Washington, D.C. - Day 3

The weather was pretty awful today. Very overcast and rainy at times, but we made it work. Last night we checked out the opening times for a few museums and planned out our day. Our first stop was back at the Washington Monument to see if we could get tickets to go up to the top. We got there shortly before 9:30 and luckily they still had tickets for that time (which are free!), so we hurried over to get in line. We rode the elevator to the top, during which the guide gave us some history. We then had some time in the viewing deck to look out the windows and see the view of the city. Unfortunately, since the weather was so crappy, the clouds were very low and visibility was not as good as usual. It was still pretty neat to go up inside though. The guide said on a clear day, you can see as far as 7 miles!

 

     

There was an accident that morning too, which is why traffic is so congested in the pictures. The police were re-routing down some smaller side streets.

On the elevator ride back down, they clear the windows on each side of the doors so you can see the stones that different cities and/or states have put in during the building phase.

Later in the day, the clouds were so low, we couldn't even see the top of the monument anymore!

We then headed about a block over to the Holocaust Memorial Museum, which is also free! (That is one of the great things about DC...a majority of the museums and buildings are free to go in.) We had read on their website that military members can get a ticket for the permanent exhibition "The Holocaust" anytime, as opposed to tickets that have a scheduled time (so they can control the number of people in the exhibit). When we finally got to the front of the line, after waiting behind a HUGE line of middle-schoolers on a trip (one bad thing about DC during the school year is the massive amount of kids on school trips...), we asked the people at the front desk and they gave us our ticket right away and told us we could go into the exhibit whenever we were ready. Nice! Unfortunately, it ended up being super crowded anyway, because new groups enter every so often. There is a lot to read and it was very congested in the beginning where people were looking at the artifacts. Obviously no pictures in here, sorry!

 

I definitely recommend going to the Holocaust Museum if you are ever in Washington, D.C. I think it is part of the Smithsonian Institution, and it was really neat to see. I find it so hard to believe what happened to many of the Jews back then and how crazy Hitler was. There were 3 floors and it probably took us 2-3 hours to get through it all! It just depends how much you want to look at and read. I'm a reader, so it took me longer. I mean, if I'm going to go to a museum, I'm going to learn my history. :)

 

When we left there, we were getting hungry so we stopped in at the Smithsonian Institution's information center for some lunch. It was crowded so we had to share a table with 2 ladies who were old friends catching up. It was interesting, to say the least. We had to make boring small talk.

 

We decided to head to the National Air and Space Museum next. Like the Holocaust Museum, a million and five kids were waiting to get in, and since it was raining (and we were umbrella-less!), we decided to walk across the National Mall (big grassy area separating all the major museums) to the National Gallery of Art. We didn't spend much time in there, basically because it was boring and we didn't know what we were looking at. Haha! When we left, we saw that the line was gone at the Air & Space Museum, so we headed over there. We spent most of the rest of the afternoon in there. Grant probably enjoyed this more than I did, but I still found a few of the exhibits to be interesting.

 Replica of Amelia Earhart's plane...they were working on this exhibit at the time.

UAV! What every pilot aspires to fly. ;)

Jet Engine...who knew it was so complex?!?

Apollo 11 Command Module

A part of the Hubble Space Telescope. This piece had been in outer space just about a week ago!

We also wanted to go to the National Museum of Natural History but ran out of time. The museums are still on their "Winter" hours, so everything closed at 5 or 5:30.

 

We had plans to meet up with some friends, Joe & Barb, who live in DC for dinner. We met them when Grant started pilot training in Mississippi. Joe decided flying wasn't for him, so now he is stationed at the base in DC. Unfortunately, Barb ended up having to work late, so we didn't get to have dinner with them, but we still went. We ate at King Street Blues in Old Town Alexandria (which, by the way, I love! Reminds me of Oxford, if I haven't said that already...). It was a fun atmosphere and delicious hush puppies. :)

 

Initially, we thought we might do something tomorrow morning, but now we're thinking that we've seen everything we really wanted to see, except the Pentagon, which closed by the time we got around to seeing it...plus, I guess you have to have a ticket or special permission to get in, so we decided to skip it. We'll probably just head back to NC mid-morning.

 

Overall, we thought DC was fun to visit. We saw/did A LOT of stuff in just 3 days. I think it's a place everyone should go at least once in their life. It is, after all, our nation's capital! Not sure if I'd be begging to go back, but if the opportunity arose, I would probably go. If you ever go, be prepared to walk and learn! :)

Washington, D.C. - Day 2

We started out Day 2 with the free breakfast at our hotel....and let's just say that the only thing that was worth eating was the yogurt. The waffles were okay, but they were running low on batter by the time we got there. We couldn't complain too much though, since it was free!

We took the Metro down to D.C. and started our "tour" of all the famous things you think of when you think Washington, D.C. We saw the White House, but no Obama sightings. Can you spot the secret guard in the photo? :)

Then we headed over to the Lincoln Memorial, which is SO much bigger than I ever imagined.

Unfortunately, they were cleaning the Reflection Pool while we were in town, so we didn't get any pretty views of the water.

We also walked through the Vietnam Memorial and the Korean Memorial. It's hard to imagine how many people gave their lives in those wars.

At the end of the Reflection Pool was the World War II Memorial, where they were getting ready to have a ceremony for veterans. We saw a group of them waiting off to the side, some in wheelchairs. I'm sure they were all telling some war stories and maybe even catching up. Cute. :) This memorial was really neat...each state/territory of the U.S. has it's own stone/monument type thing. So naturally, we took a picture with each one we've lived in.

We then walked over to the Washington Monument. We wanted to take the inside tour, but all the tickets had been handed out for the day, so we just took outside pictures and thought we could put it on the list of things to do tomorrow.

By this time, we were getting hungry, so we walked a few blocks trying to find a place to eat. Once we filled up our bellies, we were ready to head over to the Capital Building. Plus, the sun finally came out!! We took some pictures of the outside and then headed inside (actually, we had to go to the back and in a separate building/entrance to walk underground and then into the Capital), where we were just in time for a tour. This was pretty interesting, and of course the Rotunda was very cool. I wish we could have seen even more. I think the House of Representatives were even in session today.

(Grant with his namesake, Ulysses S. Grant) ;)

The Supreme Court and Library of Congress were just across the street, so we visited those next.

(a view inside the courtroom)

Inside the Library of Congress...beautiful architecture!

Most of the buildings and museums close around 5 or 5:30 this time of year, so since it was getting close to that time, we decided to start heading back to our hotel. On our walk back to the Metro station, we passed the National Archives Building, so we stopped in there until they kicked us out. :) This place was pretty cool...they have archives of EVERYTHING! Any type of paper record, video, sound recording, etc. of anything and everything that has happened to or in or with the United States. I wish we had had more time to explore in there. Maybe we can head back tomorrow if we have time.

Once we got back to our hotel, we decided that we didn't really feel like going out for dinner, so we just ordered some pizza and stayed in. The weather is supposed to be yucky tomorrow, AND I forgot my umbrella (of all things!!), so we're planning to go to the museums and indoor stuff to stay dry.

Washington, D.C. - Day 1

Since neither Grant nor myself have ever been to Washington, D.C., and because we were only a few hours drive away, we thought now would be a good time to visit before we move to the other side of the U.S.! We left this morning, after dropping Wizzo off at the vet for boarding. The drive went pretty well and was easy. You basically take the same interstate highway all the way there. I think it took us about 4 to 4 1/2 hours.

We had planned to check into our hotel in Alexandria, Virginia first (more on that later); however, since it was getting to be later in the afternoon, and because it would take us some time to ride the Metro train back into the city, we thought we would head straight for Arlington National Cemetery while we had some daylight, nice weather, and it was still open. Our thoughts? HUGE!! It is absolutely unbelievable to see how many gravesites are located there. I never knew how much space they have. According to the pamphlet we picked up, "over 320,000 servicemen and their family members rest on the 624 acres." It was very cool to be there and realize how many people have fought (and died) for our country and our freedom.

We also made it there in time to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony at The Tomb of the Unknowns. These guards are very disciplined, and it was amazing to see the detail that goes into their routine as they change. The guards change every hour or half-hour depending on time of year, and they stand there 24/7. It must be awful in the winter and summer! I took a couple of videos, but they didn't turn out very well. Bummer.

We then walked around to see other famous gravesites, including President Kennedy's and President Taft's. Oh the history and stories that lie on those grounds!

By this time, we were getting hungry and decided to head for our hotel. We are staying at The Comfort Inn Alexandria, which is not too bad. We got a pretty good rate, and it's located close to a Metro stop. When we walked in, we were surprised to see construction and renovations going on, which they never mentioned in my reservation (although I booked over the internet), but it has been fine so far. They are replacing the front desk and tile/carpet in the lobby right now. We have been pleased with our room, too...clean and sufficient for a place to sleep. When I was searching for places to stay, one of the factors was distance to the Metro and if they offered transportation to and from. Ours had a shuttle that ran bac and forth, so that is convenient. However, the clerk who checked us in also told us that they were short on a driver tonight, so we could call a cab and the hotel would reimburse us for the fare. Excellent customer service, in my opinion. :) The shuttle should be going tomorrow, and apparently, all we have to do is tell the front desk that we are ready to go to the Metro and then call when we are ready to be picked up from the station. Hopefully it works out well.

So anyways, we checked in quickly, called for our cab (that was interesting...), and took the Metro to Old Town Alexandria to explore and grab dinner. We walked up and down King Street to see all the restaurants and shops. I loved this part of town! Very old and historic, yet cute. Kinda reminded me of Oxford, only better. :) Eventually, my feet were killing me (wrong shoes!) and we settled on a restaurant called Joe Theismann's Restaurant, a kind of classy sports bar and grill. We each enjoyed our meal and then headed back toward the Metro station for our ride home, only about 5 minutes on the train. Although, let me say that we had some issues trying to figure out how to get tickets and all. I guess we're not experienced city-goers!

Tomorrow we are planning to see all of the outdoor monuments and things like that since the forecast is calling for rain on Friday and Saturday. I hope the rain holds out!