Fun, educational, exhausting

I haven't had wifi for a portion of this trip, I haven't been able to update since we left Pennsylvania. Here's the recap.

Seven Springs Resort in PA was a fun place for a family. We didn't ski - a decision we made prior to leaving home as we did not bring equipment or clothing. It was a good decision - the runs looks icy most places and bare in between. It is probably worth a visit during the good part of ski season as the runs looked fun. We did spend time bowling and playing mini-golf and the arcade was a lot of fun.

Monday morning we left to drive to McLean, VA. We stayed at the home of my cousin Tricia and her family. She has 5 children ages 3-16 and her numbers 3 and 4 align perfectly with Mac, Liam and Devlin. Each day after school hours the children played while the adults hung our and talked. What fun we all had - we cannot let so long go between visits again.

While the cousins were at school we spent our time exploring Washington DC.

Tuesday we visited the Air and Space Museum and the Hirshorn Sculpture Park. We also walked around the Washington Monument, although we did not go in. Deciding to take it easy our first day in town we headed home after that.

Wednesday was monument day. We started at the Jefferson Memorial always my favorite. I have visited it three times prior to this week and loved it every time. There is something so graceful about the design that I find it evocative of Jefferson's writing. From there we walked over to the World War II memorial. As we arrived an older man in a wheelchair and his children asked me to take their picture in front of the memorial. I took a few. They thanked me and I told the man, "No, thank you." From there went over to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The children loved it. Devlin was almost salivating over the piles of newly printed banknotes. After the tour we visited the Lincoln Memorial (Bill's favorite), the Korean War Memorial and finally the FDR Memorial (Liam's favorite). The last two are new since my last visit to Washington. I found the Korean War Memorial haunting - the sculptures and the faces etched into the wall - the images will be with me for a long time. The FDR was beautiful. I loved the 'rooms' effect, one representing each term of his presidency.

Thursday we got a late start - we dithered away our morning before heading into the city around lunchtime. Our itinerary included a visit to the Museum of American History and a tour of the capitol building followed by a meeting with Bob Dold, our local congressman. Bob is a former classmate from Kellogg, a neighbor and a good friend. It was a treat being able to visit with him. The children enjoyed the visit and the chance to sit at his desk.

Friday morning we left DC and drove to Sandusky, Ohio - we are now checked into the Kalahari Resort and Water Park.