We briefly visited the Holocaust Museum. We didn’t have enough time to go through the main exhibit, but were able to see Daniel’s Story and Nazi Propaganda. I had mixed feelings about taking my eight year old here, but it was a good experience overall.

Our flight was supposed to leave at 7pm, connect in Atlanta, and arrive in Des Moines at 11pm. Due to thunderstorms in Atlanta, we made it as far as Minneapolis and will head home tomorrow. Since the delay is due to weather, the airlines don’t provide hotel or meals so we’re on our own tonight. Another reason for travel insurance.

On our way back to the city we stopped at Arlington Cemetary. We didn’t have a lot of time, so we took the Tourmobile Hop-on, hop-off bus. It gave us plenty of time to see the graves of JFK, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Changing of the Guard at the tomb. We didn’t stop to see Lee’s mansion, but you could. I would have liked to wander a little more, but we saw the main sites.

Our tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was really lame. It lasted about half an hour and we didn’t see much.

Arlington Cemetary Amphitheater

Arlington Cemetary

Arlington Cemetary Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

We slept in this morning and started our day with lunch at the Library of Congress. We stopped at the Young Reader’s Room, which would be a great break on a hot day. The main Reading Room is gorgeous and worth a look.

United States Capitol

Hall of Statues at the US Capitol

US Capitol

Dome of US Capitol

Air and Space Museum

We started our morning at Ford’s Theater where Lincoln was shot. The musuem in the basement has been remodeled since I was last in DC and had some great exhibits. The park ranger who gave the presentation in the theater was horrible! We ate a great breakfast at a hole in wall restaurant across the street.

After Ford’s Theater, we went around the block to the International Spy Museum. It was a ton of fun! There were interactive displays, old spy gear, a small theater, and lots to read. My little boy really liked the air ducts you could crawl through and spy on people below. You might also include a trip to Chinatown when you’re in the area – it’s fairly close.

Since the National Archives was just down the street, we made a brief stop to see the Consitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. I was amazed how faint the writing is and wonder how long we’ll be able to read it.

Tonight we went to a fun show at the Kennedy Center – Shear Madness. It’s a murder mystery where the audience gets to help solve the mystery. It’s a fun show with timely jokes in a great venue. The theater is fairly small and we were in the front row. It was a really fun, intimate experience. I wish we’d had more time to explore the building.

The theater box President Lincoln was sitting in when shot

I had no idea what to expect, since we don’t really have a lot of Civil War history in Iowa. I was surprised at the number of monuments, statues, and preserved sites. There was a beautiful new visitor’s center and theater. We purchased an audio tour with a CD and guide book. You put the CD in your car and take off on a designated driving route. The CD itself was over 2 hours long, plus time to stop for pictures. We spent about 4 hours in the park.

On the way back to the airport, we stopped at the Iwo Jima Memorial. It was stunning at night.

Gettysburg battlefield

Gettysburg battlefield

 

Iwo Jima Memorial

Major battlefield in Gettysburg

Gettysburg Monument

Our next stop was the Museum of Natural History. It was crazy busy with school groups. We focused on Dinosaurs, Gems and Minerals including the Hope Diamond, and Insects.

We could have spent more time at the Museum of American History. It was fun to see Kermit the Frog, the Wizard of Oz’s ruby red slippers, and C3PO. I really liked the First Ladies inaugural dresses and jewelry. We spent the most time on the third floor in the Americans at War exhibit. My son really liked the uniforms, weapons, and propaganda from every war we’ve been involved.

Museum of Natural History

Hey Dumb Dumb...

I let our eight year old son choose our family vacation this year. Since our trip last year included the Disney Cruise and Univeral Studios Orlando, I figured he’d choose another cruise or theme park. However, I wasn’t really surprised when he said he wanted to go to Washington DC. He loves the Civil War, taking pictures, and weapons of World War II, so I designed a trip based on his interests as well as things my husband and I would like, too.

We started our trip today with a bicycle tour of the major monuments. I considered walking the monuments, but decided against it since the distance from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial is 2 miles. I knew my little boy would want to take lots of pictures, so I also decided against taking an organized bus tour with timed stops. We finally decided to rent bicycles and were able to cover a lot of ground in 4 hours. It was a great day – overcast with highs in the 70s. There were lots of vendors on the mall selling drinks, hot dogs, and ice cream. Our stops included:

• Washington Monument 
• World War II Memorial
• Lincoln Memorial
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial
• Korean War Memorial
• FDR Memorial
• Jefferson Memorial
• Tidal Basin

There are kids EVERYWHERE. They are obnoxious, loud, and travel in packs. I remember visiting DC twice in high school with large groups of kids. Please tell me I wasn’t like that?!

Honest Abe

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Washington Monument from the Tidal Basin

FDR Memorial on Tidal Basin

I have to admit, at first glance travel insurance can seem unnecessary or expensive. Many of my clients will say they don’t care if they break          their leg – they’re going to lay on the beach with their cast and drink Dos Equis.

I’ll give you three real world examples of the benefits of travel insurance:

• A family of four recently booked a four day cruise totaling just over $3000. Unfortunately, the young father developed heart problems requiring surgery and the trip had to be canceled. Because children are covered for free under their parent’s plan, my clients were able to protect their trip for $58 and received a full refund. If they had not purchased travel protection, they would have lost over $2250 due to stiff cancellation penalties.
• A group of women recently booked a five day girlfriend’s getaway to Vegas for $339 per person. Each of these clients has small children at home. A travel insurance plan of $21 per person allows them to cancel, change, or interrupt their trip if one of their children become sick or injured.
• I arranged a Caribbean cruise for a honeymoon couple totaling $3600. They purchased trip insurance for $100 because the bride’s grandmother was not well and she was concerned she may have to cancel the trip at the last minute. Grandma was fine and the cruise went off as planned. However, their return flight connected in Minneapolis, which was in the midst of a huge thunderstorm. Their flight from Minneapolis to Des Moines was canceled and the airline refused to provide any compensation because the flight cancellation was due to an act of God. Because my clients had purchased travel insurance, they were reimbursed for their hotel, food, and cab ride in Minneapolis that evening.

You have invested a significant amount of money, time, and effort in planning your vacation. As you can see, travel insurance is not outrageously expensive, nor is it just for older travelers.

 Sydney Harbour Bridge (see the people at the top?!)

Sydney Opera House 

Luna Park - an amusement park across the harbor from the Opera House 

Lighthouse in Sydney Harbour