30.05 - Day 136 - Washington, DC
Thursday 30th May - Washington, DC (Day 136)
Another day, another breakfast buffet. Whilst the adults might jump from hot meal to hot meal each day, Sienna is more than content with a bowl of cornflakes and, at a stretch, a small pancake. Seb eats more but needs to be constantly told to stop watching one of the many TVs, generally showing reviews of American Football games.
One feature of the streets of DC is the number of bike hire racks, with manual and electric bikes available for 30 minute rides. The wheel count is then doubled by the same number of electric scooters. I thought these rideshare options had had their moment several years ago and now laid in the river bed, but not so in DC.
As such the kids have been pestering us to go on them, so today we got a couple of Day passes and (illegally) have them stand on the front with an adult behind and (illegally) scoot along the (thankfully very quiet) pavements.
We whizz to the Postal Museum by Union Station - yet another Smithsonian Museum with free entry; kicked off by a bequest from Mr Smithson 200 years ago. Amazingly he gave his wealth to the city of DC having never been to the USA, let alone DC.
Whilst the drawers of stamp collections may be a bit dry, Sienna and Seb are very happy to design their own stamps and then downstairs there’s plenty of interactive elements from early stage coaches and planes hanging from the ceiling to efforts to combat fraud and theft. A surprising hit.
Back near our hotel we stopped for lunch at Pearl’s Bagels, and whilst we still don’t know what scallion is, scallion and chive cream cheese on a toasted bagel was a decent lunch.
On the scooters once more it’s back down to the usual stomping ground of the mall, seeking out a Park Ranger at the World War II memorial for a Junior Ranger booklet which the kids work through as we walk the length of the Lake of Reflection, earning themselves a badge from the very enthusiastic park ranger in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
In there we briefly pop to view the oversized seated statue of Abraham Lincoln before finding another pair of scooters to shoot up to the Museum of American History. This place is teaming with school tour buses even as it enters its final hour of the day, so we briefly scratch the surface - though the kids enjoy the games and quizzes on innovation and technology in sport (which swim outfits produce the least drag and the addition of the spring to a basketball hoop to stop the backboard shattering).
There’s a brief foray into Entertainment and while Sienna has vague knowledge on say The Wizard of Oz, a pair of Dorothy's red sequin shoes from the film doesn’t hold much attraction. Nor too the R2D2 from Star Wars, or a red dress from the more recent Handmaid's Tale (more relevant if the bookmakers are currently correct on the November elections?)
And then it’s a case of heading back for one final helping of canapes and drinks and the routine of car playing leading to shower, teeth, book, bed for the kids.