Thursday morning I caught an early flight and arrived in DC around noon. Anthony was delivering training during the day, so I was on my own for a few hours. The stars aligned and I had just the perfect amount of time to visit with my good friend and former rooommate, Nikki. She had just arrived home from the hospital with 3 day old Ethan, and I got to meet and snuggle with him while we chatted for a bit.
After our visit I met up with TJ, took a quick nap, then set out to enjoy the city. We couldn't have asked for more pleasant July weather. It was unseasonably cool with a slight breeze. We were a bit concerned it might rain on us, but we didn't see rain until the hour we left for the airport Saturday afternoon.
After a delicious meal we changed into exercise clothes and set off to walk the monuments.
First stop: White House.
TJ in the front
Me in the back
Then we made our way past the Washington Monument.
It is currently undergoing repair for the damage it sustained during a 2011 earthquake. The scaffolding around the monument lights up at night and it actually quite pretty, considering.
Next up: WWII Memorial
This monument was probably my favorite. Nestled in between the Washington and Lincoln monuments it has great views on all sides.
Of course I had to get my picture with the Kansas pillar.
We were there at sunset and watched the sun go down behind the Washington Monument.
Third stop: Lincoln Monument
Our time in DC coincided with the National Boy Scout Jamboree, so the place was teeming with scouts and their leaders. Despite the crowds we really enjoyed our time visiting the monument and reading about the monument's history and a few of Lincoln's powerful addresses in the Visitor's Center below. The next day we found out the Lincoln statue had been vandalized just a few hours after we were there.
Continuing our walk: Koren War, Martin Luther King Jr., and FDR Memorials
We didn't get to see much of the Korean War Memorial because it was gated off in what looked to be preparations for a concert. We found out later that Saturday was the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice. We walked around but never found an opening, so we kept trucking along. It was getting dark at this point and we still had a few more stops to make.
I've never seen the MLK memorial before and it was quite pretty. The walls around the statue were inscribed with some of his words and I found several to be quite inspiring.
We continued walking around the Tidal Basin to the FDR monument.
Along with the beautiful landscaping there were several gorgeous waterfalls. The monument was also covered in quotes by the late president and his wife.
Last stop: Jefferson Memorial
By the time we got here we were pretty exhausted so we rested a bit while reading the quotes on the wall. It was here that I got a phone call from my sister informing me that the guy I saw walking along 17th Street was in fact her friend from high school. Small world.
At this point it was getting late and we had to book it to a metro stop before it closed for the night. DC shuts down surprisingly early. I ended the night a bit grumpy because I was hungry and there was no food to be found. Our hotel had no vending machines and all the CVS' in the area had closed. My only real option was room service, but with prices starting at $15 and an additional $4 delivery fee plus an 18% gratuity added on the sticker shock was too much. I went to bed hungry. I will never travel without a cache of granola bars again.
Friday morning we had breakfast and stopped at CVS where I picked up a box of Kudos. It's been YEARS since I had a Kudos bar. Pretty good. We then met up with the Johns for a tour of the Capitol Building.
This photo was actually taken Saturday at the Newseum, but I didn't take a single picture at the Capitol
Anthony's great uncle is a former senator, and he and his wife obliged to give us a tour themselves, so we got to see a few extra areas not included in the typical tour. Cameras and photos were prohibited and we locked up our bags before we started. We got to ride on the Capitol subway system, walk into the balcony of the House Chambers and see their reception hall. We also got to walk onto the floor of the Senate and check out some of the rooms on that side of the capitol. They treated us to a delicious buffet lunch at a cafeteria on the complex (I can't remember the name). We had a great time and it was fun to see in person the rooms you sometimes see on C-SPAN.
Friday afternoon was spent studying Lincoln. We visited Ford's Theatre and Museum. The museum was focused primarily on Lincoln's presidency, the many commanders of the Union Army, and the men that conspired to kill him.
After the theatre we walked across the street to Peterson House, which was where Lincoln was carried after he was shot and died the next day.
We had a few hours to fill before our evening plans, so we walked to the Air and Space Museum. We watched a movie about the Hubble Space Telescope and then explored a few exhibits.
It found the exhibit on the history of commercial flight to be quite interesting. I learned that I couldn't be a stewardess today if the standards of the 1960's still held.
Hopefully it's just because of my age (required to be between 20-26) and marital status (single, never married), not looks (just below Hollywood norm) or weight (must be under 130lbs.). I am a white female between 5'0" and 5'6", so at least I've got that.
That evening we headed to Nationals Field to catch a Nationals Game.
It was the second game of a double header, and unfortunately the player we had most wanted to see, Bryce Harper, was resting. He ended up pinch hitting once in the 8th inning.
The game ended with a walk off homerun, which was pretty exciting to see.
Saturday morning we started by visiting the National Archives. Tina did her research and we got there at a perfect time to avoid long lines. It was pretty cool seeing the Declaration of Independence, Bill or Rights, Constitution and other sacred documents relating to the creation of the United States. We made some really cool Nicolas Cage impressions while we waited, a la National Treasure.
We had heard great things about the Newseum, so we spent a few hours there. I could have spent an entire day there. It's one of the more expensive things we did, but we found it worth it. The Museum of National History is free, and we visited it when we visited in 2010, but this one was a lot more user friendly. We saw exhibits about the Berlin Wall, the History of the FBI, Kennedy Family Photos, the history of Pennsylvania Ave., Pulitzer Prize Winning Photos and the day JFK was shot. We didn't get to a quarter of what we would have liked to see.
TJ hanging out with J. Edgar
The last stop of our journey was Mount Vernon. We crammed 6 people into a Ford Focus and drove out to Virginia. I had a great time touring the grounds and learning more about our first president.
These beautiful blossoms were all over the estate.
weekend traveling companions
It was fun to visit with Bryce and Alicia as we walked around. Alicia is 34 weeks pregnant and I was so impressed with how patient she was over the weekend. I wanted to complain about my feet/legs hurting, so I can only imagine how she felt.
I didn't realize that Washington had so many business ventures. I thought he was just a tobacco farmer, but he actually had quite a diverse portfolio.
After that we headed to the airport, said goodbye to the John's and DC and boarded our flight to Kansas. It was a jam-packed 60 hours. We had a great time. We couldn't have done it without the help of my parents and Laura, who graciously watched Will and Lauren for me so I could go. Many thanks also go to Tina and Doug for coordinating their schedule with ours and scheduling some of our tour times.
It was my first trip away from my kids, which I was pretty excited about until about two days before I actually left. Laura kept me supplied with pictures of the kids while I was gone. It was very reassuring to know that the kids were happy and in great hands.
