WaShINgToN D.C.!

This is the first year that UB gave the students a full week off for Thanksgiving so we decided to go do something fun! I've never been to Washington D.C., but have been dying to go. It's about 7 1/2 hours from us, so not too bad, but also not something we'll probably manage twice, so we tried to make the best of our 3 days. We left early Sunday morning and got to our hotel (about 10 miles outside the city) around 3pm. I booked it on Expedia for a good rate, so I wasn't expecting much but we were pleasantly surprised! I didn't even bust out my own sheets... except of course for my pillow case... lets not get crazy here. We huffed it to the Metro Stop (which was supposed to be 1/4 mile away.. not so! More like a mile. And not through the most upstanding part of town. And once we get there we realize it's free parking on the weekends. Bug.) We met the Shaws (yes, we got to share this adventure with them... yea for great friends) in Chinatown. I'm bummed I didn't take a picture because it was a really cool place. I brought my video camera on this trip and was determined to use it, so some things got taped and others got a pic. We had heard that Potbelly was a great place to eat so we started off the trip there for dinner. I loved the hot peppers they put on their sandwiches. This is also where I began my daily milkshake order. Gotta love splurging on vacations. (Thanks for teaching me that, Mom and Dad)

 Since it was evening and everything was closed, we made it a night of memorials. And that meant lots'o walking! Being the smart cookie that I am, I wore my most uncomfortable shoes ever and sported a nasty blister and red, aching feet by the end of the night. When will I learn? We started out at the Washington Monument....

 Then saw the new WWII Memorial. I guess this was just built in 2004, so even Trav hadn't seen it yet (he came to DC with a school group his sophmore year). They had pillars with each of the states on them.

 More of the WWII monument ....

 And the much anticipated Lincoln Monument! On one side of the wall was the Gettysburg address, which was moving to read. It really hit me how lucky I am to live in America. How precious our rights are, and how sacred this country is. I'm so grateful for honorable men like Abraham Lincoln, who helped shape our nation. He carried a heavy burden and was instumental in making America what it is today. Thank you Honest Abe!

 I learned something new.... I guess technically there was no Korean WAR or Vietnam WAR... they were CONFLICTS. Po-tay-toe, po-taw-to, but still interesting. This is part of the Korean War/Conflict Memorial. My camera's flash is awful, so this is the best I could do at night. Disappointing.

 When I saw this, I had to run back and take a picture.. I LOVE this saying.

 This is the Vietnam Memorial. Question... does anyone know why they are all black? I guess I could google it. Next to this memorial was what looked like a phone book of all the names of the people killed duing the Vietnam War (I'll probably always call it a war). It was staggering to look at all the names. And this was just ONE war. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around it.

 By this point, Collin was a screaming mess (Gavin was peacefully sleeping) and I was limping, so we called it a night. During our walk from the Metro to the hotel, Collin was hysterical and I literally couldn't walk another step. I would have gone barefoot, but Trav made me take his shoes and he finished the mile in his socks with Collin thrashing around in his arms. Even then, I used the stroller more as a walker than anything. I'm sure we were quite the sight.We made it back to the hotel by 8:30pm and we were all snoozing by 9:30pm. Long day!

Had to get a pic of the Metro. Collin loved the {train}. He felt like such a big boy sitting on the seat and got lots of smiles and attention from the other passengers.

 Monday we started out at the White House Visitor's Center, then walked around the White House. Right after we were done taking pictures, the police/security guard ordered everyone away from the gate and herded us out and away from the vicinity. I heard him tell someone the gate would be closed for 1/2 hour. Well that peaked our curiosity! Maybe Michelle needed to leave to get something at Hobby Lobby. I think I was the most {star struck} here. I'm so mad we hadn't planned far enough in advance to get a White House tour (you have to do it months in advance through your Congressman). You can't get close at all to the front, but from the back you can get much closer, and can make out all the snipers and police that stay camped out on the roof. There are constant police surrounding the building and the streets bordering it and it all feels so {official} and top secret.

 There is so much to squeeze in, but on a friend's recommendation, we visited Ford's theater, where Lincoln was shot. If we were to do it again, the ranger presentation is all you need to hear... don't bother as much with the museum. The ranger spoke for 20min. outlining what happened the night Lincoln was shot. I didn't realize John Wilkes Booth was such a famous actor for his time (think Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise) or that Lincoln lived for 9 hours after he was shot and eventually died in the Peterson house nearby.

To the right is the balcony that Lincoln was shot in.

 Next was lunch at the popular, Good Stuff Eatery. Yummy burgers *ahem* turkey burgers for me, fries and shakes.

 This is where the U.S. Supreme Court is. The thing that struck me the most about Washington D.C., were all the amazing buildings. Seriously, these monsters took up whole blocks and towered into the sky. The stone and marble and architecture was so impressive. And the whole city is this way! So beautiful. Unfortunately, this is also the building where Trav lost his Swiss Army knife that hangs on his keychain. You can't take them inside, so he hid it in a planter, but one of the many guards must have seen him do it, because it was gone when we got back.

 Next, we got a personal tour of the Capitol building by Trevor's friend, David Favereau. He's in DC right now doing an internship for AZ senator, Jeff Flake. So we started the tour in Jeff's office, which is in the Cannon Building next to the Capitol. Doesn't Trav look official?

 Since David had access, we got to use the underground tunnels that connect the building to the Capitol. Here is an outside view of the Capitol.

 A front view...

Here we are at the very CENTER of Washington D.C. This is the point directly under the dome of the Capitol and the city was built around the Capitol, so that's how it's the center!

 This is the original painting that is printed on the back of the $2 bill. One of many that hang on the walls inside the dome.

 This is what the inside of the dome looks like. Washington is painted in the center.

After this, David knew someone that was able to take us inside the House of Representatives room on the main floor. Visitors are usually only allowed to go on the balcony seats and look down into it, but somehow he had a sweet hook up so we got to be on the floor. Security was crazy strict and no cameras were allowed (or anything else for that matter). It's the room that the State of the Union Address is given and where bills are voted on. It's the room that you'll see on C-Span quite often. Thankfully, we didn't have any run-ins with stinky Nancy Pelosi. :)

 This is the view looking out from the Capiton's steps.

 We got out of the Capitol tour at 4:30pm and nearly ran for 1/2 hour to the National Archives Building only to watch as the doors were shut on us, just feet before we reached it at 5pm. Colossal bummer. It's so nice that everything to see is free, but then also, just about everything closes by 5pm. With nothing else to do, we figured we should go see the Jefferson Memorial. Of course, it took us nearly at hour to get there since no Metro stop goes very close. We all had aching feet and tired bodies by the time we walked there. It's on the outskirts of downtown, around a small lake. Poor Gavin had had it! Collin had miraculously slept through the whole Capitol tour, so he was doing good.

These pictures don't do it justice. The statue is inside a massive, stone building, surrounded my pillars and stairs. It's impressive, but not by my camera. Needless to say, we called it a night after this. And once again, Trav, Collin, and I were snoozin' by 9:45pm.

 Tuesday morning we started out at Arlington Cemetery. This was one of my favorite places. There was such a sacredness about it. Just remembering it makes me emotional. So many graves. So many lives lost. It wasn't until after I had Collin, that war movies really affected me. You watch a scene where soldiers are gunned down and fall by the masses and it's as if it's no big deal. Just another day of war. How much time went into rocking that one soldier to sleep as a baby? How much love was poured into his childhood? How much hope did his mother have for his future? Every life lost is a tragedy. And to think of how many thousands were lost in each and every war, conflict, what have you.... is incomprehensible. Words don't describe how it makes me feel. To see so many headstones.... it was a very solemn experience. Again, I'm so grateful to live in this country. What an extreme honor. What a debt we have to pay! Freedom is not free.

 Above, we are standing in front of the graves of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy and their two kids. There's a flame that burns next to them and roses that seem to be placed there daily, but I'm not sure. Below, is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We made it a point to be there on the hour, to see the Changing of the Guard. That was also interesting. The way they march, move their gun, and speak..... it commands respect.

 Next we went back to the National Archives building and for once, having kids with us paid off! Instead of waiting in a 20 minute line, we were ushered like first class to the rotunda to see the documents. Prooobably just so that us noisy folks could clear out sooner. :) It's a very dark, cold room that has the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, encased in glass and guarded by grouchy men. It was a sight to behold. To think that these documents have survived hundreds of years!! Simply amazing. Thank you Founding Fathers! We also saw one of the 4 original Magna Cartas. It was written in the 1200's, so it's surprising that the ink seemed darker than the other documents.

 We spent the afternoon at the Smithsonians. I have to say... I was a bit disappointed in them. I think I was expecting the grandeur of the MET. They look magnificent from the outside, but on the inside, they're just regular looking museums. Still interesting, but not what I had pictured. We started at the Museum of Natural History but didn't last long... here is the only picture I took of one of the dinosaurs.

 Then we went to the Museum of American History... much more interesting! Here is a fuzzy pic of Rach and I in front of Julia Childs kitchen.

 And here are the Ruby Red Slippers from the Wizard of Oz! Not at all what I had pictured... more like old grandma shoes with dark, blood red sequins instead of bright shiny ones.

 This is one of George Washington's coats. Seeing this, along with many other coats of the day made me realize how small these men were!

 We got to touch a piece of the Berlin Wall.

 There was an exhibit called First Ladies of the Smithsonian that Rach and I loved! It was all gowns- (inaugural and otherwise) of First Ladies. This was Martha Washingtons.

 This was a dentist's chair from 1904, belonging to the first dentist to start taking X-rays. Poor fellow didn't realize what he was doing though, and ended up with cancer in his hand! Glad our boys aren't practicing dentistry back then!

 We also saw the Fonze's leather jacket and Archie Bunker's chair from All in the Family. There was an exhibit there called the Star Spangled Banner that was my favorite. No camera's were allowed, and you had to walk through a dark room to see it, but they had on display, the actual American flag that flew above Bunker Hill when Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner. It was an absolutely massive flag... bigger than the house of the woman who made it. It was threadbare and missing sections, but it was there. Pretty cool.

Finally, we went to the Air and Space Museum (remember Night at the Museum part 2?). It was just filled with airplanes hanging from the ceiling and space rockets and missiles and Collin was in 7th heaven. He just ran and ran and pointed and gawked at all the air-crafts. Here is the exhibit showing Neil Armstrong landing on the moon.

 And this is one of the Wright Brother's planes. There was just so much to take in, I'm afraid I didn't really appreciate it all. You could spend countless hours in each museum and not see or read everything.

By now, it was after 4pm and we had to head back to the Metro to start our trip home... in rush hour traffic. Not the best idea. We also got pretty lost somewhere in Maryland and I nearly had a breakdown. I felt like a trapped rat that was never going to get out! Thanks to our little terrorist, our cigarrette lighter doesn't work anymore (he shoved coins into it while I was vacuuming out the inside of the car, and not paying attention) and so we can't plug our GPS in. We were relying on google maps and it wasn't an easy {take one interstate home} type of trip. There were nearly 40 steps/turns to follow over 400 miles. I was the navigator and a lousy one at that! We finally pulled in at 1:30am (poor Shaws didn't get home til 3am! They missed an exit and couldn't turn around for 35 miles) and gratefully crashed in our soft beds. Our hotel may have been nice, but the bed was too hard!

 So thanks to a wonderful, patient husband, I finally got my D.C. trip! Thanks smoochie woochie! :) He drove, navigated all the Metro Stops, pushed the stroller, chased around Collin, and said yes ma'am and no ma'am to whatever I wanted! Ok, I'm not that bad, but I can be a fairly cranky, 7 1/2 month pregnant lady that isn't always the easiest to deal with. I really was grateful for all that he did.

Highlights of the trip included:

*Sharing all the fun with the Shaws (the boys would literally clap and laugh whenever they saw each other in the morning. {Collin and Gavin... not Trav and Doug:})

*Watching Rachel kick butt at Potbellys, the second time we ate there, when the service was horrible and getting free drinks and milkshakes because of it. Go Rach! :)

* The incredible weather... 60 degrees never felt so nice

*Rach and I pulling out our {old school} paper maps to find out where we were going, whilst Dave (Doug's brother who came) scorned us to shame with his I-phone maps and directions.
*Rach asking for a pen so she could indicate on her map which way was north. :)

*Brother from the hood, that jumped on the Metro with us... tried to pick a fight with the door, gave us all {knuckles} then thankfully moved on without attacking Doug.

*Second brother from the hood, that left a stench not describable with words, cursing out the air, banging on the walls and accusing the rail driver of not letting him off soon enough.

*The aforementioned {sock walk} back to the hotel

*Consuming burgers, fries, and milkshakes at Good Stuff Eatery and then turning around and devouring a whole pizza from We the Pizza. Don't judge, we walked A TON!

*Being with my two favorite guys in the best city in America for three days!