DC-Air and Space Museum and Museum of Natural History

After checking out the Washington memorial,

We went to the Air and Space museum. Kids checked out the luggage display.

Kyleigh particularly enjoyed the minnie mouse suitcase. Maybe she still remembers Disneyland from the summer.

So strange to think there was a time when to fly you wouldn't go into a terminal or through security and the plane took off on a grass field.

When Trent saw this giant airplane, he got wide eyed. His dad flew this exact type of plane. I've never been in a double deck airplane. It was neat that they let us go inside. Trent said his Dad would sometimes go to the airport, point to the screen of departures and ask him where he wanted to fly that day. Pretty cool.

the inside




I think someone told me that when you flew back in the day, you would dress in your nicest clothes and it was a real formal experience. Not the dress down sweats that so many fly in today.

What it would have been like to live in a time when the train and plane thing was just coming into popularity.

Golden Age of Flight room

Visited Mars and a few planets.

Kyleigh was either like this...

or this....as she ran from exhibit to exhibit. The kids actually did well. We told them before going out that they need to stay close by and not get lost or ran over. There were no close calls or times of alarm. Something you have to worry about when taking two small children to a location that sees 1,000s of people daily.

Just wanted to make sure that I was the one to take this girl home along with her brother.

Kyleigh thought she was funny when she pulled her skirt over Trent's head.

On the way from the Air and Space museum to the Museum of Natural History, we walked through the sculpture gardens. As we passed the water, a strong wind kicked up and sprayed Trent and Kyleigh. They didn't mind much, and probably dried by the time we got to the next stop.

Oh, and they had a butterfly garden area that we walked through. Took us awhile to find one.

This is the dinosaur that Kyleigh liked. The guy inside the glass room was working on some kind of fossil. I already forgot.

No animatronics. We need Ben Stiller to come back to work at the museum. Or at least that tablet from the old Egyptian prince guy.

In case you were in the market to shop for your god:

#4 just didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the items.

Picking up design ideas.

Resting our feet while watching Deep Sea stuff.

Throw in something about Marie Antoinette, King Louis XVI and Grand Duchess Tatiana, and these diamond earrings have a storied history.

Napoleon may not have been the easiest guy to work with, but at least he knew how to gift.

325 diamonds in one necklace? Definitely deserves a spot in the Smithsonian.

No one attempted to steal this while we were there. Very uneventful. Even the security guard was on his phone while we all snapped photos.


 So much fanfare for an sparkling piece of rock.

Trent and Brenden went through the diamond and jewelry part of the museum quickly, but Kyleigh really liked all the sparkly objects. And was very happy when they finally had one she could actually touch.

Having lived in Chile for a time, I was extremely excited to see a whole section dedicated to the miners who were trapped. Very cool. One of the quotes reads, "I waited for death and was tranquil. I knew that any moment the lights would go out and it would be a dignified death".

Timeline.

I didn't realize before how deep they were.

I don't know about you, but to go over 2,000 feet in a cylinder like the one above where you can't move more than inches in any direction and darkness is all around, would be....not pleasant.

Kids really liked this. Push a button and a light come on. What it means? They have no idea, but to them, it was neat.

Kyleigh was happy creating volcanic eruptions.

So much to remember once you pass through to the other side to make it safely past all the dangers of the Netherworld. Good thing they had it all carved in. Like a giant cheat sheet.

Snake bones. Fascinating.

So much to see, so little time.

Some exhibits had just bones, others were done with full animal skin and action shots.

The kids and I waited around while Trent walked/ran all the way back through the museums, mall, memorials and to Arlington cemetery where we left the car. Which actually was a nice tip from Trent's sister. It was cheaper than paying the metro and we got home quicker as well. So nice to be married to a man who has endless amount of energy. Kids enjoyed playing in the dirt and sand rather than walk another 20 minutes to the car. Ok, Mom did too.

To my left, we saw the Washington memorial.

To my right was the Capitol building.

Directly in front was the Museum of Natural History (with numerous on either sides and behind me as well)

I hope we can go back again, maybe in another 10 years? The kids might remember a little more. They said they had a great time. No roller coasters or swing sets, but they seemed pretty entertained. At least when we got home, they said they wanted to go back to DC.

The Castle that was taken down (in Europe I think?) and brought here...brick by brick.

Trent and I followed soon after.