Home is where the blog is.: Downtown DC.

Brandon was great and took the kids for another day so I could take my mom and dad downtown. They were promised cherry blossoms, but instead we got dreary, rainy weather. (The snow had already melted by the time we got off the metro.)

Instead of doing to outside walk around the monuments we planned, we hit up the Air and Space Museum. Here's Drandma (as the kids have taken to calling her) with a replica of the lunar landing module.

Missiles and part of the space station? This place is the greatest!

Flat Stanley liked the Spirit of St. Louis, which thanks to the fact that I'm Facebook friends with The Air and Space Museum, I know was flown across the Atlantic in 1927 and presented to the Smithsonian in 1928. (This picture cracks me up because you can see one of the many people who exclaimed "Hey! Flat Stanley!" throughout the week.)

Next up, we visited the office of Congressman Bob Latta and snacked on some Ballreich potato chips (woo Ohio!) before we were taken in the underground tunnels to the Capitol for a tour by a nice Miami University undergrad (woo Miami Poli Sci!) This is a replica of the statue Lady Liberty who sits on top of the dome.

Here's the exact middle of DC, where all the poorly planned spoke streets start from. (Sorry, but we Ohio prefer the grid.)

It goes without saying, the Capitol is very impressive. and if you ever visit, be sure to book a tour through your Congressperson's office. It's much better than waiting in line for a tour with 75 other people.

Especially if you're visiting in the height of Spring Break season.

Here's the old Senate meeting area, where they have John C. Calhoun's desk marked (wooo orginal land owner of the place that would one day be Clemson University!).

When we finished the tour, we headed outside for a look at the outside of the Capitol.

And here's a view of the Mall. Can you see the scaffolding halfway up the Washington Monument? They're starting the repairs on it after the 2011 earthquake.