Our fifth and last full day in DC was on Friday. I had no idea how much we'd actually crunched into the day until I loaded up all our pictures. Wow. Here is a quick run through:
9AM: Ford's Theater to see the location of Lincoln's assassination. I remember coming here when I was ten years old, but the visit is so much more with the new visitor's center, as well as another one across the street at The Peterson House.
Thank gawd for my son's newfound love of American history. I doubt I knew much of Lincoln when I first came here thirty years ago, and still, I've never forgotten the experience. We've read, watched and listened to lots on our 16th president this fall, and it of course made our visit that much more meaningful - for the both of us!
A visit to The Peterson House is quick, but powerful. Once you've walked through the back room where Lincoln took his last breaths, you take an elevator upstairs and step out into April 15, 1865, the day after he was shot, and the day the manhunt for his killer began.
I read somewhere that there have been over 16,000 books written on Lincoln, and my son said this stack down the middle of a spiral staircase leading to the exit contained every single one of them. I have not confirmed either, but nevertheless, it's a pretty impressive sight. (btw - we picked up the audio book of Manhunt while in the gift shop - it came highly recommended. We started listening to it today and it's incredible - so beautifully written. There is so much more to that night of April 14th, 1865, than you could dream of.)
11 AM: Ok, ok, ok - did you know you can tour NPR's new building in DC? Neither did we, nor anyone else we spoke to! I happened to stumble on the ad one day while listening to one of their podcasts with the kid. We thought it sounded super cool and so we signed up. It's not the most exciting thing we did, but certainly worth the visit if you have the time and are a fan of public radio
Hanging out with Bob Boilen of Tiny Desk Concerts! The nice guys of NPR saw my camera and said "You need a Tiny Desk Concert photo with your son." Towards the end of our tour we got to watch some TDCs in a sound room and I absolutely fell in love with this Oregon band: Typoon
"From NPR news, this is All Things Considered." :D
After our tour concluded, we walked down to Union Station for a quick bite and look around. We never intended to spend the next two hours at The National Postal Museum next door. Uh-uh. Wasn't even on our radar.
1PM: The National Postal Museum is another one of those stops, like The Newseum, where we had no intention of stopping, but ended up dropping in for a quick peek, and staying for a long stretch. So cool and great for kids.
The kid designs his own stamp.
You don't have to be a stamp lover to get a lot of enjoyment out of this place. There really was something for everyone.
Above, the 9yo plays this game where you have to pick-up, identify, and sort the packages ASAP. A sensor, connecting box to drop, keeps track of your score.
3:30PM: The National Building Museum was one place we wanted to go under the understanding they had a Buckminster Fuller exhibit, an architect and inventor kid had just studied. Turns out the exhibit no longer exists, we did however, manage to run through some of their others before ending up in the kids building room. Next, we wrapped up our museum/tour spree with a stop at The National Portrait Gallery (5:00PM). On our way there, we caught sight of these amazing street performers:
6:30PM - Lincoln - the sister restaurant to Day 4's Teddy and the Bully Bar where the floors are tiled with pennies, and the decor plays a twist on the mid-nineteenth century. Drinks and pendent lighting are served up in mason jars, dishes pay tribute to American classics, and mama might have even picked up a t-shirt for herself. A super fun way to unwind and dine after a long, long day of site seeing in our nation's capital.
***NOT ACTUAL SIZE!!!
Meet three of my all-time favorite people: Mr. Noodle, Miss Frijoles and The 8 year old.
