This was the last full day of the trip and as per usual it was jam packed even though I had to work the next day. We were at the National Archives by 9:30 AM waiting to get in at 10:00 AM. We were the second group in line. While were waiting in line we talked to a family from Colorado who were in DC to vacation and be with a high schooler in the family who was competing in an event in DC. Also while waiting to get into the National Archives, buses of middle school student poured. So it was a good we arrived early to avoid any delays while looking at the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, or Bill of Rights. The only words you could actually read on the Declaration of Independence were "John Hancock" because all of the other words were so faded. I had gone to the National Archives before before when there was a long line to the National Archives and it took a long time to see the documents. Seeing the documents made both of our faces light up. We were looking at history. We were looking at what our founding fathers wrote. We were looking at the foundation of greatest country the world has ever known.
After the National Archives, we ate cupcakes and drank hot chocolate at Red Velvet. The cupcakes were some of the best cupcakes I have ever eaten. I would say the cupcakes were better than Georgetown cupcakes. I got Southern Belle, which is a red velvet cake with a cream cheese frosting, and Cookies and Cream, which is a chocolate cupcake with a butter cream frosting.
The next place we visited was the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum. The portrait gallery portion of the museum was more in a sense a history museum. We were able to the face of famous people from the beginning of the country up to the present. Some of the notable portraits were Pocahontas John D. Rockefeller, Walt Whitman, and George Patton. My favorite section was the portraits of the Presidents. The section included portraits of every president from Washington to Bush 43. The section also included the life mask of Abraham Lincoln.
Our last major stop of the trip was the Ford's Theater were Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The first stop on the tour was a museum in the basement of theater. The museum chronicled Lincoln from being elected to the presidency through the Civil War and his assassination. The museum included the actual gun that John Wilkes Booth used to kill Lincoln. I was not aware the gun was on display until I arrived at the museum. Next the entire tour group sat down in the reconstructed Ford's Theater (I am not going to get into the details of the building. You can read about it on your own time). A park range came on to the stage to give an account of the events leading up to the assassination and the night of the assassination. After exiting the theater, we went to the Petersen House where Lincoln was taken after getting shot and died. The building besides the bed room where Lincoln died has been turned into a museum about what happened immediately after his death (i.e. the death march from Washington DC to Springfield, IL) and Lincoln's legacy.
To end the day we went to Pi Pizzeria in Washington DC. This way I would have lunch for the next day. The deep dish pizza was decent. It is not as good as Chicago deep dish pizza. Our waiter was a law graduate from Drake University in Des Moines, IA. She moved out to DC in October for the more plentiful opportunities in her chosen field of public policy. Our final activity was seeing the White House lit up at night. We wanted to go to the Lincoln Memorial, but it was too far of a walk. While we were taking pictures, couple got engaged right next to us. It was a nail biter as the woman did not say the magic word (i.e. "Yes") right away. haha.
Overall, it was a great trip! I loved being able to spend quality time (my #1 love language) with my Mom. With me being out here on my own, I now see all the work and love she gave while I lived Iowa. I also appreciate it more because I now know it is not as easy as I thought was to work and love like my Mom. The previous statement applies to my Dad as well.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ford's Theater Sign
The Gun used to Kill Lincoln
My Mom and a Lincoln Statue in the Ford's Theater Museum
Ford's Theater
Replica of President's Box where Lincoln was Shot
Petersen House
Sign on the Front of the Petersen House
Room where Lincoln Died
Replica of the Bed Lincoln Died
Pile of Books Written about Lincoln in the Petersen House
Magnets available at the gift shop (must have run out of the other kind haha)
My Mom Reading in the Hotel Room
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