The Actual Things, Washington DC

The other side of DC is all the public museums -- museums that contain a ton of actual things that have played a major part in history. Starting with the big one, we visited the National Archives which contains THE Declaration of Independence and THE Constitution. (NOTE: No photos allowed, so this picture was snagged from the public website.) The Constitution was in the middle, with the Declaration of Independence on the left and the Bill of Rights on the on the right. Definitely cool to see, but, well, time, light and other elements have left their mark unfortunately. It was quite difficult to actually make out any of the words on the documents. 

Another major moment in history happened at Ford's Theater, the site where President Lincoln was assassinated. There was a very knowledgeable (and rather comedic) National Parks Ranger, who presented a ton of information about the theater and the events on the fateful night. (Story-telling is quite a powerful gift to have and share...)

The museum did an effective job of presenting all the information and people involved in the incident. It also displayed the actual gun used to kill Lincoln.

Over in the National Museum of American History, we spotted Lincoln's actual top hat! This is the hat he wore to the theater on the day he was killed. A bit morbid, but a notable resemblance of him.

Another fun, yet not quite so historic, item found at this museum was Mister Roger's actual red sweater and shoes! Although, I would argue that this is pretty history and monumental to my personal childhood...

Jeff claims the memorable MASH signpost to be historical in his growing up!

Entertainment is definitely a big part of American culture which has many historical moments! The museum had a nifty video collage that captured some of the best and most memorable movie clips across several decades.

But back to consequential moments in history, the Wright Brother...putting the "Air" in the Air & Space Museum.

And Neil Armstrong and the Apollo capsule, putting the "Space" in...

And back to that entertainment angle...a real X-Wing from the Rebel Alliance! (updated...thanks, Pa!)

One final educational stop was at the Library of Congress -- where Naomi INSISTED she get a library card (and where the guard on duty said we should get one too)! We did resist the urge to check anything out, since it'll be a while before we get back, so that would lead to one hefty late fee.

A few other notable sites along the way...entertainment and contemporary historical items at the Hard Rock Cafe!

We had no car, so the fantastically clean Metro was our form of transportation, when our legs could not take us.

Clearly, this little guy is very comfortable around humans! (He as definitely looking for a handout -- but all we had were Skittles and Starbursts from Senator Cornyn - not fit for a squirrel)

It was a lovely trip -- we lucked out with perfect weather (sunny, not hot and cool in the evenings). There were many school groups (seemed like mostly middle school'ers) all around, but I would not say it was crowded - just full. Everywhere we went was clean and the people were friendly. Happy to be an American, and glad to get to experience some of the things our tax dollars go towards!