Discovering D.C.I made a Family Home Eventing Quiz to take home and get everyone excited about diving into the city. I am happy to email that to anyone along with the answers. Each answer gives a little bit of a history lesson and is kind of fun.
I tried to make a list of some of the this we did this year.
- tour of the White House (call your congressman 6 weeks in advance to get tickets)
- Mt. Vernon 18th Century Craft Fair (this is in mid September)
- National Christmas Tree lighting Ceremony (camped out for Tickets)
- Baltimore Aquarium
- Cherry Blossom Festival (March 29 - April 13, 2008)
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Old Town Alexandria
- Antietam
- Harper's Ferry
- Roosevelt Island
- Fords Theatre (closed until Nov. 2008) seeing A Christmas Carol is a must see in December
- Glen Echo Park
- Great Falls MD
- Annapolis
- Bowling in China Town
- Union Station
- The Awakening
- National Cathedral (go to the top and get great photos)
- Embassy Row
- FDR Memorial (don't go here without reading the history of this memorial, it is AMAZING!)
- General Mead Memorial
- First Infantry Division Memorial (this is in front of the White house, the big red 1)
- Navy Memorial (the charging of the fountains is in the Spring, it is the only time the water is stopped and they bring in water from all 7 seas)
- top of the Washington Monument (get tickets online in advance only $1.50 charge)
- World War II Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial
- Korean Memorial
- Vietnam War Memorial on Memorial Day
- Textile Museum
- African American Civil War Museum
- National Museum of Health & Medicine (on Walter Reed Campus, see Dan Sickles leg)
- National Zoo
- National Portrait Museum (this book is a must read before you go)
- Museum of the American Indian (eat here!!)
- National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
- Renwick Art Gallery (one of my favorites)
- National Archives
- Woodrow Wilson House
- American History Museum (will reopen Summer 2008, many items are at Air and Space)
- Air & Space on the National Mall (the McDonald's there has cool Air & Space happy meal toys)
- Air & Space , Udvar-Hazy Center by Dulles airport (Sat before Halloween they have a great scare in the Air event)
- Bureau of Engraving and Printing (loved this too went with David and Lenessa, ticket information here. )
- The beach at Ocean City
- Assaeague State Park and saw wild horses running along the beach
- Library of Congress National Book festival (Sept. 29, 2007) a must!
- renaissance Festival (would not do again)
- Whites Ferry
- Historic Leesburg
- Gettysburg
- Lucketts
- Easter Egg Roll at the White House (tickets are very hard to get for this!)
- National Art Museum
- Smithsonian Castle information center (a great place to start, even though this is one of the last things we have done) you can send mail here that get's hand cancelled with a smithsonian stamp
- Spy Museum
- Smithsonian Carousel (every kid needs to rid it once)
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Value Village 227 University blvd. E Hyattsville MD 301.4222406
Great Stuff by Paul 10 North Carrol Street, Frederick MD 21701
Homestead Farms 156000 Sugarland Road, Poolseville, MD 20837
Barbara Fritchie Candy Stick Resturant W US 40 Frederick, MD 301.662.2500
Favorite place to eat - is Ben's Chili Bowl 1213 U Street NW Washington D.C.
White Events Anyone can go to!
- Garden Tour Summer July 21 & August 11th. Fall is sometime in October and Spring is sometime in March. Tickets are so easy to get to this and you can get them the day of.
- Christmas Tree lighting Ceremony (must sleep out for tickets)
- Easter Egg roll (also camp out for tickets, I think military might get in with ID)
- Tours (call your congressman, give it 6 weeks to process your social security number)
- Get large magnifying glasses for your kids to take to museums and nature centers. It keeps them really quite in Art Museums. It is the ultimate art of distraction. I bought mine from this seller on Ebay.
- Get a National Parks Passport only $7.00. makes a great wedding gift.
- The more you read and study about each place you visit the more you will get out of it. I try to find any children's book on each monument or Smithsonian before we go. Children's books are a fast read and give you the highlights.
So I will send 11.5 yards of patriotic themed ribbon to the first person who can answer my question that I asked the class.
Which Presidential Monument has replaced the current statue
of the President and why? (no googling)
of the President and why? (no googling)
** and it still amazes me a year ago I did not know ANY of this!**
38 comments:
So glad you had such a fun time putting it together, and I'm sure everyone enjoyed it. We lived there for five years and I'm not sure we took in everything on your list! So sorry you missed her Annie Kate's swim meat yeah for te 5 seconds! I'm not sure what to guess for your question, so I'll let someone else answer! Great list of things to do btw!
We used to live in PA while my husband went to law school and so we did get to visit DC a few times. We are looking forward to taking our kids there this summer, so I would be way intersted in the FHE quiz you did. Thanks for sharing all this info. I will definately be using it for our trip! My e-mail is tbinct@hotmail.com
What an amazing post. My daughter (who is Annie Kate's age) LOVED the Lincoln museum here so I am sure she would go nuts over D.C. Thanks for all the info.
You are out of control. I'm going to copy this list and then highlight the things that I've seen. I can guarantee I've only seen a fraction. Awesome, or really not so awesome considering I've lived here for 4 years! I'm glad your class went well!!
Wow, you made a non-American want to visit its capital. So many great things to do.
I have absolutely no idea about your question, The only president monument I've heard of is the Abe Lincon statue. So there is my (pathetic) guess. Perhaps I'll post some Canadian trivia for you to guess!
the Navy Memorial and the charging of the fountains sounds so cool, where is that?
Sorry, one more thing. Once upon a time I was the tour coordinator for Senator Bennett, and for the White House tours, because they are first come first serve, I would recommend contacting your congressman as soon as you are aware of your travel plans (they can submit requests up to 6 months in advance I think, something like that) because the summer months and December tend to fill up fast.
Also, another tip is to contact your congressman for a Monuments Tour (if they still offer them, it's been a few years since I worked there). They are given by the Department of the Interior and are limited to 8 or so people. While they're difficult to obtain, they're worth it if you do. You spend all day in an air conditioned van (a total treat in the ridiculous summer) and they drive you right up to each monument and give you a great history of each. I believe you also get to bypass the line at the Washington Monument to go up to the top. You should check it out!
anne. that is a wealth of information!!!! thank you.
I kept thinking about you yesterday and wondering if you were freaking out or feeling confident. I knew you would do an amazing job, but it's still hard not to be nervous for things like this.
Your display looks fantastic and the list of things you've done over the past year goes beyond what I was imagining even though I know you've been out of control. You're amazing!
How did the ladies react? Did you feel good about it? Did they feel like schmucks for living there for years and never going to most of those places? Hopefully they left inspired and ready to go.
I am copying and pasting this post to save as a file for when I get to D.C. SOMEDAY! Whoa! You have seen it all! I would love the FHE quiz if you wouldn't mind emailing it to me at rbwurtz@yahoo.com THANK YOU, as always:)
I am storing it also. We hope to get to D.C. next year for our first visit. It sound slike you did a great job. I am sure everyone loved it.
I live in New jersey and my husband being a history buff is anxious to have a tour of the white house, did you say you did get the tour and is it hard to go through the process of getting a hold of your congres man? Also, I was so happy and shocked when I ran into your blog. When I saw how crafty and cute this blog was I knew right away this has to be the Kristi that I once worked with at a cute party store in Utah and collected disney figures from McDonalds, am I right? I was once the manager there. email me at (dannolars@gmail.com) By the way your family is adorable! -Laura-
jill, ya i felt good about it and I think people liked it. I always feel like i could have spent more time when I do things, but i am such a last minute gal.
everyone seemed very appreciative of my time and effort, which is always nice.
thanks taking that snap-it.com thing or whatever. I love your site but that thing was annoying.
Wasn't it Jefferson's statue that was replaced because it was done during a war and they did not have the bronze till later. If this is true the answer came from my cousin's 10 year old.
Wow, this is great information! We are maybe coming to DC with Keith in October for a conference. He served his mission there, but he didn't get to do too much sightseeing. If we decide to come for sure, I will be pestering you for tips -- and would love to meet you!
you are AMAZING!!!!!!!
jinii! YeS you win! I was wondering if anyone was even going to guess. email me your address I and I will send you the winnings! you can share them with the 10 year old if they are into ribbon.
Yes it is the most amazing story that I only read about this week while doing my research. During the war they couldn't make the Jefferson Memorial out of metal so they made it out of plaster and then after they war they replaced it with bronze. It is just so amazing to me.
my email is pinkeverythingpink@yahoo.com
adam. no kidding i thought that thing was cool at first and then it started driving me CRAZY. why didn't you say something sooner!
Good Grief Girl!! I love presentations like this! I loved the list of 100 things to do with kids -in our area of AZ -that was given to me when our kids were small. I love to 'pick' someone else's brain for their knowledge of such things -like your presentation ;) Awesome job-Janae
What a great list - saving it for a later use when we take our weekend there before we leave the east coast! I would love to get your FHE quiz - see how much we know now and what we need to learn before we go! Thanks so much.
(My e-mail is beccastephenson@gmail.com)
Oh Kristi! Your display looks amazing and I'm sure your presentation was fantastic!! They were so blessed to hear your share your D.C. experiences in person.
Thank you for sharing so much helpful information and tips. We so want to visit the D.C. area in the future (when our daughter is a bit older).
I love that you didn't know all this a year ago. Isn't it amazing? Well done on completing your 'class' and on putting together such a thorough post!
Incredible work. What a wealth of information and what a blessing you are to so many for sharing!
Yes, I would love your quiz and any other information! Shaunahh@aol.com
I wish I had known about your class tonight--I would have come!!! I need stuff to do this summer with my boys, but I was feeling a little overwhelmed with all the things available here! So now we have a list to start attacking :o) Thanks!
I thought you didn't post your spt because you were having trouble with the assignment :)
This is getting me excited for my trip. How am I ever going to see everything in a week! Thanks for your advice on the Holocaust Museum. I think I'll sneak a visit in myself while Brett takes her to another museum, but first I need to pick up a magnifying glass. Great idea!
And I would love the quiz, my husband especially, the American history teacher, would love to see how well he does on it.
If you don't want to wait in line, or pay for tickets, try the bell tower at the Old Post Office Pavilion for a great view of the city.
Did you go to Arlington House while at the cemetery? I love that place. I think I am rather fascinated with Robert E. Lee's story.
And I second Anne's comment about White House/Capitol tour tickets. We contacted our senator several months in advance and still didn't get tickets. Maybe we did something wrong. It was a total bummer though.
Have you done any traveling in southern Virginia yet? Such great spots down there.
Horray for the best DC tour guide ever, keep on workin it girlie!
hi kristi, i've been looking through your blog and have had lots of fun reading it. your DC activity seems like it would have been lots of fun to attend!
lindsay, that post office paviallion did come up from someone in the room that that is where they take all their out of town visitors. so thanks for reminding me!
yes to the arlington house. i have learned to keep my feelings close to me about Robert E. Lee and it is truly an amazing story and place. and why I was so thrilled on memorial day to ride the memorial bridge Arlington house to the Lincoln Memorial.
analisa, struggling with it and could not find the time - the two did not mix.
The possibilities are endless of the places you can go and the things you can do. Incredible blog with so much great information. We all should take full advantage of each place we live to see and do the things in our own areas -- we surely live in a beautiful and wonderful world!!
Hi Kristi! I am a friend of a friend of a friend - you get the picture.
Hey we will be coming to DC for a super quick weekend in August and i wondered what your top 3 things you would do if you were visiting for that amount of time - no kids this trip?
Thanks! You can leave a comment on my blog or email me at sarah at bnaconsulting dot com...
I've never been to DC before but you can bet I'll be saving your list for the day when I do make it there. Congrats to your little fish!
When you put it all out in a list like that, it is really quite amazing all the cool things you have done in such a short time! That's why we are all so amazed by you. I can imagine some of the long-time residents may have felt a bit sheepish about not having done all of those things yet. But if anyone could get them enthusiastic about exploring, it would be you! Glad it went so well, they certainly did get the right teacher for that class.
Adam's comment was so funny -- I have hated that snap thing as well!
I would be SO interested in the FHE quiz! livingston93 AT hotmail DOT com
Sounds like it was a GREAT night!! Thanks for compiling all this information!!
You make me miss DC. My husband and I lived in Arlington VA, Potomac MD, and Reston VA for a total of 2 years. We had the best time. We now live in AZ, and i miss so many things about DC. I miss the metro, green trees, people with places to be, shopping, all the sites, and i really miss the church members there. You are in such a wonderful place-soak it all up!!! btw- hope you don't mind me leaving a comment, I really enjoy looking at your blog :)
Thanks so much for writing this! We're moving to Baltimore in August. I am so looking forward to doing all of these amazing things.
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