Washington D.C. - Better Late Than Never

** This post is clearly overdue. I made this trip in April. **


I was born in Virginia. That is one of the facts of my life I am most proud of. I love Virginia, and in particular Washington D.C. So you can just imagine my excitement when my friend Beth asked me to go with her as her graduation celebration. I don't think I even thought about it when I said yes - it was just the natural response. I had so much fun with her! We were really good travel companions, and wanted to see a lot of the same things, so that made it even easier. I haven't seen Beth in years so it was great to catch up with her before she got engaged. (It happened in August ... she's getting married in December. I am so excited for her and Cody.) Unfortunately this means that our grand plans of going to Boston next year for the 4th of July are on hold for a couple of years. But I bet she would say Cody is worth it.

We spent only 2 1/2 days really in Washington D.C., but they were packed full of stuff that it felt like a week. There were several things we never got around to doing, but that just means we'll have to go back one of these days to do them. It was really cool to go there because it felt in a way like going home for me. I've mentioned this before on my blog - but sometimes I have an identity crisis when it comes to where I am from. But going back to Virginia truly felt like going home. I love it out there. I am a city girl, I love it, I yearn for it. Jumping on the Metro, living in the middle of all the action ... it just speaks to me. And it was really cool to walk around the city and have random remembrances of memories from growing up there. It was a great trip ... I am so glad I decided one evening last winter to just say hey to Beth on Facebook. It lead to one awesome adventure!


This was actually the first place we went to ... Arlington Cemetery. This is one of the few really distinct memories I have from growing up - going to go see the Changing of the Guard. It is a really humbling experience walking through the cemetery, watching the ceremony in such a setting is amazing. I'm glad we stopped there first because it reminded us what price was and is being paid for our country. A very humbling way to start the trip, but one that allowed us to give thanks for the service that so many have given our nation.




The first day we spent in D.C. we decided to do all the walking - go to as many monuments, buildings, sites that we could and just walk around the Mall. It was the perfect day to do it out of the three it turns out - sunny, but not too warm. We hit every site on the Mall in a matter of hours. After starting in Arlington Cemetery, we saw the Washington Monument, WWII Monument, Korean War Monument, Vietnam Memorial (I remember this one in particular from when I was a kid), Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Building (next time I really want to go inside ... one day, one day), the Supreme Court, the White House, Union Station, the Library of Congress, the Folger's Shakespeare Museum (and we finally got to sit down).

The second day in D.C. was museum day. 8 museums in 1 day. Call us crazy, but we did it. :) It was the warmer of the two days, so it was good to be inside most of the day. We did a lot of walking these two days, so no wonder it felt like so much longer. We toured through the Smithsonian castle, the National Air and Space Museum (I had this memory from my childhood that I could never place - I remember looking up at the ceiling of a museum and seeing all these planes and space shuttles. I thought for the longest time that it was Florida, but nope ... it was the National Air and Space Museum), the Botanical Gardens, the National Archives, the National Gallery of Art, the American History Museum, the Holocaust Museum, and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving (one of my other memories from growing up). It was a lot of walking that day, but we got to see a lot of interesting things.

The Muppet's! We also saw Dorothy's Red Slippers, Michelle Obama's inaugural dress, Stephen Colbert's portrait, and the Star-Spangled Banner.

Can't leave Washington D.C. without a picture of one of the Founding Fathers.

I was so excited to go to the National Air and Space Museum, and I have to admit that it was one of my favorite places that we went. I get so geeked by that kind of stuff. We even did a planetary show which made me super excited. If I hadn't gone to BYU, but MSU I probably would have studied physics or some kind of science.

Our last day we were going to go for a run around the Jefferson Memorial, but we woke up to a day of rain. It actually all worked out because after going back to our hotel room after our Museum Marathon and getting some dinner, we went back to the city at night and got to see the Jefferson Memorial lit up, as well as the city. It was absolutely beautiful.

So on our last day we wake up to rain. Which was good and bad. Good because there was only one last thing we wanted to go do which was go see the National Cathedral. The bad news was that it was about two miles away from the closest Metro Station. Let's just say we were soaked! But it was still breath taking there. (It reminded me of one of my favorite West Wing episodes. I replayed it on the way home on the airplane. It made me happy to think that I had just been there.) After taking a tour and looking out their observation floor, we headed back to the hotel to air dry, and then left for the airport. It was a whirlwind trip, but lots of fun.

I am so glad Beth invited me. It had been a long time since I had gotten to talk to anyone my age and really talk. It starts to wear on you when the only get to talk to 3 year olds every day. We got to catch up and talk about what had been going on in our lives. I'm so grateful for that opportunity. Especially because 4 months later she is engaged to a wonderful guy. I'm so glad we had the chance to go on this trip before she started her next adventure as a teacher and getting married.

Me and Beth, Washington D.C., April 14th, 2011