Washington DC -By Ally

The first day we visited Washington DC we where actually staying in 
 Pennsylvania. We had made reservations for a tour of the white house, and when they tell you that you have been accepted for a tour there is no changing dates so we traveled to DC before we were  actually staying in DC.  When Entering the Presidents house, we saw the Blue room, the Red room, the Green room, the East room, State
Dining Room, and the Cross Hall. All these rooms on the East Wing
are used for the background to the Presidents interviews and
speeches to the Nation. 
Later that day, we strolled the streets to
the National Archives. There, we saw the real Declaration of
Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They were
faded and written on sheepskin. Though hard to read, these
documents were a wonder to see because they hold the words that gave
the U.S.A freedom. 
After spending the week in Pennsylvania we traveled back  to DC again. The first week was spent for the most part doing school. On Tuesday of that week we attempted to go to the
National Mall and visit the Washington Monument and the Lincoln
Memorial. We made it to the Washington Monument and had a
beautiful panoramic view of the whole town of Washington DC. That
days temperature was in the twenties and it was painful to go
outside, so we ran quickly to the Lincoln Memorial. I was looking down
at the camera to take a picture, when moments later I was on the
ground and a shot of pain ran up from my ankle to my knee. I had
tripped over a large step and rolled my ankle really bad.  I couldn't walk on it at all and we had to wait outside in the freezing cold while my Dad ran to get the car. 
The rest of the week was full of resting and letting my foot heal. The next
week I was hobbling about DC, and capable of seeing the rest of
the sites. 
We visited most of the Smithsonian Museums, however our
favorites were the Air and Space Museum where the Wright Brothers plane, Amelia Earhart's plane, and the first plane ever to cross the Atlantic ocean were on display. 
The National Gallery of Art was  another one of our favorites where the self portrait of Vincent van Gogh ,Degas’s Little Dancer, and Ginevra de’ Benci by Leonardo da Vinci
are.
At the National Museum of American history we saw the actual U.S Flag that inspired the writing of the Star Spangled Banner by  Francis Scott Key.
The same week we visited all the monuments. The greatest of
these (if there is a greatest) was the Lincoln Memorial. Seeing the
massive statue of our sixteenth president was breath taking, and to
stand where Martin Luther King Jr. stood for his famous speech “I
have a dream” was a very special treat. 
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool  that almost
connects the Washington memorial to the Lincoln memorial was
frozen one of the days and we laughed as we observed the
seagulls slip and slide as they walk on top of the ice. 
It was so cold one day that it actually snowed! Something we never see in
California. Shelby’s birthday landed when we were in DC so we
headed up to Georgetown to eat the most wonderful cupcakes in DC,
Georgetown Cupcakes aka DC cupcakes. 
Our first holiday in the RV was Thanksgiving, and we actually had our cousin Lyndsey over who lives in Maryland. We had a successful Thanksgiving dinner with
delicious turkey made in the crock pot as well as the many other
yummy traditional dishes. 
We had a tour of the Capitol Building and
saw the rooms were the Congress meets as well as the huge
statue collection that they have there. A room in the Capitol was
constructed so that you can whisper on one side of the room and it
could be heard on the other side, but if you talk in the middle of the
room your voice could not be heard well from anywhere in the room.
One other interesting fact about this building is that President Washington made it so that it was the starting point of the street numbers anywhere in the town. We went to see our Uncle in Washington DC! Not really actually… only his picture, but it was still
pretty cool to see my uncles face in the United States Navy
Memorial museum. 
The last of our adventures in DC was to see the
Ford Theatre where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. We saw
many artifacts such as the gun that shot Lincoln, the suit that he
was wearing, the pillow that he laid on, and John Wilkes Booth diary,
boot and weapons he used on that dreadful night. Across the way
was the house in which Lincoln died, and we got to go in and see
the room where that  tragic event took place. After all our
adventures we would drive back to our RV and stop off at our
favorite place to eat “Sardi’s Mexican Grill.” There we were
rewarded with delicious chicken and salad. If you ever are in College
Park, Maryland…. go there. :)