Spring Break 2019

We have crossed the line where Disney is our only destination for vacations.  After years of wrangling TJ and Grant and overcoming their exuberance of wanting everything in any gift shop they come upon we felt it was time to go on a vacation to a destination that didn't include roller coasters or water slides or themed characters.

Lisa booked an Air B&B near Howard University in Washington D.C. and we drove up with Betty to tour the Capitol for three and half days.  We could not have asked for better weather, better behavior from the boys, or better opportunities to see some truly special sights.

 

We arrived on Sunday afternoon and took the boys down to Ford's Theater - 154 years to the day that Abraham Lincoln was shot there - and to the National Mall just to see the sights and let them "get their sillies out" after a long drive up I-95.  DC is full of school trips this time of year.  There were hundreds of High School and Middle Schoolers all over - clearly something we had not planned on.  Washington is also awash with electric, motorized, scooters that people rent to get around.  TJ - clearly drawn to a new 'thing" had to be pulled away from them often. We got up close to the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial before heading back to the house for dinner. 

On Monday, we went to the National Archives to see the nation’s founding documents; The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The military is allowed special access and when we arrived we were ushered into a tour group that had space for five more people!  We saw an original copy of the Emancipation Proclamation - rarely viewed by the public - made available because of the anniversary of Lincoln's assassination. Walking into the rotunda we were a small group in there before the doors opened to the public. 

There is awe seeing those documents.  I have not viewed them in over 30 years.  I saw them - this time, for the first time since I took my oath of office as an Army officer.  Hard to imagine that I have waited until the end of my career see the document(s) I have sworn to defend with my life. 

Grant, always the clown asked the docent where the Declaration of Independence was signed.  The docent was an eighty-something year old retiree and an expert on these documents - very stoic and reverent.  He replied, "Yes, in Philadelphia."  Grant corrected him, "No, at the bottom."  And his parents groaned. 

I do believe that the boys understood the importance of what they saw and I hope they return some day as men to see them again, only with a greater understanding of their importance.

We hustled over to Senator Thom Tillis' office for a guided tour of the capitol building.  Our guide turned out to be the brother of a Fuquay Varina, NC police officer.  We took a cool "subway" ride under the senate office buildings to the capitol.  It was much like Disney's People Mover - maybe there are rides after all.  

We took some great pictures from the House Majority Leaders patio, inside the rotunda, the old senate chambers, and of lots of statues. 

 

We had a great dinner with Lisa's cousins, Eileen and Kathleen downtown before calling it a night.  We walked over 9 miles with another full day in the morning. 

On Tuesday, we took a tour of the White House with my former ROTC student, now a Major in the Army.  She was able to get us into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.  It is a fantastic piece of living history that houses the former offices of the Secretary of War and the podium that JFK gave his inaugural address from and well as the current office of the National Security Council. 

The boys got spoiled by a Navy Master Chief who runs the Navy Mess for the White House.  She gave them a case of Hershey's Kisses and M&Ms with the presidential seal on them.  Give a kid chocolate and you make a friend. Give a kid a crate of chocolate and you make a memory for life!

On Wednesday, TJ and I took a "destination run" down the National Mall and up to the Capitol Building. That is a memory we will always share and he can tell his children some day, "Hey, I ran on this road...with your grandfather," extending a long running family joke (pun intended). 

We also spent the day in the Smithsonian Museum of American History and the National Portrait Gallery.  The boys showed respect in seeing the Star Spangled Banner, and stood on a section of the Mother Road, Route 66 and Lisa gawked at the presidential portraits and the peculiar portrait of Michelle Obama. 

In the afternoon we visited the Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veteran's Memorial and World War II Memorial. While Lisa made the most of the lighting to use her camera, we tried to explain the importance of these places in a context that would make sense to the boys. War monuments and statues are just things to see without the stories behind them, even if they are told at the surface level as you walk by them. This vacation was about giving the boys an appreciation for our history and I believe they took away the important part.  

In the evening, Lisa took the boys on a night bus tour of the city while I attended to some business.  I finished early enough to go down to the Jefferson Memorial after dark but still busy with dozens of tourists.  It was my first visit to the Jefferson Memorial and it didn't disappoint me.  Jefferson looms large, looking out over the Tidal Basin surrounded by his most important works.  I discovered that Jefferson believed the Constitution was a living document, stating, "As new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change with the circumstances, institutions must also advance to keep pace with the times." Well, I learned something. 

On Thursday we packed up, cleaned up, and drove across to Virginia to visit with Lisa's friend, Tina.  They were roommates at USD and Tina was the maid-of-honor at our wedding.  The kids played for a hour or so while they caught up and then we hit I-95 south past Petersburg, VA, and a quick right hand turn on I-85 to pick up Samantha for Easter break.

A week later and we are still reflecting on the things we saw and did.  TJ was watching one of his favorite shows, "Madam Secretary" and looked for places in DC on the show where he was.  I am glad the kids can say, "I was there!" with enthusiasm.  I am glad the kids got to share the trip with their Grandmother, who loves the tradition, the majesty, and honor of the nation's capitol.

Good trip.