Washington D.C. Museums and the Mall

October 30th - November 1st

One might ask...why would the Blackmarrs decide to visit Washington D.C. during one of the most contested Presidential Elections of the 20th/21st Century? That is a great question! One that we asked ourselves on more than one occasion as we were visiting a Capitol, boarded up and barricaded in anticipation for some heavy demonstrations and riots. Fortunately, nothing every materialized...about the only political demonstration we saw was a strange procession of cars, trucks, and motorcycles around the beltway.

This visit to D.C. had been postponed since December of 2019 when Keegan came down with a life-threatening case of pneumonia. Needless to say, the boys were very excited to see the Capitol! We knew that we would be unable to see everything due to COVID, but there were enough attractions open to keep us plenty busy.

On Day 1, we spent the better part of the day walking around the national mall, visiting all the war memorials. It was especially moving to read the Gettysburg address inscribed on the wall of the Lincoln memorial, having stood in the Gettysburg cemetery where Lincoln gave the speech only a few days before. A walk down Pennsylvania Ave. was a little disappointing. I never remember the White House being so unapproachable. The barricades, high walls, and barriers prevented anyone from seeing it. We decided that coming back again after COVID and the election would be a top priority for us - just so much to see and do that we couldn't at this time.

While we were at the mall, we decided to tour the one museum that was open and reported to have very stringent social distancing measures in place - the Holocaust Museum. We debated whether this would be too much, especially for Cullen - but after touring the museum, we were glad that we did. The boys learned so much about how hate, prejudice, and nationalism, can destroy a society.

Later in the week, we also made the drive out to Dulles airport in order to see the National Air and Space Museum. You couldn't visit a safer indoor space during COVID! The museum is big enough to house the Space Shuttle Discover, an SR-71 Blackbird, and hundreds of other military and civilian aircraft. The Museum took an innovative approach to interactive exhibits...hosting a former SR-71 pilot who fielded questions and told stories from the safety of his home computer. The boys thought it was pretty cool to ask him questions as if he were there in person.

Washington DC Photo Album