We were really able to explore the city more on our second day in Washington DC because we woke up early and stayed late. We were so excited to get the day started and woke up at practically the crack of dawn. My husband is such a history junkie and couldn't believe all the amazing things we saw throughout our time there. I mean come on, it is pretty awesome to see a letter written by George Washington and space suits with moon dust on them!!
Everyday we rode the train into town from the very last stop on the blue line. Talk about a long train ride with lots of stops! We really had a blast riding though. I love people watching and public transportation is THE place to do it. So many different people and unusual characters!
There are tons of Smithsonian museums surrounding the National Mall and we were able to go through quite a few of them. This castle is the Information Center for all of the museums and was the original National Museum. They have since expanded the museum to 17 separate museums, all unique and amazing in their own way.
Our first museum stop was the Air and Space Museum. At first I wanted to skip this one. I mean, I'm not really into space or air history so I figured why waste our time? However, Greg insisted and I am so glad he did! We saw so many awesome artifacts and original things it was amazing. My favorite things were the Space suits, the first airplane flown by the Wright Brothers (yes, the original) and the control center of Apollo 11 (the first to step on the moon!!). Crazy, real life history right there. It was beyond belief seeing all the artifacts!
I personally am not a saver of anything! I am not really sentimental about keeping old papers or cards, but it is awesome to see all the historical artifacts that make our history so much more real to me. It's unimaginable!
Greg was blown away by the Capitol and how big it is in real life. We really fell in love with Washington, DC and hopefully one day we will be able to live and work there. Now THAT would be a dream come true. My husband has such a passion for everything political and would totally be in his element in DC.
Being that it was Memorial Day weekend, there was a massive bike ride through the city on Sunday. And when I say massive, I mean 250,000 motorcycles massive. It was the craziest thing. We waited to see them come by where we were at then we went to lunch and came out and they were still going strong. It was an amazing sight to see. So many of the bikers were veterans and supporters of POW-MIA. I just love patriotism and supporting this great nation!! And there's me in my blue and white scarf, it was was too cold for my red shorts though.
One thing I didn't get a picture of was our lunch. We went to the American Indian Museum and ate Buffalo and Duck burgers. Can I just say, yummm! They were delicious! Greg searched out some good places to eat in the area and apparently congressman walk down to eat at the cute little cafe in this museum! It was definitely a great meal!
The Museum of Natural History was next on our list and it was definitely one of the most crowded places we went in during our trip. Full of families with kids and strollers, but it was worth dealing with all the people. We saw so many different animal skeletons and human skeletons. We were very impressed with everything in this museum. We even saw one of the Moai from Easter Island. This museum was very fascinating.
Our next stop was the National Archives. I have no pictures of it because you weren't allowed to take pictures inside due to the sensitivity of the documents there. We saw the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. How awesome is that?! I was so impressed by the quality of these documents from long ago.
By this time it was afternoon and we had a few more stops to go. I don't think my feet have ever hurt as bad as they did by this point. I somehow managed to keep trekking along. Greg was determined to see as much as we could on this little weekend getaway. We were headed to see the White House next and made a quick stop at Ford's Theater where Lincoln was assassinated. Abraham Lincoln is Greg's favorite president of all time. I think he saw the recent movie
Lincoln about 3 times in theater. Ford's is still an up and running theater so we weren't able to go in and look around. We did get a picture of the sign though :)
Here is the White House in all its glory. The first is the back and the second is the front. We were in definitely in awe of this building. To know that our presidents have lived in this house is just amazing.
And here we are with the beautiful gates and the front of the White House. I think this picture might be our Christmas Card. I'm sure Greg would LOVE that. While we were there we bought 3 Christmas ornaments for our tree. Just a LITTLE obsessive ;)
On our way to dinner we saw none other than Marine 1 and 2. When we saw this we knew that the president was in one of those helicopters and next thing you know it lands on the south lawn of the White House. This was probably the most exciting part of our trip because its not everyday that you get to see the President of the United States come home. Everyone around was snapping pictures everywhere!
To end such a wonderful evening we enjoyed a live orchestra concert on the Capitol lawn to celebrate Memorial Day. The event was live broadcasting on PBS and included many singers and famous people. It was nice to just sit and enjoy being in our Nation's Capitol celebrating the men and women who have lost their lives defending it. I was deeply moved by the performances and stories that were recounted.
Our trip to DC was unforgettable and will always be our first road trip together as husband and wife. We definitely want to go back one day, but there are so many places that we would love to see and do! DC is definitely a must-visit in my opinion! Just simply amazing.
