Obama

What do most American families do when they go to Washington?

See the monuments.

What does the first family do in Washington?

Sunday night, they saw the monuments.

They didn't take a sightseeing bus. They traveled by motorcade.

It was cool and mild Sunday evening in Washington, where President Obama,
Michelle Obama and some of their extended family took a brisk tour of the
Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial, both of which are visible from
the White House, but neither of which look quite the way they do, well,
close up.

The tourists included Maya Soetoro-Ng, the president's half-sister, her
husband, Konrad Ng, and their daughters Suhaila and Savita, along with
Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson.

First stop, the Jefferson Memorial.

This reportedly was Obama's own first personal outing to the memorial (and
an unconfirmed report from a National Park Service official suggested that
it was the first non-event visit by a president since Franklin Roosevelt,
who has his own monument on another side of the Tidal Basin.) The president
was inside for less than 10 minutes, emerging to cheers from fellow
tourists.

Next stop, the Washington Monument, with a crisp, steady wind whipping
American flags encircling the lighted obelisk as the family headed inside.
A few dozen tourists stood nearby, enjoying an unexpected addition to their
evening tour.

A half moon and clear night sky completed the picture.

They returned by motorcade to the White House -- which is someplace else a
lot of families like to see when they're in Washington.

The first family was home by 8:05 pm EDT.

It was a school night.