A Stroll Down Pennsylvania Avenue

Our sole plan and goal on Friday, November 2 was simply to stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue. Though we had a couple must-see attractions on our list, FLEXIBILITY was our middle name! No agenda, no time schedule...just a leisurely walk down the streets of history.

We began at the Capitol, walked past the Supreme Court, and onward toward the National Archives. Now I'd love to say that our boys were chomping at the bit to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights because of their deep, abiding love for history! And while there may be some truth to that, the bigger reason for their anticipation was the knowledge that Ben & Riley (of National Treasure fame) had stood in the exact spot we found ourselves standing that morning! Oh, who am I kidding? I thought that was pretty cool, too!One of my greatest delights on this vacation was watching our boys interact with my parents; observing as my dad and mom explained their remembrances of certain time periods. Perhaps this was most true on this morning as we visited the U.S. Navy Memorial. My dad, a proud navy veteran, explained with passion what it was like to serve during Vietnam. Pointing to each of the pictures portrayed in the memorial, his memory was stirred as he described the images to our boys. My mom, too, recalled what it was like waiting for her sailor to come home. This is one of my many treasured memories from our vacation.







We continued on to the Old Post Office, and finally we reached our long-awaited destination: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!