Washington DC Part 2

Sunday: We caught an early church meeting, then went to lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl--the kind of famous place that's been there forever and is covered in pictures that boast of all the celebrities who have eaten there. I was so excited, as you can tell by the picture. I'll blame my chili dog enthusiasm on the baby . . . But seriously, they are famous for dumping delicious chili on delicious meat. What's not to like?

The National Archives was next, and was one of the many times on this trip when I thanked my lucky stars that weren't there in the summer. It was already so crowded! Lots of those "read every sign and then stand and talk about it with my family while people are waiting for me to move" types. Luckily Matt and I are good at weaving through the masses, so we saw the popular exhibits first--Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Magna Carta, then moved on to the other rooms. Definitely a must-see if you're visiting the area. And can I just say, there is no way that National Treasure's ancient document heist could ever happen? No way. There were security guards everywhere.

The Air and Space Museum was Matt's must-see Smithsonian. I wasn't quite as excited for it, but my low expectations meant that I was pleasantly surprised! There were lots of planes, rockets, and space shuttle type things that I didn't know much about. But most importantly, there were really good informative displays that actually taught you what everything was. I especially liked learning about the Wright Brothers and seeing one of Amelia Earhart's planes. Matt was very impressed by the space command modules from the Apollo missions, and the Messerschmit ME62 of course.

The coolness of our dinner locale requires a little back story. Our ward at church has a weekly tutoring program that Matt and I participate in. This year we were assigned to tutor some kids who just moved here from Africa a little over a year ago. They are from Eritrea, which is a tiny country on the eastern side, located right next to Ethiopia. So imagine my excitement when I find that one of the top restaurants on Yelp was an authentic Eritrean place not too far from the National Mall! We hailed a cab and rushed over there to make it before they closed. The food was delicious, and it was so fun to come home and tell the kids about what we ate. As far as I'm concerned, there's no better way to learn about a different culture than with a good meal.