Wednesday in D.C.

Last day for touring in D.C. The boys had decided that they had seen enough airplanes so we skipped the second, larger Air and Space Museum. Chad wanted to run, but was hesitant to run in the area where the hotel was. I suggested he run down on the Mall and among the cherry trees while I took the boys to another museum on the Mall. I wanted to go to either the Museum of American History or the National Archives. The boys said they weren't waiting in any line to get into the Archives so that was pretty much out. We headed down on the Metro and were one of the first into the Museum of American History. It was evident that the boys were still tired of museums because what they would normally be excited to see they walked right past to the next section. We saw the Star Spangled Banner flag, and it was huge. I was excited to see the First Lady gowns, but then we pretty much skipped through the other areas on the second floor. A quick trip to the gift store and we were done. There was a line outside the door when we left. It was sunny, but still windy. It was nicest in the sun, so the boys and I waited for Chad on the Mall.

He showed up after his run and told us he was held up by the Presidential motorcade. He had quite a story to tell about being told to stay on the curb, and others who did not follow directions getting stopped and questioned by police. He took this movie with his phone. The van in the back had a guy sticking out and at first Chad thought it was a gun he had, but after it came closer Chad discovered it was a camera recording the travel route.

We boarded the Metro to Arlington. We had seen the stop along the route to the hotel, but I didn't realize until reading the night before that it pretty much dropped off for the cemetery that was just across the street. A short walk from the Metro was easier than taking the car and paying for parking. We walked a short distance into the cemetery, to just past the Kennedy graves. The kids were not very excited about walking further, and I just wanted them to experience the enormity of the cemetery and appreciate those who served our country to protect us.
After getting back to the hotel we looked over our lists of things we wanted to do. The one that stood out was that Chad and I wanted to go to a cupcake shop. There was one in Georgetown, where we hadn't visited. But it was also quite a distance from the hotel. Instead we found one closer in Alexandria. There was also an ice cream place that was owned by a Wisconsinite, The Dairy Godmother. Chad mapped out the route and we headed to both. The ice cream shop was nice. I had a lemon and lavender sorbet, very unusual, but good. Kevin had a special seat at the table we sat at.
We then headed to the Old Towne area of Alexandria. Looked like a good area to explore, but the kids were done in, so Chad and I grabbed cupcakes at Lavender Moon Cupcakery quickly. Mine was an Irish Cream, and Chad had a carrot cake with cardamom. The cake parts were very moist and the frosting rich and thick, a special treat. With just a drive through to take a look at the area, we headed back to the hotel to wait for dinner.