We took today off from sightseeing and did laundry, shopping and housekeeping chores.
Monday the 27th
Up early to get ourselves going. We have the Archives Building on our list for our first stop. Last week there was a long line by 10:00 AM so we plan to get there early.
By now our morning routine is pretty standard. Get up, turn on the coffee pot, walk the dogs, come back, feed the dogs, pour coffee, put the dogs back on the bed, make breakfast, turn on tv to watch GMA, finish breakfast, put the dishes in the sink, see Tina get up, pour coffee for Tina, pour the rest of the coffee in the carafe, watch a little more GMA while Tina eats breakfast, walk the dogs again, call the dog walker, clean the morning dishes, finish the coffee, set the A/C for the dogs, grab the cameras, metro passes, map and our plan for the day, lock up, get in the car and head for the metro, well... you probaby get the picture. 
We got into DC and walked over to the National Archives building (http://www.archives.gov/). We got there about 9:15 AM. The entrance walkway was blocked off. Workmen were sand blasting and cleaning the facade of the building. There were no other tourists around. Bummer! It looked like the building was closed. But, no. At 9:30 AM the workers started putting their stuff away and removed the traffic cones from the entrance walkway. By now a few other people had got in line with us. Once the way was clear we walked up to the heavy bronze entry doors o wait for the 10:00 AM opening. Tina, of course, was first in line. This was an incredible experience. The National Archives has all sorts of documents and records but most impressive was the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, copies of the amendments to the constitution, Louisiana Purchase and several other early documents important to the formation of our country. The primary documents are displayed under low light under glass around the inner perimeter of the rotunda room. We made our way sloly around past the documents feeling the march of history and a connection with those who came before us, the men and women who shaped our country. It was really something just to be viewing these imortant documents, some so faded as to benearly unreadable. As we moved on to the rest of the exhibits we could feel history all around us.
From the National Archives building we walked over to the National Museum of Natural History (http://www.mnh.si.edu/). Another part of the Smithsonian complex, this stunning building has two floors of exhibits and you need to get a map to ensure that you don't miss anything. As soon as you walk onto the main floor under the rotunda (almost all of our National buildings have rotundas) the first thing you see is a huge rampant elephant with his trunk raised to alert the herd . Our first stop was to get tickets to the Imax Theater. 
Once we had our tickets we started our tour in the Hall of Mammals. They have over 200 mammals on display (including humans) showing their incredible diversity and the way they came about and how they continue to adapt. From there we basically wandered through the various exhibits on early life on earth, fossil plants, fossil mammals, dinosaurs and the ancient ocean fossils, then on to the ice age. 
By this time we need to get over to the Imax where we are treated to a pair of 3-D glasses for the movie "Wild Ocean". We get our seats and since this was my first real experience with 3-D I'm really blown away at the feeling of being right in the film. It's almost holographic. This was an eye opener for me - we'll definately be doing more of the 3-D movies. Way cool!! 
After the movie we wandered through the Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals where the highlight was Harry Winston's "Hope Diamond" (http://mineralsciences.si.edu/hope.htm) and the "Carmen Lucia Ruby" (http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/ruby/index.htm). The entire display covers almost a quarter of the 2nd floor. There are so many gem stones and minerals to see that you get glassy eyed. I did learn that Zircon can come in an array of different colors - from clear to red, gold, blue and green. From the gem exhibit we went through a display on the forensics of bones used during investigation of history - how people of different lifestyles lived and died. This was an important tool in deciphering the history of the colonists of Jamestown. Very interesting.
From there we went back downstairs and had lunch in the Atrium Cafe. After lunch we walked through the Sant Ocean Hall, another very large exhibit which showed the ocean from several different academic viewpoints which highlight how the oceans are connected to other global systems and to our daily lives. We made a brief stop in the museum store to pick up a couple of small gifts including another unique dragonfly pin for Tina.
By now its nearly 3:30 PM so we scrapped our plans for visiting the Museum of American History and headed for the subway. Another really enjoyable day of sightseeing in DC.
To see all of todays photos click on the following link:
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