DC - Day 3

On our last day we DC, we started at the National Zoo.

 The elevator out of this metro station was the LONGEST elevator I have ever seen in my entire life!

 Our walk to the metro took us through some swanky neighborhoods and we had a lot of fun looking at all of the cool, huge houses.  Then we walked past this one - the house of the Australian ambassador.

 This was the crowd in front of the baby panda exhibit.  It was kind of crazy.

 We did finally get through some people to get a peek.

 The zoo had this awesome cable between monkey exhibits at both end of the zoo that the monkeys could use to switch exhibits.  When we first saw this monkey, it wasn't moving, just sitting on the cable, and we thought it was fake.

 We weren't planning on going to the National Cathedral because it was a pretty far hike from the metro station, but after the zoo we still had a lot of time left so we did it anyway.  We got there right as they were closing the cathedral for tours for the day though so we didn't get to go inside.

 Our last DC site was a little bit of an adventure.  After our trek to and from the National Cathedral, we decided it wasn't too bad and to do it again with the DC temple.  It was about a mile and half  each way to and from the temple.  Not so bad, except that the roads we had to walk along were a little bit sketchy.  We did make it there and back alive though and with plenty of time to spare to make our train to the airport.

 Brian has this exact picture from when he came to DC in high school.  I tried to find it to put in on here side by side but I couldn't. :(

Overall, our trip to DC was a blast!  We had so much fun!  When I got home, I mapped our trip and we walked somewhere between 25 and 30 miles in the three days we were there so we were a bit sore for a couple days.  We didn't get home until about 1 in the morning and poor Brian had to leave for a meeting in Louisville at 6 the next day, so he had a bit of a rough day.  But I think he would say it was worth it.  Now we are trying to decide where to go no our next weekend getaway . . .

DC - Day 2

On day 2, we headed first to Arlington Cemetary.

 We walked a new way to our metro stop and found out it was right next to the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives National Headquarters.  We were in the middle of a selfie when a guard appeared out of nowhere and yelled "no pictures."

 Kennedy gravesite

 L'Enfant gravesite - he was the city designer of DC.

 The General Lee estate.  His house was built and designed by Washington's step-grandson and this was Washington's actual china.

 Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

 The other side of the White House.  We don't know if it's actually true, but we were told that the snipers on the roof mean that the president is home.  We didn't see any people this time at the White House, but we did see someone out walking the first dog.

 

 The Library of Congress

 National Courthouse

 Brian playing with the camera again? You can see our shadows in the corner.

Our DC Vacation - Day 1

Our vacation started out pretty sucky.  We got a call at 2 in the morning saying our flight that morning had been canceled due to mechanical issues.  The only flight they could get us on left about 5 hours than we were planning on.  We were frustrated at first, but we got to sleep in which I think was the only thing that made it possible for us to stay out late enough to see the monuments lit up, so it was maybe for the best.

 Getting ready to go.

 Arriving in DC

Waiting for the metro to take us to check into our hotel.  Or at least what we thought was our hotel.  Apparently there are 2 Hilton Gardens in downtown DC and I wrote down the address for the wrong one.  So after riding the metro three stops in the wrong direction, walking around lost for a while, we walked into the wrong one and started over.  We did eventually make it to the right one though and we finally got checked in and then headed downtown to see the cherry blossoms and monuments.

 We wanted to do these paddle boats, but there was a crazy crowd of people and after watching people on them and how much effort they actually take, we decided it wasn't worth it.

 This is the coolest building in DC. 

 The White House!  We started to walk back to the National Mall and were stopped by a security guard at the driveway.  Turned out that one of the first daughters was coming home - it was too far away for us to tell which one though.

 We walked back around the monuments after the sun went down and it was probably the favorite part of our whole vacation.  They look completely different all lit up.  Brian had a lot of fun playing with the camera,too.