Washington, DC

I don't know what we would have done if Spencer hadn't been in DC when we went to visit.  Actually, I don't think we would've gone to DC at all if he hadn't been there.  He's only there for a summer internship, but by golly we wanted to see him and definitely benefited from his expertise in the district.

We had 5 fun-packed days and saw everything we wanted to see and more!  We stayed at the Days Inn in Alexandria, VA, near the Huntington metro stop.  Spencer had 2 Metro cards that someone gave to him so we were able to get around for free!  I would definitely try to get free metro rides if you ever go.  ;)

DAY 1:  Looking back I realize that on our first day in DC we might have gone a little crazy, saw a little too much, and wore ourselves out a little too early, but then again, I think it was worth it.  Let me list for you the things we saw.

The Department of Agriculture Farmer's Market, where we bought massive blackberries and juicy plums and the Mall, which was surprisingly dusty and rather run-down looking.

The National Archives, where we saw the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  I was sad when I found out that the Magna Carta was under historical restoration processes or something and we wouldn't be able to see it.  The Declaration was pretty awesome though; I especially enjoyed admiring the penmanship.

The National Gallery of Art, where we saw some beautiful paintings, including the only DaVinci in the Americas.

The Capitol Building. Spencer got us a tour time for the inside which was great.  Our guide was a cute old man in a red jacket and he told us a bunch of interesting facts and tid-bits, all of which I forgot.  Paul and Spencer also amused themselves by creating stories about how there was once a intern who was in charge of creating the "freedom statue" that stands on the capitol dome and was only given the instructions to make a statue that encompasses the word "freedom".  Poor intern.

The Library of Congress and the Supreme Court Building, which were both beautiful on the inside!  And don't you just love columns?

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where the most boring and apathetic tour guide showed us how our money is made.  I'm not kidding when I say she was horrible.  The guys actually printing the money were quite entertaining, but she sounded like she was about to fall asleep.  Anyway, we liked seeing the stacks and stacks of money and looking at old bills on display.  Apparently Paul is as tall as $1,700,000.

We also ate at Good Stuff Eatery on Pennsylvania Avenue and spent a little time (mostly resting) in the Air and Space Museum.  At the end of the day we were all worn out.


DAY 2: We started out by going to the new International Spy Museum.  I thought it was fun at first, but it went on forever and made me realize that the best museums are museums that have one-of-a-kind items rather than museums that are filled with informative plaques about a subject, which is how this one was set up.  Cool stuff, but buy a book, ya know?  Plus it costs money.

Next we went to the National Portrait Gallery, which I loved.  I remember going in London and wishing that I had had more time to look at all of the paintings, but we spent a lot of time there in DC.  I liked all of the portraits of US Presidents, and pop culture portraits, mostly because those were the people I recognized.

We ate at Potbelly Sandwich Shop, which was super good, and they had some amazing, gooey cookies.  Then we wandered through DC wondering about how many columns there were, and then we went to the White House.

That night we met up with Kiersten, an old roommate of mine, and her husband Scott and took the trolley to Old Town Alexandria.  We went to an interesting Irish Pub for dinner where apparently Ronald Reagan made an appearance long ago.  There was also a live guitarist that gave Paul a lot of grief for wearing his LA Dodgers hat and requesting Free Bird.  The dinner was good though and we got a good story out of it.  We also saw this guy who plays glasses and wandered along the water and got ice cream.

 

DAY 3:  We drove the car to Arlington National Cemetery and got to see the changing of the guard as well as a wreath ceremony.  The number of graves is astonishing, but the place is really beautiful.  We spent a long time wandering the grounds and wondering about the lives of people that are buried there.  We also accidentally ended up inside a fenced-in area that had a sign that read "no pedestrians".  Oops.

We got a little lost driving around looking for a place to eat.  We drove up Wisconsin Avenue through Georgetown, and I kind of liked seeing part of the city from the car.  Especially this guy:

After some pizza we drove down to the Roosevelt Memorial and then walked around Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial, and then up to the Washington Monument.  It was blazing hot and humid but we had some fun.

When we got there we waited for my Dad who was arriving in DC on a little business trip.  After we met up we walked past the WWII Memorial and down to the Vietnam Memorial, which was very cool.  Then we kept going all the way around to the Lincoln Memorial, which I loved, but it was a little sad that there was no water in the reflecting pool.  Anyways, after all of our gazing at memorials (memorialing) we were parched and exhausted so we drove up to Bethesda, MD and got a lovely dinner with Dad. 

DAY 4: We hit the town on our own on day 4 as Spencer had to go to work and do intern-y things.  We decided to make it our museums-that-we-haven't-seen-yet day.  So we went to the Museum of American History first.  This was probably my favorite museum of the trip.  I liked it because they have so many unique pieces: Abraham Lincloln's hat, THE Star Spangled Banner, Michael Jackson's hat, dresses worn by the first ladies, George Washington's coat, Dorothy's ruby slippers, and on and on.

Next we went to the Holocaust Museum.  We were lucky that we didn't have to show up to wait in line for a time; military gets immediate entry!  I thought the museum was well done, informational, and very sobering.  It was also very large and took a lot of time, but we liked it.

We hopped over to the Museum of Natural History to see some "Night at the Museum" stuff and the Hope diamond, which were cool.  I'm glad we didn't spend a lot of time there because there were so many kids, and it was one of those museums with a TON of information that I would rather get from a book.  Here we are resting at a museum:

That night we met up with Spencer and one of Paul's old mission companions and a friend to go see "Vertigo" at the National Theatre.  They do free Alfred Hitchcock movies on Monday nights in the summer, and it's got us on a Hitchcock kick!  Yay Hitchcock!  We ate at a shady restaurant in China town that night and it was, of course, delicious.


DAY 5:  On our last day in DC we drove out to Mount Vernon, home of George Washington.  It. was. HOT.  but the grounds were beautiful and it was fun to see how the house was decorated.  The front was covered in scaffolding but here are some pics from the back, where the awesome view is anyway:

And because I couldn't photograph the dentures, I took a picture of the sign, to remember that I saw them.  :)

 We were utterly exhausted after touring Mount Vernon but it was a fun way to end the trip.  After the tour we got in the car and drove the rest of the way to Sumter.

Well that was extremely long, but we had such an amazing time in DC that I wanted to share/document it all.  If you ever need any advice about what to see in DC I will gladly tell you again what I liked!  Also, if you want to come visit us in Sumter, you can and should!

New Car

Well the van hit 150,000 miles on our move to SC.  The driver's side window doesn't roll down, the radio broke, the lights barely work, the automatic locks make a loud buzzing noise, the floor gets soaked from condensation any time we use the AC, and it gets from 16-22 mpgs.  It was definitely time to have something else to drive.  So we bought this baby:

It's a 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring and it's awesome.  It has a few traditional bells and whistles and it's very comfortable too.  It is pretty roomy, Paul fits, and the trunk is very spacious so we don't feel like we gave up much as far as space.  I didn't think about taking a picture of the inside but if you want I could post one later.  We kept the van but don't plan on driving it much anymore.  Would you?

Graceland in Memphis, TN

After our first day of driving and a HUMID stop in Arkansas, Paul and I decided to go to Graceland, home of The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis.  Neither Paul nor I are hardcore Elvis fans, but we do appreciate his iconic style and his influence on pop culture and music, and I do know most of the words to "Blue Suede Shoes".

I thought about posting these pictures and pretending that it was the inside of our new house, but I don't think it would have fooled anybody; his decor is wild.

 

 

Did you see the ugly monkey in the yellow and blue room?  And the mirrored stairways?  And all of the gold records and awards?

I cheated a little to get the picture of his grave.  Instead of standing in line, I went around the other side and just sneaked in between some people.  It is funny how people feel like they need to shuffle along in a straight line when they are at museums.

I would recommend going to Graceland if you get the chance.  It was a little expensive, but there are a lot of things to see including his cars, planes, clothes, more awards, and the grounds.  But maybe go in the winter when it isn't 100 degrees out.

 

After the tour we went to McDonald's.  The cashier asked for a name to call when our order was ready and when Paul told her his name she wrote down P-A-R-L.  Welcome to the south.