That may well be, but we went anyway. It's been awhile since we had a vacation just with our family, so the discussion of where to go was all over the map. Literally. We told the kids we had to stay within the Lower Forty-Eight, and California was bandied about, but I stuck to my guns. D.C. is where I wanted to take them before Sean graduates, and in the end, D.C. is where we went. 
Day One: We fly into Richmond and head over to the Confederate White House. It's closed on Wednesdays. We turn and make our way down to Maymont, where I find myself walking in a Japanese garden and feeling the stress just ebb away. The house is beautiful, although they make a point to differentiate between life upstairs and down. The basement itself takes awhile to go through to see all the rooms and labor it took to keep the household running. Seventeen people to take care of thirty-three rooms and two other people. For dinner, it turns out that Virginia Arby's have veggie plates! I make a note to write corporate.
Day Two: We drive down to Colonial Williamsburg. We went ahead and purchased tickets, but there is plenty to do without tickets as well. After missing the buggy ride in Southlake last year, I told Emily we'd take one here, and it was fun. Our driver kept us entertained with stories of present day Williamsburg. More house tours, more searching to find something vegetarian in the fast food world. This time it's potato soup, but the pool of butter on top makes me stop halfway through. Emily's pb&j is very dry, so we somewhat swap, and finish off with chips. 
Day Three: Washington. We go early to get tickets to the Capitol, then go to Air and Space Museum, American Indian Museum, and the Botanical Gardens (one of Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures is on the left). Air and Space has a gallery of favorite items from the Museum of American History, which is closed for renovation. This becomes Emily's highlight of the trip, when she spies Helen Keller's watch. I resolve to make sure we visit the National Cathedral later, where she's interred. I get to see R2D2 and C3PO, where I try to keep my enthusiasm down to respectable levels, but it was really them! And then there were a bunch of planes and moon rocks.At the last of the day, we get thirty minutes in the Library of Congress, with its beautiful architecture (above, right). We get to look in on the main reading room, normally off limits unless with a guided tour. OK, now that's where I want to go someday.
This is the day when David and I vow never to chaperone a group of school children to Washington. One group at the Capitol had Lou Gossett, Jr. for a teacher, only he was white, female, 50ish and loaded for bear. She was in those kids' faces, barking orders, all but telling them to drop and give her twenty. Another chaperone at the food court next to Air and Space (tomorrow's goal: eat in a decent restaurant) had had it. "I know where that boy's parents live, and don't think I won't tell them how disrespectful he's been!"
Day Four: We let the kids sleep in; lots of walking these last two days. Then it's up for Monument Day. We got to the Washington Monument around 11 (yup, that's it) then hit the World War II Memorial, strolled down the Mall to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, then the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, FDR Memorial (that's Fala on the left), Jefferson Memorial (on the right), and back home. Lunch is at a kiosk on the mall; hot dogs for the guys, pretzels for us. Emily's diary reminds me that we saw a starling that could do tricks. Especially if you were tossing crumbs to him!
Day Five: Today, the International Spy Museum. This one deserves its reputation as one of the most popular museums in town. Great stuff! We go across the street to the National Portrait Gallery where we got a poster of this. If you can't see it, that's the Preamble to the Constitution, spelled out in license plates. After that we took in the museum at Ford's Theater (there was a matinee going on, so we didn't get to see the actual theater) and the house where Lincoln died. That's the bedroom where he died, above right. The furniture is not original, though.
Lunch at a great little restaurant, finally!
Day Six: The National Cathedral and the National Zoo. After all the buildup in my imagination, when Emily sees where Helen Keller's ashes are interred (or at least the brass plaque stating it) she said.... "Oh." The cathedral was beautiful, though, and we stayed for an organ recital. And it's Episcopalian. Who knew. The zoo was a zoo, but with pandas. The zoo did have veggie burgers, which were even bigger than the beef burgers. I secretly gloat. 
Day Seven: I'm beginning to flag. We ask the kids to choose between the Museum of Natural History and Mt. Vernon, and the museum wins, so back we go. They've kicked it up a notch since I was a kid. Same dead stuffed animals, but in nifty new cases. More interactive exhibits, more short movies. After this, lunch at the Old Post Office, which has a food court and the second best view of Washington from the bell tower. I know I could have put the standard views of the Capitol or the Washington Monument here, but what fascinated me was the life going on on the rooftops of the office and residential buildings. Check it out!
Day Eight: Going home! We spend the day in Richmond, where we're flying out. It's mostly a mall and movie day; we see Shrek 3. It's not Oscar material, but not a waste of money either. Home, work, laundry. We resume our normally scheduled programming.
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