WASHINGTON, DC – WEEK 1 of 2

Jule’s Journal:

By: Julianne Lillie

9/16/22: “National Mall” – We walked over 18,000 steps today all over our Nation’s Capitol Mall. We saw all of the monuments & memorials. We started out by driving to the Metro station just 10 min. from our campground. Parked & caught the train (23 min. ride) into the National Mall & it let out right by the US Navy Memorial & National Archives Building. We headed straight to the George Washington Monument in hopes of finding a Jr. Ranger booklet, but no luck! But did get our passports stamped.

Then walked the green lawns to the World War 2 memorial.

We found our state’s column & wreath!

Then we all headed down the reflecting pool to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial.

We made it to the base of the Lincoln Memorial! And here's the view from the base of the Lincoln memorial looking back towards the Washington Monument. Just beautiful!

At honest Abe’s memorial we finally were able to locate a Park Ranger who gave us 2 Jr Ranger booklets. So we headed up the steps to see Abe & check it out.

At the top of the steps it marked the location of MLK's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

After we got our passports stamped there, we sat down on the marble steps in the shade and started on the Jr Ranger booklets. We did as much as we could do without visiting each place which gave our feet a much needed break from walking. (Everything looks so much closer than it really is!) When we had done as much as we could, we set out to visit the ones we hadn’t yet! Next was the Korean War Memorial, then Vietnam.

Korean War Memorial:

Vietnam Memorial - the 3 Servicemen & the Wall:

And then back to WW2 for an answer we didn’t know. Then we got shaved ice and hopped on the “Circulator” bus to take us all the way out to the Jefferson Memorial. Here we are at the Jefferson Memorial:

You can still see the Washington Monument from the Jefferson Memorial!

After we finished there, we were walking along the pond when we saw an Osprey dive into the pond & come out with a fish handling in its right talon! He went to perch on a tree, and there the fish was still flapping around when a Raven came to try to steal his catch. We watched for awhile & the Osprey managed to keep and eat his lunch. Here's a video we got of it...

As we continued on our way to FDR's memorial we kept seeing beautiful views across the water.

This was looking back at the Jefferson Memorial across the water:

Then we made it to FDR’s Memorial. It was so long – there were 4 sections. Each section represented 1 term of his presidency. Yes, he was elected president for 4 terms… but passed away before finishing his 4th term. The FDR memorial had beautiful waterfalls with many of his famous quotes enscribed on the granite walls.

And then last but not least, we ended our trek at the Martin Luther King, JR. memorial. It shows MLK carved into the Granite stone that broke away from the mountain – representing that he broke through many barriers. It was very well done!

We then caught the circulator bus back to the metro station.

We made the 23 min ride back to where our truck was parked. Then 20 minute drive home. Late dinner… we were exhausted just after Day 1!!!

9/17/22: “Archives & Hamilton” – We arrived 1st in line with our timed entry ticket to visit the Archives building which opened promptly at 10am! It was awesome getting to see the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, Bill of Rights, & Articles of Confederation documents in person. It was a bummer we couldn’t take any photo inside the building… the architecture was beautiful! But here’s a few pictures I took of the outside of the building.

After browsing through several exhibits, we headed back to the RV for lunch & to watch our beloved Sooners beat Nebraska. Around 3pm we drove 1 hour to the Kennedy Performing Arts Center where they were celebrating the Grand Opening of their brand new exhibit (this was opening day!) celebrating the life of JFK and his love for the arts!

They had a pretty cool exhibit where it takes a photo of you and then creates a portrait painting of you in a similar style to the one of JFK. Here’s a video of Jett’s masterpiece portrait:

The John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center was just beautiful! Here's the lobby outside the Opera House.

It was also National Dance Day & they had so many cool things on! At 6pm “So You Think You Can Dance” (SYTYCD) TV show’s season 16 winner, Bailey Munoz, taught us the “National Dance Day” dance. Jett and I learned it together and the Television cameras seemed to love getting right up and close to Jett and I. (So we might be on TV when this episode airs!)

Here's the best video Jason got of Jett and I:

We got through parts 1 & 2 of the dance before we had to run back to the truck to change into our dressy clothes for Hamilton at 7:30pm. It was performed in the large Opera House. IT. WAS. AWESOME! I loved every minute of it!

The Opera House was absolutely gorgeous!

We were home by midnight… again we were exhausted! But very filled!

9/22/22: “The Pentagon” – So we requested a tour of the Pentagon almost 3 months ago through our Oklahoma US State Representative, Markwayne Mullin’s office. We had to fill out a TON of information online (I’m sure they ran background checks on each of us) and then waited for like 2.5 months until we received confirmation that we were approved to tour. We then had to fill our more applications and requested our date for reservations. Finally we received a confirmation email last week that we were confirmed on the 10am tour for Thursday, 9/22/22. We were all SO excited!

The confirmation email listed out all prohibited items which was quite extensive and included cell phones, smart watches, and any other electronics with a whole slew of other items. So last night, Jason and I sat down to map out our route to the Pentagon. Since we couldn’t bring our electronics we didn’t want to ride the metro and be miles from our truck should anything happen. So we decided to drive to Pentagon City Mall, park there and then take the Metro train just one stop over to the Pentagon building. We mapped out our timing and built in weekday morning traffic on our commute in.

In order to check-in at 9am for the security & screening process, we had to be leaving our RV by 7am… which I’m happy to report we did! We ended up in “stop-n-go” traffic for about an hour like we expected then found a parking lot to leave our truck & electronics in. We then walked through the Pentagon City Mall (before it was even open – quite eerie!) then headed down into the Metro. Hopped on the train to one stop over (basically went under the highway) and emerged right at the Visitor’s entrance at the Pentagon.

We stood in line for the Visitor’s Center for about 15 minutes and were all very entertained with people watching! We saw uniformed men & women in all different branches of the military in uniform. We even saw a group of men in a different country’s military uniform being escorted in. We then had a military police officer (armed with a giant assault rifle) move us out of line to a separate corner with others waiting for the 10am tour. We waited there for what seemed like another 20 minutes. Again, we had no watches or phones (felt very weird!) so we kept on people watching! We saw several US Space Force uniformed men & women which I didn’t even know was a thing! We later learned on the tour that this division began in 2019 and falls underneath the US Air Force. (Similar to how the US Marines are underneath the US Navy – which I also didn’t know!) These servicemen and women are called US Space Force “Guardians.” (Jett thought that was super awesome and appreciated the Avengers reference by our nation’s military!)

In our people watching we also took note of all of the security measures this building had in place. Only one entrance – in and out. Tall electric metal fence with sharp blades & points on top. A lot of Police officers everywhere and even more cameras everywhere! We later learned that the Pentagon building is pretty much like it’s own sustainable city with eateries, gift shops, pharmacy, groceries, Barber shop & hair salons, and even a floral shop. The building also has 7 different zip codes for mailing AND has its very own police force whose jurisdiction is only at the Pentagon building & grounds.

Finally, they called our group forward & we proceeded to the entrance & presented our paperwork & 4 passports. They gave us 4 visitor’s badges & escorted us to security. It was pretty much like airport security except they also did full body scans. Once through, we were then escorted into a waiting room. We noticed they had a couple of backdrops for photo taking which a couple people were doing who actually DID bring their cell phones. I honestly was a bit frustrated since we clearly read and followed the instructions only to find out that I was missing out on an opportunity. Oh well! They then had us line up at a window to “check in” and verified our names and badges. Then had us sit down again.

About 5 minutes later they ushered us into a theatre room. There was about 30 or so in our tour group. One of two or our tour guides welcomed us and mentioned that this was the largest group they’ve had. He asked everyone to introduce ourselves & tell the group where we’re from and the reason for our visiting. (Now that I think of it, I’m sure this was all video recorded and who knows what else!) We went down the lines & finally the last 2 people joined our group – 1 with a wheelchair which I’m sure was the hold up. There were actually a few employees in uniform also on the tour that were bringing their spouses, parents, or friends with them to see where they worked! One lady was bringing her mom and son. So that was neat!

At this point in time, they asked for all electronics to be turned in which were put in locked boxes so they could get them at the end of their tour. Then we headed out to begin our 45 minute walking tour. The first tour guide was a US Marine woman from Wisconsin. She explained the rigorous training that the tour guides had to do in order to pass. They had to pass a physical test as well as a written US history exam. Then they had to memorize their script in step & pace with the tour route all while walking backwards! And it’s true, she did everything backwards facing the tour group… even the stairs and escalators!

We learned that the Pentagon is the largest low-rise building in the world! (Only 5 stories high.) And it has twice as much floor space as the Empire State Building! We walked through the “mini city” part and saw the Food court with a plethora of eateries, shops, hair salon, CVS pharmacy, gift shop, Candy shop, & even floral shop! Inside the 5 sided building there is a huge 5 acre green space courtyard that has a café restaurant. The tour guide told us that it is a “No hat, no salute” zone… one of very few areas like it. They wanted it to be a break area for all, this way the younger, lower-ranking servicemen/women wouldn’t be stuck saluting every second someone passes them. Ha!

We walked through the US Navy halls and I learned that they protect the seas in, above, and below. The halls were very large & wide with many windows to the interior overlooking the courtyard and on the opposite side many doors to offices and meeting rooms. We kept walking and reached the US Coast Guard area, then the US Air Force area. Jett enjoyed seeing the cool model planes of all their air crafts and quickly spotted his favorite, the F-22 Raptor. This is where we learned of the new division, US Space Force, and saw a few US Space Commander’s offices. (Their logo looks similar to Star Trek Command’s logo!)

We then went to the Army section and headed down 2 flights of stairs into the 9/11 memorial they have built inside the building. They have a whole wall of patriotic Red, White, & Blue quilts that were made & donated to honor those lives lost at the Pentagon that day. The quilts were chosen as a source of comfort for those mourning. Some quilts were works of art while others were made by children’s handprints and hand drawn art. Each just as important and both showing their love and support honoring those that lost their lives. We then headed into a small room similar to the size of a small chapel. It was dark and solemn, a place to reflect. There was a purple heart medal of honor that was in a display case and we learned that the government issues this honor to all those that died in the Pentagon. It was actually quite interesting – there could have been so many more lives lost that day at the Pentagon. But it just so happened (probably moreso divinely orchestrated) that the plane actually hit a section of the Pentagon that was under renovation and just months away from reopening. So the majority of the people that died at the Pentagon were contract workers. A total of 184 people died, 80ish of who were on the plane. There was a book we could write a note in to the families, which Jett and I did just that.

After that we made our way back up the stairs and out where we were escorted out of the building after turning in our badge. They did hand us a souvenir poster, 1 for each person, on our way out. So we did get at least SOMETHING to show for our visit! It was a really neat experience overall! I’m so glad we got the opportunity to visit!

Jett’s Wild Flight:

By: Jett Lillie

9/20/22: “White House” – We woke up and took the subway to the White House and the Visitor Center. Then we waited for awhile and then we went through MAJOR security. After, we strolled through some colorful rooms and hallways. There were a lot of pictures of past Presidents and First Ladies with Secret Service guarding them! It was cool being in the same place as our President (he was home that morning).

But the house wasn’t as big as I thought it would be. Then we ate lunch and got 2 Jr. Ranger badges!

9/21/22: “Capitol Hill” – It was a little difficult getting into the Capitol Building with my “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good” T-shirt. The Police officer beeped me by my belly several times (he was messing with me). Later I thought of why he beeped me and I figured it was because of my ABS OF STEAL! We got to go into the Senate Chamber and listen to a Senator from Alaska speak. He was talking about stuff I didn’t really understand, but all I got was Biden is bad and not making wise choices.

9/22/22: “The Pentagon Tour” – Our Nation’s military capitol has enough telephone lines to wrap around the earth 4 times! At least that is what our tour guide said. It is quite difficult to get in the Pentagon, but I managed to get pass through security. Our tour guide told us about 9/11 and all the military branches. Please stand up when you hear your division…

“Dun da Dun, Navy! Dun da Dun, Marines! Dun da Dun, Air Force! Dun da Dun, Coast Guard! Aaaaaaaaannnnnnddddd Dun da Dun, Army!” The Pentagon was cool, but we couldn’t take photos. We only got this poster.

Jaycie’s Bunny Hoppin’ News:

By: Jaycie Lillie

9/19/22: “National Arboretum & the NIGHT Tour” – We started the day by going to the National Arborteum. There were so many pretty flowers. A lot of peppers, too!

There was this column art structure that was cool. These columns were the old columns from the Capitol Building and moved here to be art.

After looking around a bit we walked through the Asia gardens. There were Bonsia trees and little ponds.

When we got back to the camper, mommy and Jett went to play putt-putt golf and I gave daddy art lessons. (kinda) We painted Bonsai trees.

After we rested, we hopped on a tour. It was a night bus tour. The tour guide was funny. [His name was Larry.]

We walked and drove then walked and drove. We went to ALL the memorials on the mall and More!

9/20/22: “White House” – Next day we did a tour of the White House! It was very big but we could not go everywhere. We were allowed to take pictures but no videos.

That was fun! Then we split up. We had to get our bags from the restaurant [they were holding them for us] because bags are not allowed in the White House, even purses! Jett and Mommy went to the White House Visitor’s Center. We met up at a different restaurant [Ebbitt’s Grill] than we stored our bags at. It was very good food! I completed my Jr Ranger book and returned to the Visitor’s center to get my badge. We all shopped then left and went to Ford’s Theatre. The theatre was actually closed but we walked all throughout the museum and the Peterson house where Abraham Lincoln died. The Park Ranger there thought I was 19 years old. But he was really old said his eyesight wasn’t very good.

9/22/22: “The Pentagon Tour” – We had to wake up early and drive to the Pentagon. We couldn’t take bags either - not even phones or electronic watches. We arrived early and waited. Then went through security. Then waited, more security. Then waited more. After a lot of waiting we started the tour. We switched tour guides halfway through. We couldn’t shop because they had to lead us straight to the exit. We went home and rested.