the zoo!!

In our trip planning we knew that Libby could only do so many adult museums before she was done.  so we tried to make sure that every other activity was geared towards her or that we spent 1 day doing fun Libby things.

one of those such activities was the ZOO!!!

not only was it free but we were staying about .70 miles away from the entrance.  

Now let me explain about Washington DC, DuPont circle.  it is on a "hill"  which seemed like a 20 degree angle.  now the zoo was really on a hill it was closer to 30 degree angle.  I would describe the zoo as being built on the side of a very large hill the entrance is at the top and all the kids stuff is at the bottom of the hill.

my uncle had suggested that we take the metro up past the zoo and walk "down" the hill to the zoo and then walk to the bottom on the zoo and work back up the hill to see everything.

as we walked into the zoo and down the never ending hill we really felt out of shape.  Libby kept telling us she felt fine but she rode in the stroller the entire time.  

We found this little park about 2 blocks from my uncles place the last 2 days.  We really wish we had found it a week and a half earlier! she spent almost 2 hours playing hard on the play ground.  She climbed the rock wall and then tried to do the monkey bars by herself.  she is growing up fast!! 

We went to the American History Museum and as we walked around we came face to face with a piece of Church history!!!! We couldn't believe it!!!  So we took a picture to prove it.  Funny thing is that marshals parent had been in there the day before and totally missed it. 

Marshall and I were excited to see Kermit since Libby didn't really know who he was!

Marshall wanted to create the WTC and had lots of fun playing in the kids section Libby played with slinky, potato head, and etch a sketch. 

We got to see the hope Diamond.  It was amazing!

Tribute to Fallen Officers

My Maternal grandfather was a Missouri Highway Patrolmen some 33 years ago.  While On duty he was hit by a drunk driver and then a week later died from those injuries.  While in Washington DC it was law enforcement week (?? on the title of the week ).  We happened to come across the memorial and were shocked to see a plaque that had is name and info on it.  so we took the opportunity to pay our respects and took pictures for my grandma so she could have the memorial picture.

First we had to find his name on the register so we knew where to look  when we got there the laminated plaque was there and I was in tears.  

Libby wanted to "color" his name on her picture 

 I know that several photographers took our picture and asked about our story, but I haven't seen anything online.

I never knew my grandfather here on earth but I know that we had a special bond in heaven.  My Mom tells me that I asked about him all the time, when I was a young toddler.  She has no doubt that those that have passed on to the other side help care for our families.   I was grateful for the opportunity I had to see that those fallen officers are not forgotten, That their memories live on in more then their families.

New York City WTC and Iwo Jima

Our friends lived right on the edge of Manhattan only about 1 block from the Staten Island ferry.  This is the view from there building! It was amazing!!

Our last morning in New york we got tickets to go to the memorial site of the twin towers.  We were not able to go to church with our friends because the time conflicted with our bus tickets so instead we took Libby and had a reverence moment that was amazing.

While sitting on the grounds reflecting what had happened there in New York, an older women sat next to Libby, She said hello and Libby started to tell her all about what had happened at that site.  I was shocked to  hear how much she could tell of the story.  

" This is the place where the 2 airplanes crashed into the buildings.  And then the buildings fell to the ground and lots of people died.  It was really sad.  There were lots of people that died and they fell in to those holes."    

Libby Holding her ticket!

 This is called the survivor tree.
This was the most inspiring piece on the WTC Memorial grounds.

I found this story that had been told to me by our friends in new york

Survivor Tree

According to Joe Daniels, President of the memorial, the Survivor Tree is "a key element of the memorial plaza's landscape."^[38]The tree is a callery pear tree. It was recovered from the rubble at the World Trade Center site in October 2001,^[38] long after recovery workers expected to find anything alive at the site.^[39] At the time of its recovery it was 8-feet tall,^[40] badly burned, and it had only one living branch.^[38] Prior to the attacks, the tree had lived at the World Trade Center site for several decades.^[41] It was originally planted in the 1970s in the area near buildings four and five, close to Church Street.
In November 2001, the tree was brought by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to the Arthur Ross Nursery in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to be cared for.^[38] The nursery's manager, Robert Zappala, said the tree was covered in ash when it arrived, and it was replanted in the Bronx on November 11, 2001.^[42] At the time, Richard Cabo (the tree's primary caretaker until it was replanted at the memorial) did not expect the tree to survive.^[39]In the spring of 2002, the tree had new growth and its caretaker at the Bronx nursery "knew the 'Survivor Tree' would make it."^[39] At the time, the nursery did not yet know it was planned to eventually move the tree back to its original site.^[38] Later in the decade, although the memorial was planned to include the tree as a feature, there was a period when the location of the tree was not known by members of the project team.^[42]In March 2010, while still under the care of the Bronx nursery, the tree was uprooted during a storm. It was replanted and suffered no significant damage.^[41]Over the years, the tree has been a symbol of hope and rebirth. Richard Cabo said, "It represents all of us."^[39] Wayne Dubin (Bartlett Tree Experts) said, "it's an emotional symbol for a lot of people."^[43] In a press release from the Port Authority on August 29, 2011, after Hurricane Irene, President Joe Daniels said, "true to its name, the Survivor Tree is standing tall at the Memorial."^[44] In a statement after the March 2010 uprooting of the tree at the nursery, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "Again, we and the tree refused to throw in the towel. We replanted the tree, and it bounced back immediately."^[38] Keating Crown, a survivor of the attacks, said, "It reminds us all of the capacity of the human spirit to persevere."^[39]The official book of the National September 11 Memorial, A Place of Remembrance, describes the tree as "a reminder of the thousands of survivors who persevered after the attacks."^[45]In December 2010, the Survivor Tree, grown to a height of 30 feet,^[39] was returned to the World Trade Center site in an event which was attended by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as well as other city officials,^[40] including Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward. The event was also attended by several members of the community of survivors and rescue workers.^{[citation needed]}Although this tree is prominently featured as part of the memorial,^[46] there are also six other "survivor trees" which have been permanently planted near New York City Hall and near the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan. Of these additional survivor trees, three are also callery pears, and three are little-leaf lindens.^[38]

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We headed back to Washington on a bit of a somber note.  Looking back at our trip I realize that we went to more memorials in the 2 weeks then we did place to eat. All had me thinking differently about those who have given their lives for my freedom.  

We went touring with Marshall's parent one of the days in Washington DC.  We went first to the Arlington cemetery and walked around with them.  after we walked (a long ways , felt like miles) to the Iwo Jima memorial.  when we got there we came upon a memorial presentation being given to the marine fighter pilots.   they had several of the air crafts fly by at the end and one went straight into the air above us.