Hey Dad,
So last night I had the best nights sleep I have had in weeks!
When I eventually got up, we had some breakfast; a real breakfast! No breakfast biscuits in sight.
Marks said the best way to get into Washington would be the metro. So we set off, me wearing my shorts with the stars and stripes, they seeemed fitting today. We got off one stop early to walk around and explore a little bit.
We walked past a church, which had a free concert just starting. It was wonderful, a string ensemble playing classical music. As we went in I noticed all the performers were in uniform. They were all air force. We sat and listened for ages.
We left the church and walked towards the mall. It was packed! We were right by the Washington Monument! It was so busy though I didn’t try and take a picture. There was people everywhere, which we were expecting, it’s 4th July in their nations capital. We made an attempt to walk down the street, but the parade was on. They really go all out! The parade was huge.
We walked past a load of big important buildings, which were impossible to get to as there were hundreds of people standing on the steps to get a good parade view. We kept walking. We finally found the end of the parade route, so we were able to cross the street and get into the mall.
We walked through a sculpture garden, partially because it didn’t look very busy, unlike the rest of the mall. It was pretty neat, sculptures everywhere. Rebecca would have enjoyed it. There was also a huge fountain with the National Archives building as a backdrop.
We walked though the garden and were standing right outside the National Museum of Natural History. Wanting to escape the blazing sun and hundreds of thousands of people, we went in. There was an Imax show about to start, which told the sorry of a young Explorer called Henry Bates who wanted to find out if species could change into other species. It was fascinating, and the sit down in an air conditioned quiet room was a bonus!
We left the theatre and walked around the museum. It was potentially the best museum I have been in. The exhibits and detail was unreal. They even had a whole skeleton of a blue whale! There were rooms that looked at fossils, mummies, bones, insects, gems and minerals, human origins, mammals and even the ocean. It was amazing. I even got to see the Hope diamond! There was so much to see you could not hope to take it all in!
We left the museum to walk to the end of the mall, towards the capitol building. Every year the mall hosts a free concert to celebrate the 4th July. Mark knowing his stuff knew we had to get there early as they close the lawn when it reaches capacity. We found perfect spots on the grass, with a perfect view of the stage. Then all we had to do was wait for the show to start.
Before that though, the rain came. Mark explained it always rains on the 4th July, a bit like us and Glastonbury I guess! We got soaked. Neither if us had a jacket, not that it mattered as I don’t think it would have helped. Deciding we were already wet, and the worst thing that could happen is we get rained on in 30°c heat, we stayed put. Thankfully the rain stopped and the sun came back out. We were dry again in no time.
The concert was about to start, and they ran through who would be performing. My jaw dropped.
First up, The Beach Boys. Yeah you read that right, The Beach Boys!! I got to see The Beach Boys perform live, right in front of me! Just when I thought it couldn’t get better, the other acts included The Blues Brothers and the Four Tops. I honestly Dad could not believe it! There was also music from Broadway stars, which were accompanied by a full orchestra.
At the end of the show, cannons were shot, and the biggest and longest display of fireworks I have ever seen exploded in the sky above the concert venue, behind the Washington Monument. It was incredible! Like unbelievably incredible! The fireworks must have continued for over 20 minutes.
When the show was over, we had to make the attempt to get back to the metro stop. Needless to say the streets were packed and everyone was heading in the same direction. Amazingly we managed to fit on a metro first time round. It was very very cramped though. Thankfully it cleared out pretty quick and we were able to sit down and find some air.
We got back to the house pretty late and both collapsed on the sofa. The concert was playing replayed on TV so we stuck that on the try and find our self’s on screen. I think we just about found us. Well I am not sure which one of us fell asleep first, but my phone went off in my hand waking me up on the sofa. I looked over to find Mark asleep on the chair.
Time for bed. Another big day tomorrow!
What an awesome day!
Night dad x