Back in April, we went to lunch with Kevin and he was telling us stories about DC. I told Steve I really want to go to DC one day and he suggested we go this summer. After discussing it some more, we decided this really would be the perfect summer to go. Steve will start his rotations next summer so this is his last summer vacation. We decided we might as well go all the way up the East coast! It was such a fun adventure. These post are going to be picture/information overload, but this is the only way I am documenting our big trip.
On May 31st 2012, we loaded up the car and headed through Virginia to Washington DC. We decided to stay in Arlington, Virginia. We checked into the hotel and then went to a pizza place that was right by our hotel. It was ok pizza, not the best we have ever had.
Then we decided we might as well go into DC! Our hotel was great and located right next to a metro station. Steve and I stood there like confused tourists. We finally figured out how to buy the tickets and which line to take.
Steve waiting for the subway!
Our first (of many!) subway rides.
We walked off the Subway and looked behind us and there was the Washington Monument! It was amazing.
The Capitol at night
Gotta love friendly people who will take pictures.
We walked from the Capitol over to Washington Monument.
So incredible!
The Subway had the longest escalators I have ever seen!
The next day we went to the Ford's Theater. We wanted to go for a tour, but it was closed. We walked across the street to see the house where Lincoln died. They have turned the house into a really nice museum.
The bed where Lincoln died.
The Lincoln Museum.
Different things from Lincoln's funeral.
Steve with Lincoln at the entrance of the wax museum.
Then we headed over to Union Station.
There was a food court in Union Station so we stopped and got lunch. We got some yummy crapes and ate them in the park.
Different view of the Capitol.
The guards around the Capitol totally freaked me out. One of them was walking around with the biggest gun I have ever seen. I am really not the biggest gun supporter, but I guess it is a good thing they have them.
The Supreme Court
We decided to go into the Botanic Garden. Steve loves plants!
Cool flower
It was very pretty.
Steve had a great time.
Old man cactus
Some status on the Mall.
Yet another view of the Capitol.
This is the Smithsonian Castle. One interesting thing we learned is that there isn't just a Smithsonian museums, ALL the museums are Smithsonian museums.
We then went to the National Archives to see the Deceleration of Independence and the Constitution. It was so amazing. We couldn't take any pictures. It was so amazing to see the original drafts of these historic documents.
The National Archives
We then went to the Natural History Museum. There were some really cool exhibits. I of course wanted to see the Diamond exhibit. I got to see the Hope Diamond. It was incredible!
Giant turtle!
We were pretty excited about this exhibit. Our favorite show this year has been Bones. It is a show about a forensic anthropologist who works with the FBI to solve murders. The show is even set in DC! This exhibit was all about forensic anthropologists. Very cool. I didn't take any pictures inside the exhibit. There were a lot of old human remains and I felt weird taking pictures of them.
Natural History Museum
Then we went to the National Museum of American History
Dorothy's shoes!
This camcorder was the first camcorder to capture footage of the Twin Towers on September 11th.
Kermit!
We didn't stay very long at the museums. Our feet were killing us! We decided to go back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. We decided to go to dinner in Georgetown. I really loved Georgetown!
After dinner we went for a walk. We ended up walking all the way from Georgetown back to the Mall!
It was pouring rain while we ate dinner, but it cleared up long enough for us to get to the Mall.
This is our dorky moment. We found this statue which is the Vietnam Memorial. The next day we were trying to find the Wall of Remembrance which is also apart of the Vietnam Memorial. When we finally found it, we realized it was right next to this statue! We somehow walked passed the Wall without even realizing it.
Memorial at night.
We went up to the Lincoln Memorial. It was so pretty at night.
The reflecting pool was under construction. I was very disappointed. But since it had been raining that day, there was a pool on the tarp that was covering the reflecting pool, so we got to see a little bit of a reflection.
Lincoln Memorial
From the Lincoln Memorial
It started to down pour while we were in the Memorial. We decided to sit right here until the rain stopped. We had an excellent discussion about how lucky we are to live in this Country. I am so grateful for Steve and the sacrifices he has made to protect our freedom.
The rain was not stopping so we decided to walk in the rain back to the Subway. On our way, we found this random Memorial. They are just everywhere!
The next morning we woke up and walked to Arlington Cemetery. It just so happened that the Iwo Jima Statue was on the way.
This statue is HUGE! The pictures don't even do it justice. I have never seen a statue this big (up to this point. The Statue of Liberty is bigger!).
The most annoying part of our trip was all the school tours that were going on. We got to the statue and no one was there and then a couple buses pulled up with tour groups! It was very annoying and extremely irritating to witness how disrespectful some of the teenagers were.
We walked passed the statue and then we saw Arlington Cemetery. It really is overwhelming. I had no idea it was as big as it is.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The tomb contains remains of unknown soldiers from World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War.
They always have a soldier there, guarding it. We sat there for twenty minutes watching him walk back and forth. It was really incredible.
They have a member of the 3rd United States Infantry guarding the tomb 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They perform "the changing of the guard" every half hour. It was really fascinating to watch.
View of DC from the Cemetery
After the Cemetery, we went to lunch. We went and got sushi. It looks better than it tasted.
After lunch we went back into DC. We went to the Old Post Office to go get a view of the city. The Washington Memorial is closed because of the earthquake last year. The Old Post Office is the third tallest look out point in DC so we decided to go there.
The Elevator up to the top of the tower!
Me and the Bells of Congress!
Bells of Congress
View from the top
We then decided to go look at the J Edgar Hoover FBI Building. They show this building all the time on Bones, so we were pretty excited to see it.
Then we walked to the White House. We saw lots of pretty buildings along our way.
US Treasury Building
The White House!
We walked around the White House to see the other side and saw some pretty statues and buildings along the way
The other side of the White House
This probably sounds weird, but the White House is SO white! I have never seen such a white building.
Then we walked back to the Mall to look at more memorials.
Go artillery!
After searching forever, and realizing we had passed it the night before... we finally found the Wall of Remembrance.
Then we went to the Korean War Memorial. We had walked passed this memorial as well the night before and it was really cool. At night, the statues reflect onto the wall and it looks like shadows of soldiers.
Our last stop was the Jefferson Memorial. I am honestly surprised we made it. My feet had never hurt so bad in my entire life. We had to stop and rest every five minutes. But we finally made it! Can you tell Steve is in pain in this picture??
Then we walked around Georgetown trying to find the building my sister Lindsay had lived in. We finally found it and ended up getting dinner at the nearest restaurant we could find. Then we went back to the hotel and completely passed out. We were so exhausted!
We had such a great time in DC. We both fell in love with the city and are already ready to go back!
I also have to give a big shout out and a big thank you to my sister, Lindsay! She honestly planned this whole trip for us. She had excellent itineraries for each city we went to and was always happy to help us when we called her when we would get lost. Thanks again. Lindsay!!
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