DC day three

We trekked out Sunday morning to seek out MORE American History. Not hard to find in DC!

We hit the American History Museum and saw the American flag that was the inspiration of the Star Spangled Banner. We also did the Abraham Lincoln exhibit. There were some neat items on display like the hat he wore the night he was shot, his suit coat from the inauguration and all sorts of other items. Of course Kris, Liz and Joan (Kris's mom) all wanted to see the First Lady's inaugural gown exhibit. I, of course, could do with out it but got to pick where I wanted to go which was Julia Child's kitchen! The First Lady's gown exhibit was a dud. Only about eight gowns on display and no, Mrs Obama's was not there. The Julia Child's exhibit ROCKED! It was her WHOLE kitchen. They also had little snippets of her TV show running. Very funny lady. We all decided that our favorites there were the flag followed by Julia's kitchen!

Next we headed to the Holocaust Museum. So, I really didn't want to go to this museum as it is a DEPRESSING subject. I realize this is history and I know history that is forgotten is bound to repeat itself. Let me just say, I feel bad for what happened to the people and how tragic it was but do we really need three floors to remind us of it? I mean there are only so many pictures or films of people being killed and falling into a pit with other dead bodies and then buried or burned that I can handle. The most moving thing I saw was the story of this young lady at the time that had been in the camp for three years and was liberated by an American soldier whom she later married. The stories the survivors told were amazing and emotion. You could see the terror, hate and sadness in their eyes and to me that was enough. It was a very somber museum and one place I would not need to go back and see again.

We headed back to Union Station for our Monuments by Moonlight tour. This was really amazing to see and our tour guide was a blast. They take you by all the important buildings in DC and then would let you off the trolley at certain points to get closer views of the FDR Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, plus other sites. If you get a chance to do this tour it is wonderful and well worth the money. You can pick up the trolley at Union Station but reservations are recommended!

Kris giving the Rangers a hard time!