Matt had this week off of school, so we decided that we wanted to take advantage of his rare freedom and take a day trip to Washington D.C. We have become quite adventurous since our trek across country. We sprung out of bed and were out of the house long before the sun was up, drove for 4 hours, found what I am sure was the ONLY free parking spot in the entire district, jumped on the metro like we were born in the city, and hit up every tourist attraction our capitol has to offer. It was one of the best days I have ever spent with my best friend. Here is a glimpse of our journey.
We only live about an hour from Virginia, and the entire drive was absolutely beautiful.
I squeeled when I saw this bus! It was definitely heading for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!
Our first stop after we got off the Blue Line (spoken like a true native) :) was Arlington National Cemetery.
The entire cemetery is so somber and respectful. Standing at JFK's grave was really heartbreaking.
The perfect fall day.
We walked up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at exactly 11:55 purely on accident... just in time for the changing of the guards!
Back to the metro! We were without a doubt the only people riding with smiles from ear to ear. We are such tourists.
We were SO excited for the museums! Matt and I both really love history.. and the WWII exhibit in the American History Museum was our favorite.
All the propaganda was really interesting...
Coupon clipping in it's original form. This is for you Sarah!
Can you imagine holding this in your hands?
Matt's reporting for his civic duty.
Just call me Rosie the Riveter!
This is a little intense right??
I had this poster on my bedroom wall for years. It's one of my favorite photographs ever.
Matt in 'Nam.
This is where Matt's mission to steal the Declaration of Independence began...
Planning his escape route.. he would make Nicolaus Cage proud!
Matt didn't get to the Declaration of Independence in time.. this man snagged it first!
We can't help but be tourists and take the awkward solo pictures. We did leave the fanny packs at home though.
Not to be confused with the "Aaron Space Museum." Yup, I thought that's what it was called. I assumed it was named after some astronaut named Aaron. Oops.
Matt's other dream occupation.
The Holocaust museum was my favorite part of the trip. It was absolutely heartbreaking. They don't allow pictures, so all I snagged was this one, but the musuem is designed like a concentration camp. It was amazing and so eye-opening. The exhibit had literally hundreds of people in it at a time, but you didn't hear a word, everyone was silent. There really are no words to describe, it was devastating.
By the end of the day, we had two last stops to make, the Lincoln memorial and the White House. We were really tired but pushed through. We were less than thrilled when we got the the most famous house in our country only to see this. A big. White. Tent. Wow. Absolutely no view whatsoever. Go figure. The funny thing was there was a man standing there videotaping it. I just wanted to ask him what exactly he was planning on seeing!
President Lincoln himself!!
These are hands down the yummiest burgers and fries we have had since we have been out east. I will admit, they gave In-n-Out a run for their money. SO good.So, 8 hours of driving, 4 musuems, 3 monuments, -1 White House, and several blisters later, we crashed in bed. It was a very busy day, but easily one we will look back on for years to come.
We are having the time of our lives. :)
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
Next was USS North Carolina, which was used during WWII.
The whole time we were swimming on the beach I kept telling Matt that I didn't want to get eaten by a shark. He just laughed, but then at the USS N. Carolina we saw a map that showed the shark attacks in the area. Yikes.
