Thanksgiving Travels or "The Ridiculously Long Post that Probably Only Family Will Enjoy (And May Even Be Too Long for Them!)"

This year we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving by visiting Washington D.C. Here are some of the highlights:

As soon as we arrived, we put on our walking shoes. Our hotel (thank you Susan for hooking us up with such luxurious accommodations!) was only a ten minute walk from the National Mall so we set out on foot and avoided the traffic. We were told that the monuments were prettiest at dusk, and they didn't disappoint. I'm only sad that we couldn't get pictures of everything - the Vietnam memorial was particularly beautiful.

In front of the WWII memorial with the Washington Monument in the background.

Walking along the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Memorial.

(I know this picture is fuzzy, but I love the way it looks!)

Admiring the Lincoln Memorial

After walking up and down the Mall, we were pretty beat. We headed back to the hotel to rest up for the next day. Thanksgiving Day was spent at the National Museums. We feasted on the exhibits at the National American History Museum and the National Air and Space Museum.

C3PO Costume

Julia Child's Kitchen

Michelle Obama's inaugural gown - it was so beautiful in person!

Vietnam War Helicopter

My favorite exhibit at the American History Museum was "The Star Spangled Banner". (Click on this link for pictures!) They had the actual flag that inspired our National anthem on display. It was huge and I was surprised at the sense of awe and reverence I had while looking at it.

Both boys LOVED the air and space museum! How could they not with all the cool planes hanging from the ceilings?!?

By the end of the day we were spent and ready for a Thanksgiving feast.

We headed to the wharf...

So fresh they are still moving! Kyle was mesmerized by the wriggling pile.

That evening we enjoyed a delicious, unconventional Thanksgiving feast of Atlantic blue crabs, steamed corn and freshly baked rolls.

Who says the Indian's didn't serve steamed crab?!?

On our last day we visited the National Building Museum. The kids were delighted to have some hands-on, down-time.

And it just so happened that they had a LEGO exhibit. Check out this recreation of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai made entirely of LEGOs!!!

AND they had a killer LEGO playroom...

After this it just couldn't get any better so it was time to head home. We didn't make it to the White House this time (the closest we got was driving past the front gate!), but did I mention that Kyle ran into President Obama at the food court in the Old Post Office?

Tee! Hee! (*wink* *wink*)

We had a wonderful time exploring our nation's capital city but we missed being close to friends and family this year. We hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving!