DC and Back Again--The Last Day!

We woke up to our last day in Washington DC to a lovely spring-like temp--it actually made it up into the 50's! (and I thought Minnesota weather was unpredictable!) It was a nice relief since we would be out again to film a couple more commercial spots. Since it wasn't to be such a long day, we decided we'd ALL go along.

After breakfast we all crowded into the van again and again drove over to the Whitehouse. From there we decided to take a scenic walk to the next location, the Lincoln Memorial. I was really glad we walked through by the Wall at the Vietnam Memorial, that was something I had really wanted to see. You just can't imagine the scope of it until you see it with your own eyes....all of those names, and realizing most of those guys were just babies at 19, or their early 20's. There was definitely a sombering mood as people passed through the walkway, despite the crowd it was eerily quiet. There were people there making rubbings of names, or setting photos and trinkets down at the bottom of the Wall. I started to realize with all of the memorials that are there in that city, beneath the excitement of the beautiful monuments and sentiment of new beginnings, there is definitely the overall feeling of mourning the past as well. It definitely made me feel thankful for my ultimately simple and blessed life.

Our feet then brought us to the Lincoln Memorial, which is quite breathtaking. The statue of Lincoln is so beautiful and regal, and I got a total feeling of calm as I looked up into his face. We spent a couple of hours there while they got Vivian's final shots. Right there at the foot of the memorial area is the reflecting pool. Whenever I think of that I think of Forrest Gump--Jenny walking through it to get to him. "Run, Forrest, Run!" Well, we actually got to be like Jenny because there was no pool in the reflecting pool! For whatever reason it had been drained of water, and Neel said it was the first time he's ever seen it empty. Bizarre. Of course Sullivan wanted to go in there, and I have to admit, I did, too. How many people can say they've been in the reflecting pool?! (well, and have not gotten arrested, that is...!) As we stood there Sullivan said, "Hey look! A penny!" I looked down and realized that there were coins everywhere. Of course! People throw money into these kinds of things! It was so cool, most of the coins were hardly recognizable they had probably been in there for so long. We actually found a very cool coin, Neel said he thought it was a freemason one. Sullivan also found a penny from 1953. I let him take a couple--and I took one, myself!--but I have to admit it felt a bit funny to take them out of there, like they were sacred or something. Hopefully those people's wishes have already come true. :-) It sure made Sullivan happy to have them!

We all walked through the pool down to the Washington monument, which is at the other end. The kids really wanted to go up in it, but I guess they only sell so many tickets to do so each day and there weren't any left. They were bummed, but I sure wasn't! Not my idea of fun. At that point we all split up to do some individual sight-seeing. Cory had wanted to experience the Holocaust museum, so he, Char and Lisa all went to do that. Neel kindly offered to hang out with the kids and I, and we went back to the Natural History museum. Even though Sullivan had already been there, Vivian and I had not. I really wanted to see the Hope Diamond--of course! I have to say, it wasn't what I expected. All I could think of was The Titanic. Maybe everyone else knows that they obviously made Rose's trinket to look like that in the film (I'm guessing here, but, don't you think?!) but I was clueless. I guess I expected this HUGE, like as big as my fist, cut diamond. huh. I guess I'd rather have a grill.

We also checked out the dinosaurs--of course!--and a bug exhibit. The actual bug exhibit was closed, but they moved a few things to another area. Sullivan held a huge African walking stick bug--and I 'pet' it!!! Spiders and centipedes make me shiver, but this thing had a face and he was cute to me. Go figure. Neel kindly bought us all treats and had to duck out to go teach a swimming lesson. :-) The kids and I cabbed it back to the hotel to meet up with Coreman.

There is one thing I will interject about the museums. I realized that as cool as everything was there, our little ol' museums in the fair city of Minneapolis are really just as cool. We have many of the same things, some even on a grander scale than the Smithsonians. It made me proud to live in the Minneapple.

Our last night in DC. We decided we'd ALL go out for a final dinner together. Neel had told us about this cool place his friend owns called Comet Pizza. Cory and I both agreed that it would go over fabulously here in Minneapolis! It had a very Uptown-y type vibe. It looked like someone's basement with booths and long tables, and the back room was set up for ping pong! We ate delicious thin-crust pizza and went back for some good old fashioned table tennis. Cory and Char were getting quite cut-throat there for a while. I seem to recall bets were made, but I don't know if anything was ever coughed up?? :-) Our little family, + pregnant Char, decided to call it an early night and get back to the hotel, leaving the rest of the crew behind.

We had a pretty early flight the next day, so it was up and at 'em. The Fallon team were all on the same flight, so that was fun. Char, Simon, Bobby, Lisa, Micheal. What a great group of people--they were so fun, so kind. We couldn't have spent a week with finer people. We didn't all sit together on the plane, however, which was fine...I think everyone just wanted to zone out and relax after such a busy week. What a week it was. What an experience! Back to COLD Minnesota, sigh. I sure could use a 50 degree stroll in DC right about now....