The first two days we spent on the Mall. Pearl was most interested in seeing the National Art Gallery first, so we popped in there. I had hoped to see a few rooms just as exposure to this type of museum, but they kept catching glimpses of beautiful paintings in adjacent galleries, so we really enjoyed the visit.
I did not realize how many famous painters were on display there. We saw a whole wall of van Gophs, Whistlers, Degas, Monets, Gauguins, and one portrait by our ancestor Benjamin West. Yes we made the docents nervous, but with two little hands clutched in mine, we made it out without damaging any national treasures.
We saw dinosaurs and mummies in the Natural History Museum, then rode the carousel on the Mall. This pleased their little hearts so much, I was glad we paused to do it. The next day we visited the Native American History Museum, the National Botanic Gardens, the American History Museum, and the Zoo (and carousel #2).
We did pop into the Air and Space Museum, which rated high on all of the "kids and DC" web sites, but the girls all detested it and couldn't wait to leave, no matter how many fascinating moon crafts I pointed out. It is as I feared, but could not avoid; we are a wholly humanities household. We made our way to Chinatown both nights for fresh sesame balls and dinner, upon the girls' request . 
On our final day, we visited Mount Vernon. It is sort of cute to hear four-year-old Ruby talk about George Washington. No carousels here, but we learned to curtsy from Mrs. Washington and toured the mansion. They all liked the blacksmith's nail-making demonstration best. Once the noisy school groups left, I sighed with relief as we peeked into the outbuildings and figured out what it took to run a plantation.  |
| The igloo won (Native American History Museum) |
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| The carousel on the Mall |
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