I will see the new show on the next visit.

 Home at a decent hour and everyone went to bed as soon as we got home.