Six Flags America
We spent our first day in the area at Six Flags America. The colonial themed park in Maryland had some fun roller coasters: Apocalypse (standup), Batwing (lying down on your back, flips you over to your stomach throughout the ride), Mind Eraser, Superman (virtual headset optional – superman is saving you from the bad guy as you get thrown around in the air), The Joker’s Jinx. My favorite was the Batwing, certainly like no other coaster I’ve been on before. You get strapped into the car and then it lies you down on your back and the car shoots out head first on your back.
Washington DC Temple
After our adventurous roller coaster rides at Six Flags America, we stopped at the gorgeous Washington DC temple. We changed into church clothes at the visitors center and did a session inside the temple. It was beautiful. This is the only temple I have been in where you can actually see outside. From where you enter to the main building is a long hallway with glass windows that look out into the surrounding lush green trees. I love how it brings the natural beauty of the grounds into the temple. We spent some time after our session exploring the baptistry and the sealing rooms, which were stunning.
Washington DC
Washington Monument
We spent our second day in the area exploring the monuments and museums in DC. We took the metro into the city and went straight to the Washington Monument to try to get tickets to ride to the top. We got in line around 8am (ticket window opened at 8:30) and a long line had already formed. We were worried perhaps we wouldn’t get tickets but there we plenty. In fact, by the time we got to the ticket window at 8:55 we snagged the last two 9am tickets and ran over to the monument and rode to the top.
The views were stunning. You could see all of Washington, DC and beyond. Perhaps the coolest part of the monument is riding back down the elevator in the monument. They turn of the lights in the elevator car so you can see the many different memorial stones that line the inside walls. Each state has a plaque to commemorate George Washington in the monument and several other organizations have donated a plaque as well.
US Bureau of Engraving and Printing
We got tickets to tour the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and see how America makes its money. It was actually very interesting. They take you through some of the printing rooms and you see the big machines printing on the paper in different stages. They employees then inspect them and put serial numbers on them and ship it out. Apparently they try to change the design of each note every 10 years to combat counterfeiting.
National Museum of Natural History
Skylar’s favorite part of the Natural History museum in DC was the GeoGallery with all of the gems and minerals. They showcased some spectacular stones including the Hope Diamond, one of the most famous jewels in the world at over 45 carats and valued at over $200 million. My favorite part was all of the fossils, some of which are dinosaur fossils.
National Museum of American History
The highlight at the Museum of American History is the Star Spangled Banner. They display the original flag sewn by Mary Young Pickersgill that inspired the song written by Francis Scott Key. The ginormous flag has certainly seen better days and there are pieces of the flag that were cut out years ago as souvenirs. It’s a neat piece of American history.
United States Holocaust Memorial
The Holocaust Memorial was a somber experience. It’s hard to imagine the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust and how humanity could achieve such darkness. We obtained tickets to enter the main part of the museum but our assigned time was too late in the afternoon so we only visited some of the outer exhibits. One exhibit that struck deep with me was all about the neighbors of the holocaust victims and determining how much they knew when they acted implicitly to turn in their friends and neighbors to the Nazis. Scary times.
Lincoln Memorial
We had a little bit of time left to explore DC before we needed to head to our much anticipated baseball game that evening. Though we had both visited it on separate occasions previously, I really wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial with Skylar. Unfortunately it wasn’t easily accessible by metro so we hiked the extra 1.6 miles to the Lincoln Memorial. (The grand canyon had us well-prepared.)
Nationals Game
I collect baseball caps from each ballpark that I visit. So I was excited to get my Washington Nationals hat to add to my collection. However I couldn’t wear it to tonight’s game because the Nationals were playing the Dodgers and I bleed Dodgers blue. It was a fantastic game, and I loved cheering on my Dodgers even though Dem Bums lost. (We still took the series though 2-1). As an old friend of mine said, “sometimes you just gotta be there for the down times for your team.”
