Washington, D.C. - Part 2

I spent this last weekend in Washington, D.C. In my previous post, I spoke of the great concerts that we were able to see while there.  This post is focused on family and other sights.

G-Man was really excited to see his cousins.  When we lived in Boston, we had more opportunities to see my brother-in-law and his family.  It was fun to watch all the kids together.  We had a brilliant idea - have the kids play a video game together.  We thought only the older kids would get into it, but to our astonishment, all the kids participated, whether they knew it, or not ; )  The game of choice?  Just Dance:

Here are a couple of video clips of the kids playing.  I like watching the littlest kids getting into it...

We went to a new restaurant in downtown D.C.  It's one of those places that is exactly what we like.  It's a gourmet burger joint that had d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s burgers and an incredible selection of fry-dipping sauces (Mango, Old Bay, Sriracha, Chipotlé).  It was a real treat.  It's called Good Stuff Eatery and was created by Spike Mendelsohn - one of our favorite chefs on the TV show Top Chef:

The Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake was a big hit with this crowd....

G-Man with two of his cousins, walking in downtown D.C.

While downtown, we drove near Arlington Cemetery, to see one of the memorials that most people miss when visiting D.C.  It's dedicated to the U.S. Marine Corps and depicts the famous flag-raising at Iwo Jima, during WWII:

In the image above, you get an idea of just how big this sculpture is.  It was profoundly moving, when you approach it, and see all of the many engagements that our Marines have been involved with, starting with the Revolutionary War.

I loved this picture...that's L just staring in amazement at the sculpture...

That was a real treat, and I'm glad that we took the time to visit.  I really, really love the WWII memorial in central D.C. and this was equally impressive.

A few days before, my wife and kids traveled to see the Martin Luther King Memorial.  I saw it last year and was working during that day.  I'm glad they had a chance to see it, but it was under repair.  It still provided a chance to talk with G-Man about who MLK was - and why we honor him.

Back at my brother-in-law's house, the kids loved a playground that was located right next to their house.  Here's L and her cousin J playing around - we didn't pose them for this image, they climbed up there all by themselves:

The boys had a fun experience all sleeping in the same room.  A great deal of talking and giggling could be heard each evening.  One night, they tried to sleep in an indoor tent:

It worked for a bout 30 minutes, when three boys in that small of a space erupted into a "disagreement".  It was a great idea, though ; )

Me and little E.  She's delightful...

On my way back, I had to go via Newark, New Jersey...which was in the opposite direction I wanted to travel ; )  However, there was a silver lining to the experience. I was able to have one of my favorite hot dogs of all time:

All in all, it was a great trip.  I loved visiting with my brother-in-law and his family.  The kids were able to play with their cousins.  I was able to go on two dates with my wife.  That's just a great trip, in my opinion!