Miss Kent Goes to the Washington

Family Vacation! We went to Washington DC over the 4th of July and had a great trip. It has been a long time since all five of us have traveled together, but we survived…actually we had a great trip! Dawn went to DC when she was in high school but it was the first trip for the rest of us. After countless emails, family suppers, and planning discussions we were so happy to finally make the trip.

Before we left we each chose something specific that we definitely wanted to do. Dad wanted to go to the Air and Space Museum…all the choices in Washington DC and that was his number #1 pick.

Unlce Tholly was in the Air Force. He always wanted to fly planes but did not actually get to because of his eyesight.

My mom grew up in Napier Field near Dothan. She had a runway in her backyard.

My dad works for O'Neal Steel. They built these bombs in the early years of the company.

My Uncle Verbon was in the Navy. He was stationed in Alaska during part of his deployment. He had a visit from a Red Cross representative during that time who asked him to please write to his mother becuase she was continually calling the Red Cross to let them know that she had not received a letter from her son recently.

My greatgrandparents lived near Huntsville, Alabama where launcher was originally tested. My dad says that he specifically remembers the sound of the blasts and the ground shaking during the tests while visiting his grandparents when he was young.

Mom wanted to go to the National Cathedral. It was breathtaking. We went on a guided tour with one of the docents and learned so much about the history of the cathedral.

There are several smaller chapels throughout the cathedral with various dedications

This chapel is meant to honor service men and women. The book at the front of the chapel on the right contains the names of all the men and women who served in World War II, including my grandfather Iley Fred Kent, Sr. who served in the US Army.
Children's Chapel -- everything is scaled to the size of a 5 year old child.

Tile mosaic in the Resurrection Chapel

The Bishop’s Garden behind the cathedral beautiful!

Dawn wanted to go to the Newseum.

The Newseum is a fairly new museum with memorabilia from various news stories

East Berlin Wall

West Berlin Wall

Tim Russert's Office

Kevin didn’t really have one thing that he definitely wanted to do. This trip was really his idea from the beginning. He’s been talking about wanting to go to DC for several years now. I’m glad he finally got the chance to go!

We learned very quickly on Friday morning that everything on the Mall is not nearly as close together as it seems in pictures or on TV. It is a 2 mile walk from the Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial.

I chose to go to the Nationals game. They were playing the Mets our first night there.

Mets v. Nationals

Perfect night for baseball!
Our seats were directly above the Mets bullpen

Botton of the 9th....tied game.....bases loaded.....full count.....AND

Getting to experience the 4th of the July in the nation’s capital is such a great experience. Independence Parade on Constitution Avenue to firework over the Washington Monument should be on everyone’s “Must Do” List!