We5AmeriKings 2018: Day 4

Believe it or not, D.C. was the kids' choice for summer vacation. I'm not sure who got it in their head first, but all three of them decided we should visit and I just planned the trip around this request. I read all the blog posts about DC recommendations and the consistent voice told me to reserve a self-guided tour at the National Archives so we could beat the crowds. This was basically a fast-pass at Disney. We timed our train ride in just perfectly and arrived right as they were opening, walked right in and sat in awe of our nations founding documents. 

Kind of my favorite part of the whole morning was that we weren't allowed to take any pictures - I simply just enjoyed the time with them instead of taking pictures of them "enjoying time". What a concept! I can't really describe the feeling of standing around a document that is filled with so much meaning and significance. Overwhelmed. Grateful. Proud. And even sad that the intentions and meaning of all those words don't ring true for each of us. And hopeful that one day they will. 

As we were crossing back to our next stop I told the kids "Ok, when I say stop... turn and look at me and smile and then cross the street!" 

They thought this was the best thing ever!

We try to do at least one thing that each kid will LOVE when we go on vacations and we knew that the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum would be right up our budding artist's alley.

I didn't expect all of us to love it so much! They had this entire interactive exhibit that allowed the kids to create movies and their own silhouette portraits. We could have spend the entire afternoon in this one room and I think they would have been satisfied.  

We weaved our way in between exhibitions and headed to The Courtyard Cafe in between the two museums for lunch. Honestly, it was your typical overpriced "museum cafe" food, but we headed there for a much better reason than fine dining...

One of my oldest friend's lives in D.C. and I selfishly wanted to hug his neck and hear all about life as a newlywed!!

Pro tip: Take the time to see your people while on vacation - worth every single minute of our drive!

Once our bellies were full, we headed into the Portrait Gallery to oooohhhh and ahhhhhh over all sorts of art. I loved catching the kids take it all in...

This was hands down the favorite exhibit of the day. My crummy iphone pics clearly don't do it justice, but this sculpture was incredible. 

There was so much detail in every part of this masterpiece - your eyes were never bored no matter where you looked.  

I know the print is tiny, but if you can... take the time to read about the artist. This piece took 14 years to complete and he died the same year he was done. 

The kids LOVED these giant paintings that would easily take up an entire wall in their rooms. Emmy was especially excited since her bestie, Anna, had just painted the Grand Canyon in art class, declaring that she (Anna) could paint these, too!

And then we made our way into the President's Gallery. This painting of George Washington was commissioned in the 1700s!!! Y'all. THAT IS INSANE!

We of course HAD to go see the two newest additions and regardless of whether or not you loved their politics, these portraits are breathtaking. His is especially vibrant and modern and represents him so well. 

The kids LOVED it!

Ryan was partial to this rendering of JFK...

Bill was the winner for the kids. I mean, they went nuts over this - they thought his was "super creative" and loved the abstract vibe from all the shapes and colors that made up his portrait. 

If you are in DC. those two museums are a must-see. They are located close to the Archives which made for an easy morning for our crew. After a quick snack, we headed across the street to the highly recommended and anticipated.... SPY MUSEUM!

As a note, this is NOT part of the Smithsonian, so there was a cost associated with our entry, but the man working the desk decided that the girls were "so tiny" and let them in for free. I did not argue with him. Ha!

We loved every single thing about this museum. You can select a "secret identity" when you enter the exhibit and use that identity to answer questions as you walk throughout. The kids got to crawl through air ducts to test their ability to stay silent, practice breaking codes, follow clues, and identify persons of interest. 

All of us had a blast walking around, learning tricks of the trade and becoming honorary spies. They even had a special James Bond exhibit that had the movie buff in me extremely excited. 

Would absolutely recommend this as a stop for anyone - so much fun for the adults as well as the kids!

And just like that, day four was complete. We couldn't wait to hop on that train and head back "home" to eat, swim and rest up for what was next.... 

And for your viewing pleasure....