After all this time I felt it was important that the girls had some time off as we near the end of the trip - and the 30 seconds it took to take the picture of our (tired) feet was just about all they needed, I reckoned.

We've taken a few of these 'gathered feet' shots - and this one was late in the day as we stood on the spot where Martin Luther King's immortal 'I have a dream' speech was made. The girls dream at that stage was to sit down - cheated again!

Backtracking....

Day started as usual with a call to arms. We hopped on the 32 bus in the 2 degree air (Blue sky) down to Capital Hill again. Hopped off right next to the Capital Building then hopped over to the Library of Congress. after going through the mandatory internal body search to get into a building, we self toured past historic books, hallways and displays. The main reading room was great, but the entry hall was insane - towering marble everywhere. After absorbing some of the history trapped in there we used the shiny tunnel over to Capital to avoid the cold, watched a press conference (briefly) in the grounds, then headed to the botanic gardens. Not huge, but densely packed and warm and humid. After a short stint in the desert section we went back out into the frigid Washington breeze for a walk down to the Natural History museum. It was only going to be a whirlwind tour and some overpriced lunch, which it was - but still impressive (It overlaps the one we did in NY to want to spend too much time in there. The Hope Diamond and other oversized jewelry was the highlight for the girls. A quick look at a few dinosaurs and we were off into the Scuplture Garden next door for some culture. Got that. Moved on. Best exhibit was a 3d house that appeared to move as you walked past it. The other stuff was just piles of bricks and junk, I think....

Another free museum next door - american History Museum, had a few treasures that grabbed us. Dorothy's red shoes from the Wizard of Oz, and Farrah Fawcett's swimsuit/poster from the 70's were standouts! The girls liked the 'First Lady's' Dress collection, and I liked the sunken ship, Philadelphia. We regrouped to go through the Star Spangled Banner exhibit, which was definitely a highlight. The actual flag (From the battle with the friendly British) that inspired the writer of the Star Spangled Banner (Which later became their National Anthem). He literally was surprised to see it still flying in the morning after a fierce battle - and the rest is history. The flag is huge! Larger than the house of the woman who made it! Anyway, enough history. Quite inspiring.

Next stop - a long walk along the Mall, past the Monument (Love that, still) and over to Einstein's memorial. Odd oversize Bronze Statue, but the girls enjoyed being photographed with someone who reminded them of their dad (Danielle says he looks really old, too!)

Final stop was the Lincoln Memorial for a daylight look and a wander around the building, then a meander to the Vietnam Memorial. A collection of poncho wearing soldeirs wandering through a forest. Inspiring.

Finally we headed to the White House. Only interruption was a stealth attack on Brooke by a Squirrel. He'd been munching on food in a bin and appeared as she walked past - 'Screeeeechhhhhh!'. she got over it.

One last marvel at the White House - a) How close you get to it, b) How many weapons the Secret Police guys wear and c) How small the building is. A bit poky for my liking - might have to plan for a different career path....

Bus to the Cheesecake shop for Dinner (Good value, huge meals, amazing cheesecakes) then trapped into some surrounding shops for the last bit of shopping damage...until New York.

Girls have been packing and we've been weighing to get every ounce into each case. Sadly there's still room.....

Early rise, taxi to the train, 3 hour ride, then taxi to another NY apartment for the evening. Next hop - homeward bound....

See you all soon!