A day on the Mall

Melissa's sister Sharon arrived in town last Saturday with her three boys. It was exciting to have them here finally. John has been here for two months already and I think that everyone was ready to be reunited. We went to their house for Sunday dinner and had a good time with them, and decided that Tuesday would be a good day to visit Washington DC and the Museums on the Mall. We went back and forth as to whether they would drive down and park, or spend the money to take 5 people on the Metro. In the end, they took the Metro. We met at the Archives and were on our way. We first went to the Air and Space Museum, which has always been my favorite. Melissa and I, not having any kids, didn't bring any bags, and since the Metal detectors there only seem to detect if you are carrying a chunk of metal the size of your head, we walked through and then turned around to see Sharon and John having their bags inspected. We were very sad that we don't have kids at that moment. Our life is much too simple right now. Anyway, the three boys loved the museum. They had seen the new "Night at the Museum" movie and were looking for all the things that they had seen. Unfortunately the effects of too little sleep and waking up early began to show. It was at that point that I thought again, "My life really is too easy, I need some kids." We solved the issues and moved on to the Natural History Museum. The kids all loved the hall of mammals and Justin especially loved the gemstones and crystals. Justin seems to be a geologist in training. The gift shops had lots of neat things and being kids they wanted some, but having just started a new job, and paying rent and Mortgage for a couple months, Sharon and John decided against buying them stuff. Sadness ensued, made worse by how tired the kids were, but we got through. At this point we headed toward the American History Museum. The last time that Melissa and I were here and went to DC we missed the opening of the remodeled museum by a month. We were excited to see it, but with Melissa having an activity that she needed to get home to and the tired kids we were only able to see two of the six wings. It was at that point that I decided I really needed to come back alone. Melissa doesn't get as tired as the kids, or at least is old enough to not let it ruin her day when she is tired, but she looks at Museums like most people read National Geographic: Look at the picture, move on. I was lagging behind because I like to read stuff. I don't generally read whole articles in Nat Geo, but I do like to read the blurbs that go with the pieces. Regardless of tired children and speedy look throughs, it was a fun day, and we look forward to spending more time with Sharon and her family as they explore the sights of their new home. By the way there are no pictures of the day because we forgot to bring our camera. We'll have to get them from Sharon who had hers.