Last month our worldschooling adventures took us to Washington DC. We saw many important landmarks to the history of our country, to our U.S. military and to our government. We saw the White House and Capitol building. We went to the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Washington Monument. We got to see the Pentagon, the Air Force Memorial, the Marine Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
In front of the Lincoln Memorial
The Washington Monument
Inside the Lincoln Memorial
The Capitol Building
When we went to the Vietnam wall, we looked for my grandfather’s cousin, a U.S. Marine who was killed in Vietnam. His name was Joe Wilson Barnes and we found his name on the wall. I was really proud to find his name on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. I was really glad I got to see the Iwo Jima Marine Memorial because my grandfather was a U.S. Marine. I couldn’t believe how big it was in real life. It was huge.
The Marine Memorial – Look how huge it is compared to me, Tai and my dad!
We also went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It was awesome. We learned all about the history of aviation from the very beginning when the Wright Brothers were the first in flight in Kitty Hawk, NC. We saw samples of planes they designed. We got to see World War II aviation and even exhibits on the space race and human exploration of the moon!
My brother and me in the Air and Space Museum
We went to the National Archives and I saw America’s Founding Documents with my very own eyes: the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The National Archives – we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside
I have never seen cherry blossoms before, so I was really happy that we arrived in Washington DC when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. They were beautiful.
Enjoying the cherry blossoms
Cherry blossoms in front of the Washington Monument
We only had four days in Washington because we were just passing through to break up a long drive from my parents’ visit to a client in New York. But we all want to go back and spend a couple weeks to explore. There’s still so much more I want to see that we didn’t have time for this trip: the Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian Institute Museum of Natural History, the Spy Museum and Mount Vernon are on the top of my list.
