Springfield, IL

On the final day of our mini-vacation, we stopped by Springfield, IL, on our way home from St. Louis. We wanted to see the house where Abraham Lincoln lived before he was elected the 16th President of the United States.

St. Louis

On our way home from my brother's place, we took a side trip to St. Louis, where we saw the Gateway Arch.

We took the short ride to the top of the Arch and were able to see the city of St. Louis on one side:

And Illinois on the other:

Kansas City

In October, we took a mini-vacation through the Midwest. First, we went to visit my brother in Kansas City (he actually lives in Overland Park, Kansas). The Sunday we were there, he took us to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.

Here's a statue of Rodin's 'The Thinker' in front of the Museum:

Farewell, DC.

DC is a wonderful, historic city. I'm glad we were able to spend a full week in our Nation's Capital.

DC Vacation - Day 7

On our final morning in DC, we went to the Washington National Cathedral. This Cathedral is immense and beautiful. Anyone and everyone are welcome to worship at this Cathedral.

Here's a picture of the inside:

The stained glass windows in this Cathedral are stunning:

Here's a view from the tower of the Cathedral:

DC Vacation - Day 6

Day 6 of our vacation was spent at the National Zoo. I really wanted to see the Giant Pandas I had heard so much about. The Zoo has three Giant Pandas - Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and Tai Shan.

Giant Pandas weren't the only animals we saw at the Zoo. We also saw:

Elephants:

Gorillas:

Meerkats:

Lions:

And, one of my favorites, a Capybara:

DC Vacation - Day 5

On day 5 of our vacation, we visited the National Archives. We saw the Constitution of the United States, the Declaration of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase; among other historical documents.

After the Archives, we were hoping to visit Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was shot, but unfortunately, it was closed due to renovations. We were, however, able to tour the house across the street where President Lincoln died at 7:22AM on April 15, 1865. Here are two pictures of the room where he died:

On our way back to our hotel that afternoon, we passed basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the sidewalk. I did not recognize him, but Tim did. As far as I'm aware, this was our only celebrity sighting while in DC.