Mike and his family (two sisters and bro-in-law) arrived around midnight. They came to town for the weekend and a day since we all took Monday off from work.
It was an action packed weekend for us. Neither Laura nor Jessica (sisters) had been to D.C., so we had quite a list to devour.
On Saturday we went to the National Archives, where we checked out the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. My favorite thing was the "interactive session" where we each got to make beeswax candles. I know it sounds random, but that's because it was. They were celebrating John and Abigail Adams at the Archives and had special crafts for visitors to the center. Pretty cool.
With candles in hand (or bag), we walked to Chinatown where we checked out a new (to me and hence, all) restaurant, Ella's Wood Fired Pizza. The restaurant, Zora, I had planned on going was closed for lunch. Boo. Alas, Ella's turned out to be a pleasant surprise as we devoured wood-baked personal pizzas with fresh ingredients. Mmm.
After lunch we hit the National Portrait Gallery, where Mike and I were anxious to see a temporary display of Stephen Colbert, the host of the Colbert Report. The fam humored us while Mike and I snapped pics next to the painting. To add to the humor of the narcissistic in nature painting itself, it hangs in the only place Colbert could talk the Portrait Gallery into hanging it: by the bathrooms. Hilarious!
We then spent about 20 minutes perusing the rest of the gallery before leaving for the Air and Space Museum.
The weather turned pretty cold and we were tiring, so after about 45 minutes at the Air and Space Museum, we headed back to the house for tacos and a fun game: Settlers of Caton.
div>Sunday was just as busy. After church, we headed to some memorials: The Vietnam, Korean, and Lincoln Memorial. No matter how many times I go, I always love the Lincoln Memorial.
After visiting Lincoln, we made our way to the Jefferson Memorial, one I have always wanted to see up close, but have only viewed from afar. While my wait was questionable, it was worth it. The memorial is beautiful and the view of and from it are gorgeous. We snapped pictures with the blue sky above and Potomac behind us.
After walking by the WW II memorial and taking pics there, we made our way to a famous D.C. restaurant: Ben's Chili Bowl. It's a destination known by many around here and one of the few restaurants in town that's cash only and where you'll find Senators and homeless folks dining side-by-side. It has quite a history and serves delicious and filling food! Yum! I enjoyed a Half-smoke covered in cheese, chili, onions and mustard. On the side were some cheesy fries and a chocolate milkshake. I didn't count the calories, but only indulged!
That night, we enjoyed some down time (we couldn't really move much after our big dinner). Then, we made our way to Eastern Market and had some dessert and coffee at a local Italian restaurant. We polished off the evening with another game of Settlers.
Monday Monday... up fairly early and off to the Washington Monument, where I had reserved us tickets for the daily, sold-out tour. We rode to the top and looked around for about 30 minutes before making our way back down and on to other places.
We went to another one of my favorite museums, the Natural History Museum where we hit some highlighted sections (mainly the dinosaurs, Hope Diamond, and gemstones collection) before heading back to the house. The afternoon wrapped with lunch before they hit the road for NC. Phew!!! What a weekend!
To view more pics from the weekend, click here.
1 comment:
you played settlers of catan!! what?! without me?!
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