In true Anderson fasion, we decided to "maximize" our time in DC. Mike printed maps and lists of things to do. So, armed with two strollers, a TJ bag (love this!) of snacks, couple liters of water and a camera...we were off to the races. Oh yeah, our National Park Passport books too!
Note: There are a bunch of photos in this post, however, we barely took any in the museums. There's just way too much to document. We have added some to highlight and hope you enjoy them.
Saturday:
5. Smithsonian Castle Aerial View
6. Freer Gallery of ArtNo photos. We wouldn't recommend taking kids to art museums unless it's nap time. :)
7. See Washington Monument
We waited in line for about one hour to get free tickets to go inside. Our reserved time was 7:30pm so we had the whole day ahead of us.
8. National Museum of American HistoryHere's Mike next to Steven Cobert. Yes, we are fans!
Lucas thought he died and went to Heaven when he saw this lawn mower. We had to have two photos to make sure we could see the blades too. This was the one of the first powered lawn mowers called the "Snappy Turtle" and you can even see the little turtle head on the front. 
9. National Museum of Natural HistoryAxel was fed and ready to go!
This museum is one of our favorites. There is just sooo much to see and do. The dinosaur exhibit was awesome!
10. National Air and Space MuseumDaddy and Lucas' favorite for sure. More airplanes and space ships to gaze upon. Oops, Lucas slept through a little bit but have no fear, he got plenty in when he woke up. You can see the Hubble Telescope replica in the very back.
The Apollo 11 Command Module that Neil Armstrong and company rode to the Moon and back ("Yes Lucas, it's a REAL space ship...look at all those buttons!")
Ever since Lucas went flying at the WPAFB Aero Club he has been asking more and more questions about how airplanes fly. He loves watching the elevators, ailerons and rudder do their magic.
There were wonderful hands-on displays explaining the principles of flight and aerodynamics.
Axel checked out a few things too. He also managed to get a few free rides! Here is the first powered aircraft the Wrights flew at Kittyhawk.
And finally, the first operational "small" UAV (Mike's research area) the Navy/USMC Dragon Eye, and it resembles a typical radio controlled model airplane, but with a nice camera on board, and dumbed down so a jarhead can fly it :)
11. Go Inside The Washington MonumentHere's the view right before going inside.
Lucas hates having his picture taken. Mike and I try to trick him if necessary. This time, we thought it would be easier to photograph a more cooperative subject. Thanks Axel!
Here's one of our tricks... "Hey Lucas, look at Barack Obama's house." There are windows facing every direction on the top of the Washington Monument. It's really cool to see everything up there. Lucas was excited about the White House and the big fan they had blowing in there to keep everyone cool. 3 year olds!
View of the U.S. Capital. You can also see the tents set up along The Mall for the upcoming Folk Festival.
View of the White House grounds and beyond.
View of the Jefferson Memorial and the Fish Warf (where we had our Friday night seafood).
View of the WWII Memorial, Reflection Pool and Lincoln Memorial.
View of the Pentagon which is pretty hard to see in this photo.
12. National World War II Memorial
13. Korean War MemorialThese figures were so life-like and made you feel like you were out there in the war zone with them. It will give you the chills!
Catching fire flies or lightning bugs depending on what you call them. We don't have these out West so this is a pretty cool discovery.
14. Lincoln Memorial
15. Vietnam War Veterans Memorial
Phew! What a long day. Everyone was done by this point and went straight to bed at camp.
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