Visit to the National Mall in D.C.

On Saturday, 17 May, Al, Gavin and I finally went to Washington, D.C. to check out the National Mall. We did LOTS of walking, but the weather was absolutely PERFECT and we enjoyed the afternoon. We visited the World War I D.C. Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument. Since Al works at the White House, we were even able to park in the Elipse (the parking for gov't. employees in front of the White House), so we also walked past the White House, but didn't try to get too close. One of these days, Al will take us for a tour, but we'll wait until he learns his way around better.

The funniest moment of the day was probably when Al was trying to explain to Gavin about Pres. Lincoln and what a great man he was while we were in the Lincoln Memorial, and Gavin asked, "Daddy, why does he have such BIG ears!?"

Later, we also walked to Constitution Avenue which was closed off for the National Asian Heritage Festival. We enjoyed some entertainment (Gavin LOVED watching the dances and didn't want to leave the stage area), sampled a bit of food (young coconut juice is probably not something we'll spend the money for again, but the chicken teriyaki was excellent), and had Gavin's name written in Chinese Characters by a lady from Taiwan.

We rounded out the day with Al and Gavin playing a game of tag on the lawn below the Washington Monument as a gorgeous sunset graced the sky. It was an enjoyable day and we look forward to LOTS more family outings.