smithsonian day

On our recent trip to DC, we only got to spend one day on the National Mall, but we saw all the things Jimmy cared about.  

The first thing was Gus' favorite: The Choo Choo.

...also known as the Metro. After his first trip he asked to go on it every time we left the house.

First Stop: The Museum of Natural History

The obvious reason being the dinosaurs.  

T-Rex was, as always, impressive.

Stegosaurus.

A classic.

Diplodocus 

(not to be confused with a Brontosaurus or Brachiosaurus or any other long neck dinosaur)

Triceratops 

(although not technically since his front horn is broken off)

The (Not So) Wooly Mammoth.

(This is more exciting now that we have watched "Ice Age")

Surprisingly, Jimmy's favorite was not a Dinosaur at all:  

The Giant Ground Sloth.

... Not gonna lie, I was pretty impressed, too, since it looked like some kind of monster.

Jimmy liked that it could walk on either two or four legs and was featured in both positions.

But really, number one in his heart will always be the Pterodactyl:

It is actually the one on the back wall, not the ceiling.  We couldn't get any closer because the second story was closed for renovations or something.  We are lucky that tears were avoided.

We also checked out the creepy taxidermy animals, the ocean animals exhibit, and Nano and Dad took Jimmy for a quick look at the gems and the Hope Diamond.  I stayed downstairs with Gus.  I was bored so I tried to take pictures of him.  In this one, he is literally yelling at me, "NO PICTURE!"

Washington Monument. Check.

Next Stop: Air and Space Museum

The Wright Brothers Exhibit:

The plane below to the left was Jimmy's favorite because it was a bi-plane that could also land on water

(apparently, he likes things that are multi-functional)

There was a fun hands on room that the kids enjoyed.

The best part of it was where they got to sit in a real airplane and steer to make the wings and tail actually move.

Let's just say Gus wasn't keen on letting the next kid in line have a turn.

By the end of our walk we were pretty hot so we got some ice cream.  

Jimmy did have to be carried which gave him a nice view of the Capitol Building as we walked to the Metro.