Welp-we're back from D.C. and back to the normal life of working, school and waking up early, LOL. I hope you're jonesing for some pictures because there are a LOT of them on this post!
So to begin out trip, Derrick had to work until closing. I made sure to ask off that day so I could sleep, pack and gather our stuff, and clean before we headed out (and let me tell you: there's
nothing like coming home to a clean house after a fun but exhausting trip! Note to self: do this every time!) Then we hauled it to Chattanooga, which it and the airport are an hour
ahead so we got into bed and slept around 12:30 that night...which wouldn't have been so bad except we had to get up at 5ish to make sure we got to the airport and through security on time.
Why Chattanooga and not BNA you may ask? Because we needed someone to watch our pup and Mom was awesome in doing so...but we decided that next time we go out of town-he's going to a board house with other pups and fun. No travel to Chatt would mean no extra travel and lack of sleep=success.
Waiting on our flight from Chattanooga to Atlanta (don't mind the man-he's half asleep, LOL).
Once we got to D.C.! This is the Metro ticket box right inside the Reagan Airport-Der had never been on the Metro so I was excited to show him!
Der feigning enthusiasm in front of Union Station-the Metro hub closest to our hotel (only we didn't know that and wandered around in the heat and confusion of the D.C. streets until we stumbled upon our place of stay...a bit embarrassing on my part since I planned the damned trip)!
Hotel bathroom
Hotel bed/main room
We always love getting a King sized bed when we travel if possible (and usually there's no extra charge) because we can spread out and pass out when the day of fun is over. That first day, since out plane landed in D.C. mid-day and since we got lost and saw a lot of the city before even getting to our hotel, we checked in, unloaded our stuff, and went on a quest to get some food! After finding a close and inexpensive place to eat, we sleepily trudged back to the hotel. And it was a good thing we did because it rained that night. We had brought an umbrella since the forecast held a lot of rain (of which there was hardly any) but sopping wet after a day of travel and heat sounded nowhere close to appealing to us so we went back and crashed, reading the brochures and guides about what to do the next day.
After some much needed sleep, we woke up to a great sunny day and headed out to eat the breakfast buffet the hotel had to offer...BIG mistake! Now granted: I knew food in D.C. was going to A) be the main expense of our trip and B) be expensive but I had NOT planned on spending what I did on a breakfast buffet for 2! It was good and all but NOT worth its price. Der and I decided the next day we'd figure something else out because that was just a bit much.... We also realized our hotel was a bit of a disappointment, which was surprising since it's a large chain that's supposed to be known for its chicness.
Anyway, we finished eating and decided to see a few sites along to the way to the National Mall. The National Mall was a lot of fun-both the spread where all of the museums/memorials are and that's where a lot of people gathered just to hang.
Me in front of the Capitol building! I was OBSESSED with the wonderful architecture D.C.'s buildings had. Columns everywhere (and I love me some columns) and amazingly detailed everything!
Der in front of the Capitol building-he'll be visiting here someday when he's a lawyer, I'm sure! He was a bit bummed that the stairs were blocked off (mumbling about free to the public), but it was just for a 4th of July celebration they were having-they unblocked them on the 5th.
National Gallery of Art (see those columns!) it made me sad that there were hardly any tourists in this line but other museums had lines wrapping around the building....*sighs* Woe is the life of an artist and its fan. We didn't have time to see this but I AM going next time since art is kinda my thing.
Der and I in line at the Museum of Natural History-a very wonderful Smithsonian that I think everyone should see at least once.
The Museum of Natural History-it held awesome exhibits of Evolution Progression, Gems, Race "differences", Animals, and so much more. Very educational, for sure.
The over 200 skulls found and pieced together to trace the human's evolution to know-very inspiring and a bit overwhelming.
The Hope Diamond-the biggest diamond in the world weighing in at about 45 carats! It's stunning, to say the least.
The National Museum of American History-again, everyone should see this for its amazing culture and wonderful exhibits!
A wonderful exhibit! I thought it was going to just be about clothes but it had information and campaigns that these wonderful ladies have helped start and keep going throughout the years-showing that behind every good man is an even better woman =]
Jackie Kennedy's inaugural dress-you can totally tell its era, haha!
Michelle Obama's inaugural dress-GORGEOUS.
Documents from the (unfortunate) slave trades.
Real red coat.
Abe Lincoln's top hat-very awesome for Derrick to see since Abe is one of his hero's.
Judy Garland's ruby slippers!
On the left are the original muppets created by Jim Henson (can you spot Kermit?) and on the right is the Kermit made famous in the 1960s by Henson-the classic voice and look still carried over today.
The famous Washington Memorial.
The Smithsonian Castle-the main hub where you figure out which museum to start first!
In the Air and Space Museum-real models of the original Wright flyers-very cool! The Air and Space Museum was PACKED (or it seemed more packed because it's smaller and had more open air) but we still had a lot of fun-my favorite part being the planetarium. I can't even explain it but if you ever get a chance to go to ANY planetarium, DO IT. It's relaxing and exhilarating all in one. Most of what we saw were different planes and some space gadgets but Der had a great time being the space nerd he is and getting so see some actual pieces of NASA work from Space (i.e. Lunar lander, Voyage spacecraft, etc.).
So we did ALL 3 of those museums in the first full day we were there! *whew!* It was a long day but so much fun and chucked full of information and wonder. We headed back to the hotel for dinner and then slept.
The next day was the 4th of July! We had originally planned (me in particular) this trip at this time because we knew it'd be holding some HUGE celebrations-and oh it did! Totally worth the heavy tourists and long lines. It was great seeing everyone being so patriotic and humbled by our country's birthday. So we got up, I got us some coffee and muffins for a quick breakfast and we jetted out to the National Archives where they were displaying the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for the public!
Here is the National Archives building-they were doing a show where Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson read from the Declaration of Independence to start the day off with a bang. After the show, the line went around the building to see the exhibits! This was the longest line we waited in but according to Derrick "worth it!" I love my little patriot =]
Obviously, we couldn't take any pictures once we got inside the building but the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and a few supporting documents were all really cool to see up close! Some are heavily faded and hard to read while others still look clear as day. Very impressive.
While Der and I were in line at the National Archives on the 4th, we signed up to be in the I'm IN! Obama 2012 Campaign. After the archives we decided we wanted to see all of the memorials-a long journey but well worth it, naturally.
Me and the Washington Monument-something I LOVED taking pictures of (excuse the squints).
The WWII Memorial-spanning on both sides for each state.
The side of the WWII Memorial where TN stands.
A zoomed view of the Lincoln Memorial from the Washington Monument. I won't lie: they've drained the reflecting pool for restoration and Der and I were both really disappointed because we wanted to see it! Now let me say: since the reflecting pool was closed down, the trek to the Lincoln Memorial was about 3 times longer than it was supposed to be due to detours and blockages for that night's fireworks! Long walk there but the walk back didn't seem to bad-maybe because the other side didn't have as many closures?
The Korean War Memorial
The soldier statues in honor of the Korean War.
The Lincoln Memorial-very similar in structure to the representations of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. I was telling Derrick that it was a bit rude and egotistical for the builders to build every building in D.C. in Greek God fashion...Washington in particular hated the idea of being seen as "God-like"!
My hubs and one of his hero-it was very moving and humbling for Der.
The Vietnam Memorial-the wall is filled with nothing but names of those who are gone or lost...and it spans for so long....
From where this women is at all the way back to where the people are ants is how long the Vietnam Memorial and that list of names is...very sad.
The White House! We wrote too late to get tickets to tour the inside of it, but with a line that long AND it being the 4th of July holiday...we decided it was probably for the best and next time we go we'll plan a tour. It was gorgeous though and the President's daughter's birthday is also on the 4th so I felt like if we didn't go, we didn't intrude upon her party, LOL ;)
After checking out many of the Memorials (we also saw the D.C. Memorial which was blocked off), we grabbed some grub, went to change clothes, and went back to the National Mall for the fireworks show from the Memorials! I will say: D.C. fireworks, on the 4th of July, are the best I've ever seen. I cried they were so beautiful and put to an amazing soundtrack the whole mall could hear.
The crowd for the fireworks spanned the entire mall (which if you know how long that is you understand that's a LOT of people!). Families, lovers, friends, and loners were out to celebrate our nation's birthday and to see the glory of the fireworks show-TOTALLY my favorite part of the trip!
After the fireworks died down, Der and I took a slow walk back to the hotel eating vendor hot dogs and soda (YUM) and talking. It was hot and there were throngs of people but that walk was a really nice way to end the night. We were flying out mid-afternoon the next day, so we went back to the hotel and gathered our stuff for the next day.
Once we checked out at the hotel, we went around the Mall, checking out stuff we thought we missed and passing the time before we had to get to the airport. The night before we were given free "Support the National Mall" tee-shirts so we put those on and checked out the last glimpses of D.C. before we left.
See out shirts?
Another view of our gorgeous Capitol building-this time from the back as we roamed the city.
The Supreme Court building-honestly it looked a lot smaller in person than the grandiose thing I thought it would be considering the landmarks that have come out of it!
The Library of Congress. We (unfortunately) didn't get to go inside it (this trip) but it as a building is gorgeous and I can just imagine what it's got inside it's fantastic walls! Next trip: this is priority #1.
The amazing fountain in front of the Library of Congress building.
And that's it! We grabbed some food before our van got there to take us to the airport. We got on the flight from D.C. to ATL and then ATL to Chattanooga. We went to Mom's to sleep and the next morning it all seemed like a dream! The trip went by so fast and was filled with so much fun and stuff to do that it was hard to believe that when we woke up it was the 6th of July already!
I love that city. This is the 2nd time I've been but this time I was able to see and do a lot I didn't the first trip. Der loved it too! We can't wait to go back again and catch up on the things we didn't see and revisit our favorites.
Check it out-go visit our Capital!
