Museum of American History

We have continued our tour of the sights of Washington this past week, walking around the Capitol and spending some time in the gardens, which are nice and shady. This past weekend was a long weekend here, with Monday being Labor Day. Traditionally this marks the end of Summer (even though Summer doesn't officially end until September 21 here). While the middle of the days are still hot, it has been nice to feel the first cool breezes of 'Fall' in the mornings. We are all looking forward to just a little bit of cooler weather for a change!

Julia Child's kitchen

The girls and I also spent quite a bit of time last week in the Museum of American History. We had already seen the exhibitions on Abraham Lincoln and on the American Presidency. This time we saw more of the American popular culture exhibits. I enjoyed seeing Julia Child's original kitchen, which was transported and recreated in the museum.
We also saw the ruby red sequined shoes that Judy Garland wore as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Ella, especially, loved these and would have loved to try them on!

The girls love the exhibition on the First Ladies ball gowns so we also went back to see Martha Washington's gown (their favourite) and they also like Michelle Obama's. They also love the huge classical statue of George Washington that was supposed to sit outside the Capitol. At the time, though, many people thought he was not appropriately attired!

There is also an excellent hands-on space for kids at the American History Museum, which focuses on science and invention. The girls watched a science demonstration on dry ice and got to try their hand at creating electrical circuits, lego creations and marble toys.

We also did a long walk this weekend from the Washington Monument, past the WWII Memorial and then up to the Lincoln Memorial. This area houses quite a few memorials to war, such as Korea and Vietnam, which I have not yet seen. The WWII Memorial was completed during George W. Bush's presidency and makes quite an impression. It is much larger than it seems from a distance and has many fountains and pools of water, which seem to balance out the sombre feel of a war memorial.

The World War Two memorial

Finally, the girls enjoyed a swim with their friend, Elena, at a pool party at one of DC's hotels. Each Sunday they open the pool to the public and sell drinks,hot dogs, hamburgers with cheese, pickles and ketchup and chips. Very American!

On Thursday, we are hiring a car and making our way up to Boston and then Portland, Maine to see some more of the, outside of Washington. We will keep you updated with photos and details of our trip while we are away.