Independence Day in Washington, D.C.

PART II - July 4, 2008 - We began our first full day in Washington, D.C. with a hearty breakfast at our hotel's breakfast buffet. Followed by a short Metro ride downtown, we went straight to the National Mall, where all the action would take place that day. Everyone entering the Mall had to pass through security that day. We must have been searched six times.

We immediately ran into a group of Marines marching to start our Fourth of July off on a festive note.

With nearly two hours to pass before the parade began, we started sightseeing at the Museum of Natural History. There, we saw dinosaurs, elephants and other animals, early plant and animal life, as well as the Hope Diamond.

From there, we decided to stake out a good spot to watch the July 4th parade and ended up at 12th and Constitution, right in the middle of the route. The parade was filled with bands, balloons and military personnel...Lisa LOVED it (and I liked it a lot too). We visited with a couple from Kentucky and took in more than an hour of the parade before we decided we needed to start making our way to our tour at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

As one of our most anticipated stops on our vacation, the Holocaust Museum did not disappoint. We spent nearly three hours in the building and learned more about the Holocaust than we could have possibly asked for. If you're a history buff at all, we highly recommend this stop.

From there, we decided to pass on waiting in a long line at the National Archives and, instead grabbed hot dogs and a pretzel from a local vendor. We ate them at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden dodging rain the entire time.

We then headed to the National Air & Space Museum. We weren't the only ones with this idea as the place was PACKED! We spent less than an hour walking through the museum before deciding to give our feet a break and wait out the rain by going to two IMAX shows, one on fighter pilots and the other, a 3D movie on the sun.

When leaving the building, we quickly noticed that we were the only people who did not have an umbrella. We didn't realize that a 30 percent chance of rain meant a torrential downpour. We walked for a few blocks before hiding under a tree (already drenched, I might add). When the coast seemed clear and the rain appeared to be done, we tried to get to the Lincoln Memorial to watch the evening's fireworks, only to find the path had been blocked off. We decided to watch the display from just east of the Washington Monument, which proved to be a good spot.

The fireworks were spectacular but we quickly realized that we were going to have to compete with 500,000 people to get to a train to get back to the hotel (thanks to Casey for that tip) so we packed up early and headed towards the Metro station only to find that we weren't the only ones with that idea. We waited for an hour before we even got to the escalator to go down to the station.

Finally, we arrived back at the ol' Marriott across the river in Virginia and I decided I was hungry and couldn't wait till' morning so we set out to find food. After a LONG wait at our hotel, we finally ate and ended our fun (and exhausting) day in Washington, D.C.

Check back for July 5th highlights soon and enjoy the video of the 4th!