Boyce Beacon and Beild (Old Site)

I’m a little tardy in getting this up... but better late than never, right? We spent a week in the Washington DC area for a family reunion on my Dad’s side. It was a lot of fun! (It was also quite humid!!!) I am posting a new photo album today to hold the pictures from DC... so the majority of them will be there. We accomplished quite a bit in DC/Virginia/Pennsylvania, it was a packed trip! Since I hadn’t been to DC since 8th grade, and don’t know when I will go back... I wanted to take advantage of the time we had!

Andy and I went early, leaving Washington State on Saturday. We met Daja and her family in Crystal City that night. The next morning we woke up and had our first DC metro experience. I think we looked a little helpless - four adults and three children trying to figure out the system map - but an attendant took pity on us and showed us how to work the system. We went over to the Foggy Bottom station and then walked to see the White House. From there we went down the mall, past the Washington, WWII, Vietnam, Lincoln and Korean memorials. My favorite of all of them was the WWII Memorial. It is a series of columns in an oval, one for each state and territory in the US. In the middle there is a huge, peaceful fountain. Inside there are a ton of quotes from the war, and there is also a field of stars on the back wall. I also really enjoyed the Lincoln Memorial, because as you look back from it you have a full view of the Washington Memorial, reflecting pool and the Capital. After seeing all of that we walked back to the Smithsonian station and took the metro back to Crystal City. We were exhausted, thirsty, and sore... but it was a fun day!

The next day we had to drive over to Pennsylvania for the real family reunion. Getting around DC was harder than I had imagined. In a five minute period we saw both the Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon. We hadn’t wanted to see either that day! We finally made it out of DC and survived the crazy Virginian and Maryland drivers to make it to Chambersburg. When we got there we spent some time visiting with family and then went to the local Wal Mart... great times in Pennsylvania! My sisters Keira and Liel arrived that night... and my parents started the beginning of an unwanted adventure with their airline. (They ended up finally making it probably 12 hours after they were scheduled to arrive.)

The next day was picture day. We all donned t-shirts that had been printed with the reunion logo (Boyce Beacon and Beild.) Pictures took awhile with so many people, but the kids seemed to enjoy their free time while they waited! Then we headed over to tour Gettysburg. The tour that we took gave us a lot of information that I wouldn’t have known on my own... it was very interesting to learn all about the three day battle. We could have stayed there for another day just to see more of the landmarks.

Wednesday was Hershey’s day. We went over to chocolate world and rode through their little tour. The kids got to make their own kisses, which they seemed to enjoy!

On Thursday Andy, Liel and I left a little earlier than the others and headed back to Arlington, VA for the Arlington National Cemetary. (This time it was going to be more than a detour trying to leave the state!) There we saw the Kennedy graves and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also got to see the changing of the guard, which was very interesting. Then we met everyone else in the Museum of Flight (or is it the Museum of Air and Space?) After that we walked over to the Museum of Natural History, and took a pit stop at a nice cool fountain, where almost everyone stuck their feet into the pool... it was very hot that day! I actually enjoyed the Museum of Natural History more than the Air and Space Museum. We eventually headed back to our hotel and had dinner... then everyone headed back out for a nighttime walk down the Mall. The WWII and Lincoln monuments were even better at night. My feet hurt really bad by the time we made it back to the hotel though!!!

The next day Andy and I took it easy... we were tuckered out! We went to the National Archives to see the constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence. That was really very interesting. We wish that we would have gone with Daja’s family to the Postal Museum... and I kind of wanted to go to the Ford Theater... but oh well!

All in all this was a very fun trip... not the relaxation we had in Hawaii, but very informative, and it was nice to see so many relatives. It was hard to leave for home!