Day 31 – July 19, 2019

Another day, another excessive heat warning. We didn’t rush to get out of the room. We just took it slow and set our expectations low.

The one thing I wanted to do today was to visit the National Archives to witness the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.

The standby line can exceed an hour. Tickets can be purchased online for just $1 each, which cuts the wait to under 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the tickets were sold out. Only walk up tickets remained. We decided we would give it a shot anyways.

Before we left the hotel, we got our obligatory free oven fresh warm chocolate chip cookies.

It’s the best way to start any day.

Before I go on, I believe I neglected to introduce the newest member of the family. Ashley wanted to visit Target on her birthday to find herself a present. My instructions: buy anything you want so long as it is small.

She found a small plush. It looked like a cat but it also looked like a dog. Either way, she was in love.

Because he looks part kitten part puppy, Ashley named him Kuppy.

Donkers promptly lost his position as most favored plush to Kuppy. Frankly, he has been a little whiny about it, which has caused some problems. But he will get over it.

We took the Metro to the Archives stop and found what we were looking for across the street.

We entered the Archives to find the place completely empty. Maybe the heat was keeping people away. I don’t know. But we were each able to stand before these important documents without standing in any line at all. It was great.

Next, we walked briskly across the mall to the Air and Space Museum. And here we found the crowds.

This museum is always popular. But the fact that we are in the middle of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission meant the place was packed.

We checked out some exhibits. The Wright Brothers collection is our favorite. There we found the actual plane that Wilbur and Orville flew on December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk.

The museum had on display Neil Armstong’s Apollo 11 space suit. The line to stand before it was out of this world and moving slowly. We took a peek at the suit and kept moving.

The crowds got the best of us and we moved back outside to the mall.

An Apollo 11 festival was taking place.

We even got our photo with a (Lego) spaceman.

Pretty much the same thing as the one at the museum without the wait.

And we got to see a moon rock.

Next, I wanted to visit the Capitol rotunda. Ashley wanted to visit a soft serve ice cream.

That thing was heaven and it only cost $5. There is an ice cream truck on every corner. The competition must keep the prices down because they could easily sell these for $20. Capitalism is a great thing.

We approached the Capitol.

But it closed at 4:30.

We found a shady bench and relaxed while Kathy exchanged texts with her brother Wayne.

Wayne lives and works just outside of DC. They decided to meet at Union Station. Wayne took the Red Line Metro and we took our feet.

Union Station is beautiful and huge. It houses dozens of restaurants and stores. We ate dinner there.

Of course, all we wanted to talk about is the trip. But being an avid subscriber to this very blog, Wayne knew more about the trip than we did.

After dinner, Wayne gave Ashley a very generous birthday gift which will allow her to fill the van with more Kuppys, if that’s what she wants. Personally, I’m hoping for more ice creams.

Before parting, Wayne had a photo taken which he promptly posted on the Facebooks. Cassie sent us the screen shot.

We found this shocking and even appalling. Look at that! Battery is down to 37%? C’mon Cassie. This is not how we raised you. If you understood the great pains and sacrifices that we have been going through just to keep our phones charged you would not be showing us that.

It was getting close to cookie time. We made the short walk to the Metro Station and within a half hour, we were sinking our teeth into a warm, soft, fresh, delicious chocolate chip cookie. It’s the best way to end any day.

As we were about to jump in bed, high drama ensued. Kuppy was missing. He was here a few minutes ago. All eyes turned to obvious suspect, Donkers. “Don’t look at me. I got nothin’ to do with it.”

After an extensive search and rescue effort, I’m happy to report Kuppy was found hiding quietly in the sheets of the bed. Even Donkers was relieved.

We were all exhausted and happy to get to sleep. Even Kuppy as he snuggled tightly with Donkers.