Things I've learned this week

Where to begin - I suppose I should start with, oh, say, ... I'm loving it here. The weather is fabulous, the sites amazing, the lines short, the admission free. Everything is going well - a fantastic vacation.

I love Washington. I think I've said that already, gushed about my adoration of the architecture, the very urbanity of it all. I love it. Love it. I want to relocate here. Sadly, there are no job opportunities for the mister, at the moment. But I guess you never know, huh? It's good to dream big, and big things can happen.

Yesterday we walked. And walked. Went to the zoo - it's a very nice zoo, and we loved seeing the pandas. But enough was enough - I am not here to look at animals. So we headed off to the memorials. And we walked all the way through the city: from the Smithsonian, up to the Washington Monument, up the Mall to the World War II memorial, to the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial. Stopped for a snack, then crossed the mall to the Roosevelt Memorial then around to the Jefferson, back up the Mall to the Smithsonian Metro.

It's a lot of walking. But first things first: The memorials are amazing. I loved them all, for different reasons. Vietnam was moving - I'd never seen it, as my last visit here was in 1972 (except for visits to demonstrate, when there is no time for sight seeing). All those names ... and people had left mementoes along the wall, were making rubbings of names. At the Lincoln they have the spot marked where Martin Luther King stood as he made the I Have a Dream speech - wow. The FDR is done very well; critics love it, and I can see why. And the Jefferson - I'm a big fan of Jefferson and the amazing fortitude he had when writing the Declaration of Independence. Plus he was a Unitarian - gotta love that. In short, it was a very moving day.

But my feet hurt. I very wisely only packed two pair of shoes. But they're boots, with a bit of a heel, and while they look chic and stylish and go with all my outfits, they hurt my feet. I was actually prepared to buy some tennis shoes, but the shops had closed by the time we got back last night. However - joy of joys - I discovered that my middle daughter's extra pair of shoes fit me. She was sweet enough to lend them to me, and the eldest lent me some white socks (not a big fan of the dark socks with tennis shoes look - I have to maintain some fashion integrity).

So today my feet feel much better, even though we did not walk as much. Went to the Capitol, took the tour, and even scored tickets for the House gallery, which we'll go back and visit tomorrow. Today we wanted to be at the Holocaust Museum by 1 p.m. so we could see the speaker. It was good. The museum itself? Yes, it's good, but I'll be honest - it's really not that much better than the Houston museum. Just bigger. They did have a nice children's section, but the Houston museum is actually done very well for being as small as it is. Just my personal opinion ... we spent way too long there, and there wasn't a ton of time to see much else today.

So we headed over to Georgetown for dinner. Another fantastic area - once again, judging by the upscale shopping, it's pricey. But charming. We found the Kennedy's house from his time in the Senate - you know the one, the house Joe used to buy off Jackie so she wouldn't leave Jack and thwart his political ambitions. And - now this is exciting - we saw the steps from the Exorcist! It's been so long since I've seen it I can't remember the context they're in, but I remember the steps. If someone can fill me in, please do ...

I'm exhausted. But having such fun. As a family vacation, I highly recommend DC. And we still have three whole days left! Yay!