Dana Visits Washington D.C.

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The Library of Congress

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Apollo Command Module at the Air and Space Museum

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The Wright Brothers' Airplane at the Air and Space Museum

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A Panda at the National Zoo

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Bureau of Printing and Engraving where they make our money

My family and I went to Washington, DC for a vacation. We arrived on Tuesday at our hotel called the Omni. It was beautiful. We had a big room on the first floor. That night we went out to dinner with our friends.

The next day, we went to the Library of Congress. It is the biggest library in the world. I loved all the paintings on the ceilings and all the beautiful statues. Then we went to the Supreme Court. We listened to what happens during a trial there. Then we went to the Capitol. That afternoon we visited the Air and Space Museum. We saw the Apollo and the Gemini command modules, some old nuclear missiles and all the things the astronauts need in space. I touched a moon rock and walked through an actual space shuttle. We also saw the Wright Brothers exhibit with the first plane and Amelia Earhart’s red airplane.

On Thursday, we went to the National Zoo. The lions and tiger were incredibly loud. They kept roaring at each other. My mom really loves the pandas and we watched them for a long time. I loved watching the hippos. One hippo was playing in the water with his big red ball. His teeth were huge! That night we went to Annapolis to visit Mimi, my great-grandma. We played with Bentley, the dog, while we were there.

On Friday, we went to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. We got to see how money is made. Then we went to the International Spy Museum. It was really cool! We got to climb through the heating ducts just like a spy would. There were all different kinds of cameras that spies would use to take pictures. Some were in buttons and some were in glasses. That night we went to Georgetown for dinner.

On our last day, we walked for miles and miles. We started at the Jefferson Memorial, then we walked to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the Veteran’s Memorial. Since it was Veteran’s Day weekend we saw a lot of men who fought in our wars. There were bands playing and bagpipes and lots of singing. We also saw the Native American Indians marching across the Memorial Bridge chanting their songs. We walked all the way to Arlington Cemetery. We saw the Eternal Flame by John F. Kennedy’s grave and we also saw the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. The graveyard was really big and had rows and rows of graves for all the men and women who fought for our country. After the Cemetery, we went to our last stop, the White House. There were so many police guarding the House and our President who lives inside.

I really enjoyed my trip to Washington, DC. I was able to learn so much about the history of our country. I think it was even more special because it was Veteran’s Day weekend and I got to see how proud everyone is to be an American.

large view The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial	large view Veteran's Day Tribute at the World War II Memorial
large view The beartiful fountain at the World War II Memorial	large view The Washington Monument from across The Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial
large view The Eternal Flame at the Grave of President John F. Kennedy	large view Arlington National Cemetary
large view My family in front of the White House