Our DC Trip

 

"Shelli, do you want me to reschedule the trip to DC?" my husband asks.

"No. I know there won't be as much to see with the government shut-down,

but the trip will still be a great experience.

We might not get to go inside the Smithsonian or other museums,

but we'll get to see amazing monuments outdoors.

It will be worth the trip."

So, I obviously went into this trip with my eyes wide open ...

 

 

This was actually our first airplane flight in over seven years;

so truly, if we didn't see anything in DC, we were totally excited about the plane ride.

We had the back seats all to ourselves on the way there and back!

Awesome! 

As we were taxiing on the runway, I asked Katelyn,

"What do you like best: this plane trip or Rock-n-Roller Coaster at Disney?"

She said, "This plane trip."

I said, "Just wait till we lift off the ground."

"Aren't we already off the ground?" Katelyn asked.

I was tickled to pieces.

"The pilot is about to put the pedal to the metal. Get ready!" I exclaimed.

She held onto the arm rests with all her might ... the pilot put the pedal to the metal,

and we were off the ground.

We laughed ourselves silly.

 

***

 

I'm going to add more pictures than some might appreciate,
but I have family members who have never been to DC.
This was my very first trip, as well.

Outside our hotel, we walked to the entrance of the Metro.

The Metro really made it easy to get around (since we had no car).

 

 

Our first day, my husband took us by Metro and on foot to the White House.

 

 

This is probably where I got my best photo:

 

 

Going home on the Metro, though I had smiles,

a precious lady looked at me and said, "Mom, come take my seat."

She could see my exhaustion right through me.

What a blessing she was to me!

 

***

 

The next day, the girls and I were on our own.

We took the Metro and got off at the Smithsonian stop.

We walked to the Capitol:

 

 

 



 

This was a good walk.

But I also discovered how out-of-shape I am.

Everything was closed down. I figured it would be,

but I was still disappointed when I saw the McDonald's closed.

And with all the museums closed, there were no public restrooms open or places to get drinks/food. So, the girls said, "Mom, let's walk over to the White House to eat at McDonald's."

So, we walked at least a mile and a half there.
We find a concession stand open on Constitution Ave;
what a sight for sore eyes! We had water!
The man said, "You'll need to head that way, pointing to the White House,
for anything 'open' ... I'm about to leave this area because
I'm not making any money here."

I love these photos:

 

 

We passed the Smithsonian on our walk.

The girls could only gaze and wish those doors were open.

But we saw this ... the Colossal Head (as I wondering, "Am I out of my mind?"):

 

 

Here are some other things:

 

 

 

 

The Treasury Department

We passed the Washington Monument. They are repairing/working on it.

 

 

As we returned to the mall area,

I looked down and saw the Lincoln Memorial way off in the distance.

I figured we'd better head that way.
We had two hours left before we needed to head back.

But directly in front of us was the WWII Memorial.

So, I gazed at it, and I thought of my precious Pa-Paw.

He received a Purple Heart; he was shot in the shoulder.

 

 

 Then, we began that long walk down to the Lincoln Memorial,

passing a closed restroom
(there was not a sign revealing the restroom was closed,
so we took a few more steps off the beaten path to figure that out the hard way!):

 

the railing at bottom of stairs was as far as one could go

zooming in

 

I was saddened to know that we couldn't walk up to the monuments.

During the shut-down, I could completely understand museums being closed.

But I couldn't understand being kept away from outdoor monuments.

There were park rangers working, not only to guard the monuments, but to guard the people from going near the monuments.

And that disappointed me.

There were people from all over this world ... I heard so many languages on that walk to the Lincoln Memorial. Their trips had been planned for probably months, maybe a year ... and they couldn't walk up to the outdoor monuments.

Broke my heart.

 

 

But as we were leaving the Lincoln Memorial, this was the view:

 

 

We were exhausted from the walking.

The temperatures were mid to high 80s. I experience much higher temps in Texas, but it was humid and with no place to head indoors for a break, it was rough on this girl.

I kept saying, "I've got to get in shape!"

As soon as we returned to the hotel, we began receiving texts from family and friends wondering if we were okay.

They had seen on the news that there had been a shooting and a car chase at the White House and Capitol.

We barely missed it.

We praised God for our safety.

 

***

 

The next day, we headed to the Spy Museum with my husband.

This was a neat experience.

It started out so educational ... learning about spy equipment, hearing spy testimonies.

But it moved from "history to Hollywood" fairly quickly.

James Bond, anyone?

 

***

We really had a good time.
The shut-down could have been a huge disappointment, and on some levels, it was.
But on the way home,
I looked at Katelyn and asked, "What was your favorite part of the trip? Mine was being with you." She said, "I was going to say the very same thing."
Some of you know we had a real scare lately with Katelyn.
She had cancer as a baby, has one kidney now,
and her kidney protein level tested high.
This could have meant her kidney was having to work too hard.
After retesting, her kidney tested normal.
We were so thankful.
Those things really help put your perspective back in the proper place.
We were altogether, all healthy.
As we boarded that airplane, heading home ... took off,
with a great viewing looking down over the Pentagon ...
I have to admit I got tears in my eyes.
I was so thankful for this chance to see so much history.
It was beautiful.
And we found out the day we left that the government ended up closing down the whole mall area ... people couldn't even walk up toward the monuments.
So, we were especially thankful for our opportunities.

***

My souvenir was a t-shirt that says: "Washington DC" ...
at home today, we headed out to Wal-Mart ...
I covered the wording on my t-shirt up with a jacket,
out of fear that I might get beat-up over
"Washington DC."

People are angry over the shut-down.
But I praise God for our country and our godly heritage,
from our founding fathers to ...
my grandfather.
I love the words on this monument:
"Our liberty of worship is not a concession nor a privilege but an inherent right."
Beautiful.

 

I hope you enjoyed this overview of our trip.

And always remember ...

In a world with shutdowns, shut-ins, shutoffs, shut-outs ...
when it's tempting to see nothing,
may we still shudder when we view God's "all" ...
omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience.
The ONE true God is still all powerful, in all places, all knowing.
In a world of seemingly nothing, there is still something.
Glory!