The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 2: Washington DC, the City of Museums, Monuments, and Classified Information Day 6

   Last day, everyone! Which is sad, since I thoroughly enjoyed this vacation, minus the hot humidity and the sad overpriced hot dogs. Oh well. Forwards and onwards, dear readers! 

   We checked out of our hotel early and grabbed a Lyft (Seriously. Its a company like Uber.) to Arlington Cemetery (and left our luggage in the lobby of the hotel). At the visitor center, we bought shuttle tickets to get around and boarded the shuttle. Since Arlington Cemetery is an active cemetery, funerals were still going on, so we couldn't stop at the Arlington House (that's where you get the Junior Ranger badge), so we stopped at the Amphitheater and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier instead, and watched the Changing of the Guards. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment and has been guarded 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year since 1937. The discipline is really tight and its really cool to watch. See the link attached for more information. -> http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore-the-Cemetery/Changing-of-the-Guard  After that, we walked to the Arlington House (since the shuttle still didn't stop there due to active funeral services) and I got my Junior Ranger badge there. I'll include some educational stuff at the end of this post. It's really interesting there. Apparently, the Arlington House was once owned by General Robert E. Lee. And for those who know your American history, Robert E. Lee was the Confederate general in the Civil War. The more you know. After getting the badge, we walked down to the John F. Kennedy Gravesite and saw the Eternal Flame. And it was cool. PICTURE TIME!! 

At the Eternal Flame.

After we finished looking throughout Arlington Cemetery, we took a Lyft back to our hotel, then to the Metro station at Rosslyn. We took the subway to Union Station and caught a train from there to the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (try saying that 10x fast) and from there caught our flight back to Phoenix. We sat in first class and basically it's bigger seats, blankets, lots of food, endless drinks, and bigger foldable tables. And that concludes Episode 2 of Season 2 of 'The Adventures of Sock Monkey'! Any questiones, commentos, or anything else of the sort, comment board is below. Until next time, thanks for reading! And may the sock monkeys be ever in your favor!



EDUCATIONAL STUFFINESS NOW!

The Working Yard
There were over 60 enslaved people at Arlington House. Write an F next to statements of those who worked in the field, and an H next to ones of those in the house.

__ I close up the house every night at 10 p.m.
__ I am a nurse for the Lee children.
__ I plow the fields and plant oats and corn.
__ I get to eat some of the leftovers from the Lee family meals.
__ I live in the log cabins down by the river.
__ I wear old clothes from the Lee family.


A Family at Play
When Robert E. Lee was home, he loved to play outside with his children. He taught them to ride ponies, ice skate, swim, and fish in the river. They built tree houses in the woods. The family was very close. Complete the word search below.

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 2: Washington DC, the City of Museums, Monuments, and Classified Information Day 5

   Hello, dedicated (I hope) readers! I am back with more fun in Day 5 of our adventures in Washington DC! No time to waste, on with the fun!

   We woke up the next morning to the sound of construction outside in the road. Which wasn't fun. :p After our lame excuse for a breakfast, we headed to the subway and took the train to Union Station, where the bike rental place was. There, we met up with a group of family friends, grabbed our bikes, and headed off to go see the National Mall among other things. First, we started off by heading to the Washington Monument but stopped by the National Gallery of Art first just for a look. After checking out what was inside and looking around a bit, we headed back out and biked to the Washington Monument. See below for pictures.

Testing, testing, 1 2 3, do you hear me?

Loud and clear.

Roger that.

The view from the Washington Monument.

After taking pictures, resting a bit, and eating some genuine Washington DC M&Ms (not like it matters), we biked on to the Lincoln Memorial. After grabbing a Junior Ranger paper (pick up 4 from various places and fill them out to get the National Mall badge), we took some pictures inside and out. Which I included. Below.

Four score and seven years ago...

The view from the Lincoln Memorial

We continued biking on, but not before I stopped by the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial ranger station and the Korean War Veterans Memorial ranger station to grab the papers. We bike through the Korean War Veterans Memorial and to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, where I finished the Junior Ranger "packet". We then started biking to the Jefferson Memorial but took the lower trail instead and ended up having to bike through a flock/gaggle/skein of geese. That was interesting. We arrived at the Jefferson Memorial and grabbed a very sad hot dog to eat while my dad went to go look for my mom, who had mysteriously disappeared while we were riding to the Jefferson Memorial. Turns out she was waiting for us at the monument while we took a refreshments break. Oops. Anyway, we finished our sad hot dogs and biked up to the Jefferson Memorial, parked there, and went inside. And if you want to know, they turn the AC down super low in the ranger information desk room so it felt really super nice. ;) Pictures!

Closer...

...and closer...

...and closer.

We hold these truths to be self-evident...

After that we biked back to Union Station to return the bikes. I'll include the map of where we went. Below. 

We followed the highlighted route.

After eating dinner in the food court in Union Station, we took a subway back to our hotel, stopped by a Safeway for groceries, and ate dinner back at the hotel. And that concludes the adventures for today! Questions, comments, potentially random things, put them in the comment board. I'm just about done, so thanks for reading!

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 2: Washington DC, the City of Museums, Monuments, and Classified Information Day 4

   And here we go once again with Day 4 of our incredibly sock monkey filled informational tiring hot and humid adventures of complete and utter epicness!

   We started the morning with yet another huge breakfast buffet complete with coffee and made-to-order omelets. After that, we checked out of the hotel and dropped off the luggage at the lobby before walking to the White House visitor center so I could get the Junior Ranger badges that they give out there. Because even though you can get the White House packet at the (duh) White House, they apparently didn't give you the badge. Hence the trip. There is another badge for the President's Park that you can get there. Which I also got. I'll include the educational stuff at the end of the post. Remind me. After that, we walked to the National Air & Space Museum and basically spent a good 5.5 hrs there looking around at all the various flying objects displayed there. Like the Natural History Museum, it was big. There were sections on the moon landings, time and navigation, the Wright brothers and their plane, space exploration, WWII aviation, sea-air operations, how things fly, early flight, jets, universe exploration, and viewing earth. See below.

And we have liftoff!

They have come. In shiny tinfoil spaceships.

Houston, Banana base here, the sock monkey has landed.

To infinity...and beyond!

Launching in T-10...9...8...

I wanna try that out!

Sock Monkey in space!

Space monkeys...

...and space bears!

Yeah right. Where's the USS Enterprise?!

Sock monkeys flying in the sky, in the sky!

After the museum kicked us out politely since they were closing, we subway-ed back to our hotel, picked up our luggage (and some gummi bears!), and subway-ed to our new hotel destination. Its called the Inn of Rosslyn and I could say I wasn't too pleased with it. You can read my dad's review. Let's just say it wasn't good. Anyway, after getting lost once or twice, we finally found our hotel, checked in, and chilled for the rest of the night. And tat concludes today's adventures so please check/use the comments board below. Until next time...thanks for reading!



Educational stuff now. 

Who am I?

This man, our 38th president, was born in 1913. He played varsity football throughout college and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1935. He began working at Yale University as an assistant football coach and also taught cheer-leading. 

During the summer of 1936, he worked as a seasonal park ranger at Yellowstone National Park. He recalled his time as a park ranger as "one of the greatest summers of my life." He graduated from Yale Law School in 1941, and served four years in the United States Navy. He served as president from August 9, 1974 to January 20, 1977. During his time in office he added eighteen new areas to the National Park System. 

When unscrambled, the following four words-all found in the above text-will name the president!

LOTBLAFO               _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _          (1st letter)   _
LENOSTYLOWE            _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _    (5th letter)   _
REGNRA                 _ _ _ _ _ _              (1st letter)   _
IDENTPRES              _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _        (6th letter)   _

I AM PRESIDENT _ _ _ _.


Champions for Change

Unlike the president, the first lady's duties and responsibilities are not outlined in the Constitution of the United States. This provides a unique opportunity for each first lady to define her role. Which first lady is described in each statement below?

Write the matching number of each first lady's cause in the circle next to her name.

Barbara Bush (1989-1993)        _    1. This first lady taught 
                                     school and established the
                                     White House Library in 1851.       
Jacqueline Kennedy (1961-1963)  _    2. The wife of our 40th                                             president campaigned in the                                         1980s to "Just Say No" to                                           drugs.                   

Eleanor Roosevelt (1933-1945)   _    3. The 19th Amendment giving                                         women the right to vote was                                         ratified in 1920. A decade                                           earlier
                                                              
Abigail Fillmore (1850-1853)    _    4. This first lady co-                                              authored a book, titled                                              Millie's Book (1990), and                                            worked to promote literacy.  


Helen 'Nellie' Taft (1909-1913) _    5. Living in the White House                                        during World War II, this first                                      lady transformed the office,                                        holding press conferences,                                          traveling widely, giving                                            lectures and radio broadcasts,                                      and writing her own daily                                            opinion column in a newspaper.


Nancy Reagan (1981-1989)        _    6. In the early 1960s, this                                          first lady's efforts brought                                        national attention to the need                                      of preserving and restoring the                                      art and furnishings of the                                          historic White House.

The formatting is supposed to be all aligned!! :( But it still looks cool. Hehe. 

(Borrowed/Adapted from the White House and President's Park Junior Ranger booklet. Please don't sue me.)

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 2: Washington DC, the City of Museums, Monuments, and Classified Information Day 3

   Here I am again with another day of really awesome adventures!! So far, it has been fun, hot and very humid. And (SPOILER) it's still going to be fun, hot, and very humid. No matter. On with the fun!

   We got up at around 8-ish and had another giant breakfast. Might as well take advantage of the buffets while you can. After that, we walked to the International Spy Museum just to check it out. It was a lot bigger than we had planned, because on the map, the museum was really tiny, but the actual building took up an entire block. The museum was really fun and I highly suggest it for anyone who likes those sort of things. The tickets cost a lot ($22.95, I think) but it was super worth it. First, you would get in the elevator with all these super cool lights and it would take you to the third floor. After you get there, you would have 5 minutes (or less depending on whether your elevator arrives first or not) to memorize a cover. Then, you would go into a small amphitheater and watch a short movie on real spies and their motivations nowadays. Then, you would go through the entire third floor before taking stairs back down to the first floor. The special exhibit that is currently displayed now is called Exquisitely Evil and showcases 50 years of James Bond villains. It was super cool. PICTURES!!!

From way far...

..to way close.

The name's Spock. Spock Monkey.

Going undercover starting now. You see nothing...

My kind of ride.

Spy gadgets!

After that, we walked to the Natural History museum. And it is gigantic. Really huge. Kinda hard to describe without (you guessed it) pictures! 

Say aaah!

Rocks and rocks and rocks and...

Eugh.

Platypi!

Hey there, fella! How ya doin'?

No...sudden...movements...

Feel so short now...

Cheeeeeeese!

Gotcha!

Family reunion! ;)

The Hope Diamond.

Pyromorphite and vivianite and calcite, oh my!

Space monkeys!

So yeah. The museum is free and I highly suggest you go! They have exhibits on the oceans, animals, birds, rocks, geology, the Hope Diamond, and all those other fun things! After that, we (my mom and I) decided to take the Lincoln Assassination tour, but we needed food, so we bought two very sad and very expensive hot dogs. A word to the wise: Don't by food from food trucks in Washington DC. Bad things happen. The tour was interesting and very informative. I highly suggest the tour. It's organized by the company DC by Foot. Go check it out! Its cool. Well, that's it for today, any questions, comments, etc, comment board is below! Other than that, thanks for reading!

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 2: Washington DC, The City of Museums, Monuments and Classified Information Day 2

   And I am back with more hot and humid and fun and exciting and sleep-deprived adventures! No thanks to the airplane delays. :p Oh well. On with the fun!

   After our two hour nap (that plane...), we had a humongo breakfast complete with bacon, eggs, juice, and lots and lots of coffee. Our hotel is called Embassy Suites - Convention Center. If you want to know. Aaaanywaaay, after breakfast, we walked to the National Archives and took a tour there. I never really noticed how much stuff is in there. *mind blown* They had tons of cool things, like patents, speeches, documents on UFOs (really!), and other really fun things like that. They also have the original copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We reserved a tour ahead of time and I highly suggest it! Picture time!!!!

Special events? Sock Monkey? How nice of them!

We the sock monkeys of the United States...

After the National Archives tour, we walked (lots of walking if you don't have a car or want to pay for a taxi) to the White House for a tour.  But before that, we went to the White House Visitor Center and got some pictures. See below.

Sock Monkey's house.

Now, the White House. To be honest with you, I thought it was kind of small and unimpressive. But that's just me! We asked the Secret Service if there was a secret bunker underneath the White House and, to quote them directly (*ahem*), "I'm sorry, but we can't tell you that." Which means it's classified. Hehehe... More pictures!

On to the tour!

The Vermeil Room. I think...

The China Room.

I see you!

Hmmmm....

Bird-watching, anyone?

Can you see the snipers on the roof?

After the White House tour, we took a taxi to the US Capitol and took the tour of that too. And while the tour was going, Sock Monkey disappeared, so after a lot of frantic searching and multiple parties sent out, he was found and returned. My fault. The tour was nice and if you want to know there is a tunnel from the Capitol to the Library of Congress so you don't have to go through security twice. How nice of them. The tour was cool and informative and talked about the Capitol and what is in there and what goes on in there. So yeah. It was awesome. Though the Capitol will look much better after the scaffolding is off the dome. My opinion. See below for pictures.

The Rotunda Donut.

Lost and found!

Cheeeese!

After all the tours, we took at taxi back to our hotel and chilled and relaxed for the rest of the evening. And that basically sums up Day 2! If you have any questions, comments, things like that, use the comment board! Well, other than that, I think I'm done, so thanks for reading!