Visiting the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C.

Last summer me, my mom, and my sister finally got a chance to visit the International Spy Museum. It has been on our list of places to visit since we first moved to the east coast back in 2018, but we just hadn't had the chance to go until now.

We had visited back in 2008, when we were still living in Washington (state) and visited Washington D.C. for the first time. But since then the museum has moved into a much larger location and has expanded quite a bit. 

It's recommended you purchase tickets in advance as it books up quickly (especially during the summer.) so that is what we did. It's mostly just to stagger the start times so there aren't too many people all at once. It makes it easier to look around and not feel so crowded.

Upon arrival you are checked in and your group (there were only a couple of other people in our group) are given a short description on what happens next, then we were put into an elevator where we are given a briefing on spy craft and what we will be seeing. 

Once off the elevator you are given the option to participate in an Undercover Mission where you get to create an identity so you can test your spy skills throughout the museum. You have to memorize your identity and mission objective and are tested at different stations throughout the museum to see if you can keep your cover. There were memory questions relating to your cover, seek-and-find type puzzles, and also a decoding puzzle.

I actually recognized a lot of the names/people/stories mentioned throughout the museum from listening to the True Spies podcast. So it was kind of fun to see some of the stories I had only listened to before!

Overall we really enjoyed our visit to the museum! It was so fun and interesting! There was really so much to see and learn about and I would highly recommend visiting if you are ever in Washington D.C.!

And for the record we all successfully completed our missions and kept our covers!

I though the propaganda exhibit was pretty interesting!

The James Bond car

What is the best or most fun museum you have visited?

The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh Book Review

The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh

Sometimes you’re so busy writing other people’s stories that you can lose the plot of your own.

This wasn’t how Kelsey Worthington’s day was supposed to go. She wasn’t supposed to be picking up Starbucks for her smarmy boss. She wasn’t supposed to get hit by a car that jumped the curb. And she certainly wasn’t supposed to wake up in a hospital room next to Georgina Tate—the legendary matriarch of New York City businesswomen.

Kelsey and Georgina couldn’t be more opposite. Kelsey’s a dreamer, a writer who questions her own skill. And Georgina is a confident businesswoman whose years of shouldering her way into boardrooms and making her voice heard have made her far too outspoken for the faint of heart.

But now, when Georgina’s failing kidneys force her to face some big regrets about the way she’s lived her life, the two women recognize they share a common thread. Maybe it’s time to confront a few things. They must ask themselves: What if I said yes to everything I’ve always said no to?

With Georgina as her companion, Kelsey soon finds herself doing things she’s never done before. Eating street food. Swimming in the ocean. Matchmaking for Georgina with the help of Georgina’s handsome son. And writing her own romance—both in book form and in real life.

So begins the Summer of Yes.

I enjoyed this book but it maybe wasn't my favorite by Courtney Walsh. I thought the idea was fun and the characters were mediocre. It was an okay read. Not too deep. I was engaged enough to want to keep reading and see how it was going to end but I also wasn't anxious to get back to it. 

One of the things I really enjoy about Courtney Walsh's writing is that her stories are typically so realistic and relatable. And while there were a lot of realistic and relatable moments, there was also some areas that were a little far-fetched.  

I did have a bit of a hard time with the characters in this story. I found Georgina to be so unlikable it almost took away from the story. I can appreciate a grumpy older person but Georgina kept boarding on mean and never really changed even at the end of the book. And Kelsey was kind of contradicting. On one had she comes across as work-a-holic push-over, but then she is very assertive and pushy with Georgina. Pushy to the point of being forceful. I feel like if Georgina had been a little less stand-offish and rude then Kelsey's pushiness wouldn't have come across as so aggressive. 

It also seemed like it took a while to really get into the story or for it to really go anywhere. There were some really nice moments but also a lot of repetition. I liked the idea of the plot but just kept wishing it had been done a little differently. I wish there would have been more adventure or spontaneity. 

I think the overall message of the story is great as far as being more open to saying yes and while I appreciate a fun, light-hearted read, I wish this would have had a little more depth. If you're looking for a very light read without any expectations then it's fine, but overall this was just an okay read for me. I just finished My Lucky Charm (also by Courney Walsh) and felt like that was a much better story with better developed characters and story depth.

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.