The First Ladies at the Smithsonian

So Memorial Day weekend I took a trip to the National Mall and the National Museum of American History. I wanted to see an ongoing exhibit they have there called "The First Ladies at the Smithsonian." I took the metro, as usual. I figured out that this particular museum is closer to the stop federal triangle than it is to the actual Smithsonian stop. Anyway, the exhibit was FABULOUS! It has two rooms.
One is filled with all kinds of artifacts that belonged to the first ladies, dresses, shoes, dishes, portraits, all sorts of lovely things, as well as a timeline that included every first lady, from Martha to Michelle. Did you know that since every President wasn't married some of the first ladies have been their daughters, nieces, or sisters?

The second room is dedicated to the tradition of the first ladies donating their inaugural gowns to the Smithsonian for this exhibit. The gown of every first lady between Mamie Eisenhower and my Chi-town idol, Michelle Obama, is housed there. These gowns are gorgeous! I can't even describe how beautiful they all were. I felt like each of them was standing in the room with me. Next to the gowns are portraits of each first lady in their gown. My personal favorites were Mamie Eisenhower, Betty Ford, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama but you should go check them out and choose your own favorites. The museum is open everyday except Christmas and is free. It's a great summer trip for any group and family. Also at the museum right now is an exhibit called "Julia's Kitchen," which is the actual kitchen of Julia Child that was featured in the movie "Julie and Julia" and "Ain't Nothin' Like the Real Thing," an exhibit dedicated to the Apollo Theatre.

The picture is from the museum's Web site http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1239#gallery