Embracing the Adventure

With the rest of the nation, we were so excited about observing the total solar eclipse! Arlington, VA only had about 90% coverage, but that was still super fun! We watched the area of totality on TV:  We didn't have eclipse glasses, so we made our own cereal box viewers:  At the time when the eclipse was at its peak, it was so neat being able to see the tiny eclipses in the shadows of the trees!

Elias and I decided to enjoy the Arlington County Fair! We spent the day there and had a ball riding rides. We rode the Scrambler:  The Dragon Coaster:  View from the Ferris Wheel:  On the Ferris Wheel:  We rode the coolest hang-gliding ride... I've never seen one like this before!  Elias did the Monkey Maze:  We rode the swings - one of my all-time favorites!  Some firefighters let Elias put out a fire with the fire hose! Cool! Elias met a giant inflatable sheriff... There was a person inside there! As you can see from his posture, Elias was not super comfortable next to this guy! It was a super fun day!

We seized the opportunity on a Saturday when Justin could be with us to go to the Air and Space Museum. It was so cool, but super crowded on a weekend. We saw a cool IMAX 3D movie about Aircraft Carriers!  The original plane built by the Wright Brothers:  A model of Skylab:  Monkeys in space!  A simulation of a passenger plane cockpit:  Lunar module:  Learning about physics! Justin and Elias rode the flight simulator... They loved it!!  Tasting astronaut ice cream. Yum!

Elias and I were excited to take the opportunity to look around Washington DC! We rode the Metro to get downtown... The escalator is so long! The White House: The First Division Monument on the lawn of the White House: The Washington Monument: The Lincoln Memorial: The Reflecting Pool: The Korean War Memorial: The World War II Memorial: We are so privileged to be able to live in this neat place!