May 2024
by Kellye Thompson
Our Washington DC Adventure was AMAZING! We loved it the entire time we were there. It’s hard to pinpoint a favorite part because there were so many awesome things. Seeing all the history was absolutely incredible. Especially for this Big Old History Nerd that I am.
We saw several of the Smithsonian museums. We went to African American History Museum where we spent 3 hours & we didn’t even get to see 2 floors before they closed. We saw the American History Museum which was super fun. We saw everything from an ’80s wood panel mini van to Dorothy’s Ruby Red Slippers, Prince’s guitar to Michael Jordan’s jersey.
We went to Museum of Natural History where we saw everything from dinosaur bones to the Hope Diamond. I am a big rockhound as well so seeing that part of the museum was fascinating.
We took my great nephew who is 5 and watching him was so fun. He was so excited about everything.
The Holocaust Museum is heartbreaking and so very powerful. I loved how quiet and respectful everyone was while we were in there.
We also went to the National Archives. Seeing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the other papers was so humbling. We went to most of the Monuments. I thought the Jefferson was the most beautiful but the Martin Luther King was my favorite because it was so peaceful and quiet there.
As far as the Memorials go, they were all incredible but we both liked the Korean War Memorial the best. It’s very moving.
The WWII memorial is absolutely beautiful. As you can see, we had very busy days and I was absolutely exhausted. Aside from every middle school in the country being on a field trip in DC while we were there, we wouldn’t change a thing!
The most memorable thing on the trip was seeing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was so moving. It gave me goosebumps.
I would have to say DC wasn’t very handicapped accessible. The streets and sidewalk are very rough and uneven, so it was a little scary in my wheelchair. I about went over a couple times. We didn’t find a family restroom in any of the museums so that made things a little uncomfortable.
The Lincoln Monument was under construction so you couldn’t get a wheelchair up to actually see the Statue itself. But we made it work and overall it was such a fantastic trip if you don’t count the travel days.
We had a cancelled flight on the flight in from Denver to DC. So, we didn’t get there until 11:30pm the next day. On the way home both of our flights were delayed! United Airlines was not great at getting the aisle chair on time, so they had to load me with a half full plane which was uncomfortable.
“I was able to see my niece and her family so that was the bonus of the trip. It was kind of bittersweet to see them as this will probably be the last time I will be able to spend time with them but at the same time, it was the best part of the trip.”
Overall, I would say it was an amazing trip and we are so very grateful to Team Gleason for making it happen for us. I can’t say thank you enough. It was a dream come true for me. Thank you again!
