The Steadman Seven Do DC
In November 2006 I took my wife and 5 children to Washington DC for 10 days of sightseeing and time with family. It was quite a journey to travel with 21 pieces of luggage accross the country. We had a wonderful time visiting most of the monuments and federal buildings. I captured thousands of images during the 10 day trip.
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My wifes more expanded description!
Our Thanksgiving holiday was spent taking a very special trip we had planned for a few years. We went to Washington DC and toured all the historical sights, while spending the holiday with my cousin’s family in Virginia. We used mileage credit for our free airfare and for part of our car rental too. We stayed at my cousin’s house in Dumfries, VA for l0 days. She has five kids and gave us the entire basement downstairs and we enjoyed hiking in her backyard, which was a beautiful forest! She babysat our toddler while we went sightseeing – what a blessing that was!
Before the trip, I researched all the places through the Internet and made a trip notebook with dividers with every category I could think of. I began collecting info for each place, highlighting what was important. I brought the notebook with us, and we used it as our guide. We made it through airline security and even had our 2l pieces of luggage tagged & numbered, with corresponding initials for the contents inside! J
We used a Tourmobile bus that drove us around in DC, with a new bus coming every l5 minutes, taking us to the next place. During the bus ride, we learned so much from the Tourmobile guide who talked about all the places we were seeing. The first day we went to Arlington Cemetery and saw the Kennedy gravesites and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Right after we left, Arlington Cemetery was going into full lock down because a foreign dignitary from Afghanistan was arriving for a ceremony. We then went to the Vietnam Memorial, World War II Memorial, White House Visitors Center, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument.
The second day in DC, we toured the Air & Space Museum and had a personal tour by my uncle, Vernon Grose, who had served on the National Transportation & Safety Board (appointed by President Reagan). He always draws a crowd when he gives a family tour! Chris visited John Glenn’s space capsule, which had orbited the earth right when Chris was born (Feb. 20, 1962). (Chris was named after two astronauts, Christopher Kraft, and John Glenn). We also saw a special collection from the National Museum of American History (since it is closed now). Some of the items were Abe Lincoln’s hat, Mr. Roger’s red sweater, the original Star Wars droids (C3PO & R2D2) and many other interesting items. We then went on to the National Gallery of Art and to the Botanical Gardens.
We learned how to use the Metro – Washington DC’s incredible transportation system! We enjoyed seeing the view off my uncle’s balcony (a high rise near the Pentagon). He told us about 9-11. While he was being interviewed by Fox over the Twin Tower crashes, my aunt was watching the Pentagon explode, standing out on her balcony (we saw the pictures she took). Then my uncle took us on a night tour of all the Monuments, along with Union Station – each one lit up so beautifully (a photographer’s dream)! We even stood in front of the White House fence, seeing the flag raised, which meant the President was home. He pointed out the bedroom windows and that the lights go out each night at 9:30pm. We even walked by the President’s little yellow church.
On our third day in DC, we had a private tour of the Capitol, arranged through my sister (who used to work for the Senate Appropriations Committee), who had a friend, Debbie Halverson, who was the Assistant State Office Liaison; Senate Sergeant at Arms. (Debbie’s father used to be the Chaplain for the Senate for many years – Dick Halverson). The tour was by one of Barbara Boxer’s staff assistants, who personally took us around for over an hour, explaining everything, answering questions, and even taking us on the Senator’s underground subway to and fro. We then toured the Supreme Court and ate in the Supreme Court’s dining Room. In the Library of Congress, we saw the Gutenberg Bible, the Bob Hope Museum, and Lincoln’s pocket contents from the day he was shot. In the Archives, we saw the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. Then we went to the National Museum of Natural History, and saw the Hope Diamond along with many other magnificent items from all these places! We really appreciated the wonderful short, informative movies that briefly educated us as we arrived so as we toured, we really could understand what we were seeing.
On another day, we toured beautiful Mt. Vernon (the home of George Washington). They have a new educational center and museum with a very good movie in an interactive theatre. We enjoyed our seats that shook with gunfire, lighting that flashed, snow falling, and wind blowing, that brought the whole battlescene to life for us. We came out having a completely different view of our first President, and all that he did to serve our country. Did you know George Washington had two horses shot out underneath him and was grazed by a bullet during a battle? Hearing that 5,000 people had toured Mt. Vernon the day after Thanksgiving made us appreciate that we were there on a weekday, with no lines, and hardly anyone with us!
One weekend, we took a side trip to Williamsburg, VA to see tour Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, and Historic Jamestown. We spent two days just exploring these places, and stayed in a hotel (ask Briana about the piece of glass in her dinner!) Williamsburg was a true walk into a very historically alive town, with a real live re-inactments, demonstrations, and hours of things to see. Jamestown had many hands-on activities for the kids, with live demonstrations of that time period. Chris’ favorite part was when he was on the ship, his cell phone fell into the deep waters of Jamestown, never to be seen again….! He took about 550 pictures a day, and we are hoping to make a coffee table style book of his magnificent shots!
As well as seeing all the sights, we made time for celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday, and enjoyed seeing l0 second cousins bond and connect for years to come. We are so grateful for this trip and for what God provided for us. For any of you thinking of going to DC, it is well worth the time, investment, and effort to experience with your family!
Christopher Steadman
CS550 Project 2B