Washington DC - oH mY wORD Edition!

This is probably going to be my longest post ever because I took about 2 trillion pictures of our weekend in DC. I'd split it up into smaller segments, but then when I email the link to this post to my family members (who don't really even know that this is a blog or what a blog is) they would be all confused. And, you know who you are!

First we had to drop The Dog off at "camp". We took her to a new kennel to board her since her regular one is closed for renovations. We took her to a "recreational pet camp" where they asked me if there was any medication in her "luggage". Her "luggage" consisted of a plastic Giant grocery bag. I really had a hard time keeping a straight face as I checked in my "camper"! But, I must admit, three days without her was like heaven for me.

Our actual trip started out with a wonderful visit! This first picture is us at Susan's place. We got to hang out with her on Saturday and we had a blast! I miss her so much! She cooked us pancakes and bacon which we ate before we started out on our adventure.


We rode the Metro two of the days we were there since we stayed outside of DC in a wonderful hotel called The Bolger Center in Potomac, MD. We were pretty much the only people there (which was a little creepy at times).

Our first sight-seeing stop was The Smithsonian Natural History Museum. On the way we took a few pictures while we walked across the mall between the Washington Monument and the Capital.

Yes, that's Susan in the below picture. Most people take this picture with the Monument and I decided to do it a little differently:


The below picture is inside the Smithsonian gift shop. #3 wanted that hat and I said no way! It was $13.95 and I couldn't see it lasting more than a few days!



This is a picture of me posing with "my relatives". This museum pushed evolution like I've never seen before! We started to count how many placards and signs referred to evolution until we realized it would be easier to count how many didn't say anything about evolution! I must say, the Photograph Exhibit was breathtaking and I could have stayed there for hours looking at these exquisite photos of nature. It was, by far, my favorite part of the museum.

We snapped these photos on the way back to the Metro:


Here we are riding the Metro. It was very clean and quiet and I was very impressed. Best of all, it was color coded and very easy to follow.


We had a nice-sized indoor pool at our hotel and we swam after dinner. We were the only ones there. #3 was a fish and I barely saw her head above the water the entire time she was in the pool. She was too busy doing underwater flips and hand stands! And, as you can see, there was a lot of sisterly love:


This was our second day when we went inside the Washington Monument. #3 asked if the statue was made out of chocolate! We were here waiting for the elevator that goes to the top. It is a 70 second ride. On the way down, they let you see some of the commemorative stones inside the monument by doing something to the windows in the elevator with the lights. It was very cool! We couldn't see the PA stone, though.


Below is one of the views from the top of the Washington Monument. Did you know that George Washington was 6 ft. 3 inches tall? I didn't know that!


This is outside the Washington Monument and I thought it made a cool picture with all the flags!


This picture below was at the WW2 memorial. It is probably one of my favorite pictures from the weekend. Both this memorial and the Vietnam memorial moved me to tears. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it. I love America. And, I am grateful for the freedoms we enjoy. This is the place where it all really hits home.


This picture below is outside of the Lincoln Memorial with the Reflecting Pool behind us. At this point #3 was worn out from all the walking so she and I didn't make it to the top. The Husband took the older girls up, as you'll see in the picture under this one.



We tried to go to the Smithsonian American History Museum, but it is closed until summer for renovations (I'm not sure we would have made it anyway!). The picture below was the ride home on the Metro. We were exhausted. I think we honestly walked about 10 miles!


Today was our last day and we went to The White House and Visitor Center. They were doing all sorts of special activities for President's Day. The girls made beeswax candles, took the oath of office and learned all about our former presidents and their families!


The weather was gorgeous all weekend long! Another nice thing about this trip was that we cashed in Discover Reward points for free dining certificates at Bennigans and On the Border, two restaurants we don't have around here. And, we got to try a new restaurant called Chicken Out Rotisserie and it was fabulous! I hope one of those comes to our town soon. And, I also enjoyed a new Florentine breakfast sandwich from Starbucks with baby spinach, Havarti cheese and herb spread. YUM!! We cashed in reward points off of our Visa towards our hotel so the whole trip was very affordable. And, very FUN!

We needed a break and this was exactly what I was hoping for!