This entry was posted on 9/2/2009 8:16 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
THE MONTH OF JUNE
We stayed at Jacksonville Air Station for the weekend and just relaxed. On Monday the 8th of June we headed north to the Goose Creek Naval Base in South Carolina. We spent the week visiting with our granddaughters and also visited the doctor. Time for new prescriptions for our daily pills – we both got wonderful blood pressure readings so the walking and exercise are paying off.
On the 13th we attended our oldest granddaughters dance recital. They performed Alice in Wonderland and did an excellent job. Emily did a solo “This Business of Love” and did a wonderful job. She really has become quite a good dancer. She is on the competition team and really enjoys dancing.
On Monday June 15th Tim, Emily, our oldest granddaughter, and myself headed north and stopped at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Camp Resort. The campground had a swimming pool and game room which Emily and I enjoyed. We also did a nice walk around enjoying the outside air. We only spent one night here as we were anxious to get to Washington Dc.
Our next stop was Andrews Air Force Base which is very close to the city. This is also the base that the President flies out of when taking Air Force One. I so wanted him to go away that week to be able to see Air Force One in the sky. No such luck. The base was pretty nice though – big commissary, exchange, bowling alley, laundry, golf, restaurants and a pretty good campground. The campground had a rec hall with a pool table and Emily was able to meet a boy that taught her how to play. She enjoyed being at this campground as when we were not touring she had someone to play with.
Our time in DC was busy busy. We used the Metro to take us most places – no hassle with parking or getting lost. We were able to tour the National Museum of American History. We really enjoyed “America on the Move” and the First Ladies exhibits. Emily and I did one of the simulator rides also but I was not too thrilled with that. It cost $7 each and lasted about 2 minutes after standing in line for 30 minutes. The ride was called the Bermuda Triangle Adventure in 3D. Our next stop was the National Museum of Natural History. This is where we decided that Emily did not care for museums. We did get to see the 45.52 carat Hope Diamond which was unbelievable. We did enjoy seeing the hall of mammals. They had over 274 specimens and done in a really cool way. We had a very nice day – really tired when we got back home.
One day we did the National Museum of the American Indian. We all enjoyed the film “Who We Are” in their state of the art theater. Our next stop was the National Air and Space Museum. Here we got to see the show “Black Holes”, a close look at airplane, rockets and missiles, stepped into a cockpit and onto the quarterdeck of the USS Smithsonian. We all enjoyed this museum the most.
We then walked to the Capitol and marveled at how beautiful this building is. Our next stop was the United States Botanic Gardens which has been open to the public since 1850. They have over 60,000 plants with different areas for desert plants, Hawaiian plans, primeval plants, jungle, medical etc. It was beautifully done and we really enjoyed that.
Mount Vernon was also on our agenda one day and we spent all day enjoying this beautiful estate. We enjoyed the film first in the new orientation center. We also enjoyed the Education Center. The mansion itself is beautiful and well worth a tour. We then walked the grounds and enjoyed seeing Washington’s tomb, gardens, pioneer farm site and of course the beautiful Potomac River. We had a beautiful lunch at The Mount Vernon Inn which had all the colonial charm you could ask for. The gift shops were pretty nice with beautiful chinaware and needlework.
The one thing Emily really wanted to do was go to “Ford’s Theatre.” We were able to do this and the National Park Guide gave a wonderful talk about the night that Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. We also visited the Petersen House where he actually died the next day.
The Old Post Office has a tower tour where you can see quite a bit of the city. The view was beautiful and gave you a different perspective of the city.
Onto the White House which we only could observe from the street as our senator never sent us our tickets. We did get a view and Emily and most people around us said they saw the first dog on the lawn. My old eyes did not see that though. Just looking at this beautiful home is worth the trip. We got quite a lot of pictures also.
We then visited the Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Washington Monument . They are all beautiful and give you a real feel for the freedom that we all enjoy here in this beautiful country. All things are free also which makes this a wonderful vacation destination.
Another dad we hit the National Zoo and got to see the panda bears. They are so darn cute. We also got to see elephants, bears, cats, leopards, monkeys, apes, reptiles, seals, sea lions, lions, and tigers. We really enjoyed our day here and walked and walked.
Our stay in Washington came to a close and we headed south. Our destination this time is Williamsburg, Virginia. Stayed tuned for another great trip.
