This one is for all you Steelers Fans. Heinz Stadium! They had a concert going on when we were here so there was no where to pull over and park. Our pictures just had to be drive bys! 
Today we travelled from Ohio to Illinois, with a few detours along the way. First stop: Cincinatti.
We went across the Ohio River into Newport Kentucky where we road this riverboat. That was really fun. They served brunch and took us on a 2 hour ride up and down the river.
Anyone watch the Reds game today? You probably saw us on TV. The boat goes right past the field and they blow the horn. The captain said that is the TV crews cue to turn the camera on the boat. So we all cheered for the Reds on TV!
Right across the street from the stadium is White River State Park. We hung around here for a little bit. While we were there we rented this surry. It sounded fun, but keep in mind it was 95 degrees outside and we had to peddle around the park! It was still fun, but man were we worn out.
And now we are in Danville, IL for the night before heading on to Nauvoo tomorrow! 
This is a row of cannons that would have been lined up on the Southern side during the battles. The field off to the left is where they marched in Pickett's Charge.
This is the top of Little Round Top. This is where the Union soldiers were stationed waiting for the Southern soliders to attack. The Union had the clear advantage here. They had big boulders to hide behind and they were at the top of a hill, so they had high ground. Hard to picture this quite field as a major battle ground where many lives were lost to preserve the Union.
When the battle ended, you can imagine all the dead laying out in that field. I didn't know this, but they took them all and buried them in this cemetary. These little stones go on forever, and most of them are unknown soldiers. The dedication of this cemetary is where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address. I had a picture of the site of the address, but I don't know which camera it is on!
We took this pic on the way out. Notice all the bags we are carrying? Holy cow have a few souveniers! : )
This one was taken on the ride. See all those yummy chocolate bars moving by?
They also have a 3D movie, similar to the one they have in Disneyland. Don't they look cool in their 3D glasses? That is Jarod's "cool" face, not his mad face. Hehe
We started out at Arlington National Cemetary. That place is so huge! We spent almost 2 hours there and didn't even see everything. This picture is JFK gravesite and the eternal flame. You have to look really close to see the flame coming out of the circle at the top. It doesn't show up on camera very well. Jackie is also buried here, as well as two children that were lost as babies. Did you know they lost a 2 day old son just 2 months before JFK was killed? So sad.
I think this was the coolest part of the whole day. This is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is guarded 24 hours a day. And the guard is very precise. It was cool just to watch him march back and forth. He does this whole thing with his gun every time he turns around to march the other way. In this picture the gun is balanced on his hand. I had to go sit in the shade after about 5 minutes. This guy does this for a full hour in full dress uniform. He has my ultimate respect.
The best part is the changing of the guard. They do this every hour. Everyone has to stand and be SILENT while they change the guard. They go through this whole ceremony that is very precise and all three of their movements are perfectly timed. I was kicking myself for not having a video camera. You can't see how cool it is in still pictures. The officer in front is their commander. The soldiers in back are the guard going off duty and the new guard. Both are balancing their guns on their hands.
The commander escorts one soldier away while the other begins his march. Each step they make is perfectly in time with each other.
The retired guard walking away followed by his commander. It was so cool. It gave me chills. If you ever go to DC, this is the one thing you have to make sure and see.
Moving on. After Arlington, we rode the DC Metro over to the Smithsonian Museum(s). There are actually many museums that make up the Smithsonian. This is where we started having to just cruise through. We didn't get to see half of what we wanted to. We started out at the Aero Space Museum. Lots of fun things for the kids here.
And look who found water on the way to the next museum! My kids are water magnets. This fountain is one they let you get into. Well, at least you can get your feet into it. Nice way to cool off on a hot afternoon. Kids just wanted to spend the rest of the day here. But, alas, it was off to to another museum!
This is the Natural History Museum. This would be where we lost Jarod. That kid just wanted to see everything and he wasn't about to make sure he stayed with us. If he saw something he liked, he took off! Well one of those times I couldn't find him. Anywhere. And these museums have so many twists and turns! I was really starting to panic! A few minutes later, Jarod comes walking out of the bathroom! I don't think I saw another thing in any museum except the back of Jarod's head cuz everytime I looked up he disappeared and I wasn't going to let him out of my site again!
Keep walking buddy! We only have about 3.5 hours to go!!
This is the Museum of American History. I think it might be the biggest with four floors of displays. I expected to see a lot of stuff you might find in history books, but it is so much more. History of movies, cars, toys, etc. Just stuff that makes America what it is. Unfortunately for us, they close at 5:30 (which we didn't know) and we didn't even go in until 4:50. Needless to say, we didn't see much of this one. Too bad, too, cuz it looked really fun. Maybe we should have started here, but then we wouldn't have seen anything else!
Madame, Mr and Mr President!
And then Jarod discovered the Legos! You should have seen his face when he came around that corner. I wish I had my camera ready! This is a hands on display. Too bad for Jarod they had already shut it down. But then we might have NEVER made it out of there! 
Boy were we getting beat by this time and we hadn't even seen any of the monuments yet! YIKES! But we moved along. Here we are in front of the Washington Memorial. Let me just say it is really hard to get a good picture of this one because it is so TALL! I had a really good picture posted, but I accidentally deleted it and stupid blogger doesn't have an undo button. If I upload it again, it will put it up at the top and I will have to move it and . . . .well, let's just say it's a pain. If you want to see the really cool picture, come to my house in about two week! : )
This is the new WWII Memorial. Dean went in and took these pictures while the rest of us sat on a bench in the shade. Hey, we could see it good enough from the outside! : )
Vietnam Memorial.
Here we are having a popsicle in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Man I don't think a popsicle ever tasted so good (or cost so much!!).
The Potomic River
Crossing the Potomic to get back to our car at Arlington. That last stretch of walking was a long one, but we made it!
Hey! Where did everyone go?!?! See that lonely little van in the back? We were the only ones left! I guess everyone else bugged out already!
This is their house. He has a porch that wraps almost around his whole house. And it is surrounded by trees. You can't even see any neighbors.
If you look close you can see the little porch he has built a few yards away from the house.
This is the backyard.
Another shot of the backyard.
Here is his porch in the back. We spend a lot of time sitting out here listening to the birds and watching the animals wander around the place. One problem - they have been telling us about this pesky bear that comes around and gets into things. HUH?!?!? Did you just say A BEAR!??! Holy cow. And you thought the racoons were bad Angie! So I am a little nervouse being out here with food.
Do you like my laundry hanging on the line? It's one of those clothes lines that runs on a pully so it is way off the ground so the bear can't get my clothes! I feel so cool hanging my clothes out there! ; ) By the way, Aunt Helen does have a washer and dryer. A VERY NICE front loader washer and dryer. I have already put my request in for Christmas!
This is Dean's uncle Dean (we have four "Dean's" in this house right now). He is eating a HUGE plage of oysters. YUCK!! We wouldn't let him sit at our table.
They said "we have roast and pork in the back." So we went to the back. Imagine my surprise to see they literally had a pork on the grill. An entire pig! I asked for a piece and he proceeded to cut me a nice big chunk of butt! Oh I tried to eat it. And it really was good. But I just couldn't do it. All I could see what this huge pig on the grill! 
One of the activities for the kids was a money grab. They put a bunch of coins in a pile of sawdust and the kids had to dig and find them. I have never seen this before, but the kids all had a blast! Jarod made a killing. He found almost $7.00 in coins! 
Another activity was a face painter. And she was a serious face painter! No little rainbows or hearts. She did full fledged face art. It was amazing. So after 1.5 hours(!!!) waiting in line this is the result. Doesn't Lindsie look pretty? I think she is thinking of not washing her face for a few days. Umm. . . maybe not a good idea Linds! : )
It was such a fun day. So glad we could go. I came home SOOO full I thought I would pop. So then Uncle Dean and Aunt Helen go out and get us pizza. And we are talking a HUGE pizza. One slice was seriously bigger than my head. Oh my goodness I am so full. Like I said, my clothes will likely no longer fit!!