DC Trip

Jakes and I went to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms.  Unfortunately, we didn't get there in time.  Our schedule just didn't match up to get there.  BUT there is SO much good stuff to see in DC that it wasn't a wasted trip.

I had signed up with SpotHero and gotten $25 in parking credit.  The app is SO easy to use and they offer parking in so many cities around the country.  I plugged in DC and figured out where in the city we wanted to be (close to the National Mall, of course) and chose the best parking garage for us.  On the day of the trip, we plugged the address of the garage into the GPS and hit the road.

We got to DC, grabbed the cameras and started walking. First thing on the agenda was a river cruise that I got at a discount through Amazon Local.  Its like Groupon or LivingSocial, good deals sometimes.

Our Boat

Seeing DC from the river side gave us a different view of the city.

Kennedy Center

And since we missed the Cherry Blossoms, Jakes decided we should check out a couple of the museums.

We ended up at the Air and Space Museum.

We spent the afternoon wandering around taking pictures.  Jakes was in heaven.  He loves science stuff and he was reading the placards and studying everything.

Moon Lander

My Professional Photographer

We only had time for one museum and there are so many others to see. We'll be back!
I love spending time in DC.

Silly Hats

While in Washington, we stopped in a gift shop in one of the museums.  I don't remember which at this point....

My dad was in the Navy until just after I was born.  I grew up playing with his Navy hats and sleeping on US Navy sheets.

So when I saw these hats in the museum, I had to make my boys try them on.....

AZ modeling

What an expression.

Just for you daddy!

Maps - WW

In Washington, I had printed maps to get us to and from places.  Upon exiting the Hotel, AZ and Jakes had a LONG discussion on the orientation of the map.  They wanted to make sure we were going in the right direction.

Our Maps

Mind you, I knew what direction we were supposed to take without the map!

Room with a View

I spent a lot of time researching Hotels in DC.  I wanted to be in the city but parking is a pain and expensive.  I checked into hotels outside the city and taking the Metro in, but the cost of the Metro cards was going to be about the same as parking in the City.

I found a website that helps people rent out their parking spaces in various cities around the country.  Parking Panda lists the parking spaces by neighborhood or around hotels.  I loved this!  It allowed me to get a parking space for the weekend for what the hotel wanted for one night.  And it was in walking distance from the hotel!

I found a hotel, the Residence Inn, for a great price and they served a hot breakfast!  The breakfast saved us so much money!  We usually ate so much at breakfast we weren't hungry for lunch. 

I loved the hotel.  It was clean and updated.  The staff was lovely and helpful.  I would definitely stay there again.  The only problem (for AZ only) is that its a non-smoking hotel.  He had to go all the way downstairs and down the street in order to smoke.  I'm trying to talk him into quitting.  Fingers crossed!

When we go back to DC, if we stay the night, I will definitely stay at this hotel again.  And I will be asking for this room:

Its got a balcony and a view of this:

Wouldn't that be lovely to stare at?

Next time........

Saving Me - WW

AZ saved me from a HUGE bug at the US Botanical Gardens

More statutes from the Botanical Gardens

I love me my Butterflies!

A Different View of the Nations Monuments

Our trip to Washington was SO hot we couldn't do much during the day.  We would have just roasted.  We tried but it was just HOT.

So after a day at the Air Conditioned Capitol Building, we relaxed until the sun went down, then took the Metro over to the Monuments.  We'd been told to make sure we saw them at night because it was lovely.  I have to agree!

I need to work on my night time picture taking because most of them are blurry.  Sorry!

The Washington Monument wrapped in Scaffolding

As soon as you step out of the Metro station, this is what you see.   The Washington Monument was wrapped in scaffolding as they are making repairs from the earthquake 18 months ago.  We had hoped to be able to go to the top but since its under repair, no one is allowed up.  Next time we're visiting, we'll see what we can do about going up.

The World War II Memorial

 The World War II memorial is a beautiful testament in the daylight.  At night, its lit up and is a new level of beauty. I  really wish my pictures did it justice.  Off to the side of the memorial is a place where you can look up people who served in the war.  We looked up AZ's grandfather which made him and his mother happy.  I took a picture of the computer screen and texted it to her.

The Lincoln Memorial

 I think this is my favorite memorial, in daylight and at night.  Before we arrived in DC, I was saying I wanted to see this one at night.  I knew it would be impressive.  A week after we came home, I saw on the news where someone had thrown green paint on it.  Such a shame that people can't respect things.

The Washington Monument with the Capitol Building peaking out the side

 Jakes found this fabulous place on the Lincoln Memorial where you can get pictures of the Washington Monument with the Capitol Building peaking out.  I wish I'd been there during the day to get this one.  But I love that I got this.  Good Job Jakes!

Vietnam War Memorial

We went to the Vietnam War Memorial.  I think everyone who has a chance to go to DC should see this memorial.  It's a WALL of NAMES.  These are names of men and women who died or are still listed as missing in action from this conflict.  The wall starts out short, about a foot high.  By the time you get to the middle, its about 15 feet high, maybe taller. When we start walking you can hear the sounds of the city, traffic and talking.  When you are in the middle of it, there is absolute quiet.  Its a very solemn experience.

The walk to the Lincoln Memorial is 1.5 miles from the Metro Station so all in all we walked over three miles that night.  We didn't get back to the hotel until almost 1 am.  But we enjoyed it! 

Stinky Plants in the Nations Capital

After our tour at the Capitol Building, we stopped in to the US Botanical Gardens.

US Botanical Gardens

In the US Botanical Gardens Museum, they are showcasing a plant called the Amorphophallus Titanum or Corpse Plant.  It is unusual for it to bloom as it takes a certain energy and conditions for it to bloom.  The last time one bloomed at the Botanical Gardens was in 2007.

Here's the link to the Botanical Gardens Website.  They had a live streaming video of the plant as well.

It wasn't open when we were there but I got some awesome pictures of it.

Corpse Plant 7/20/2013

Info Sheet on the Corpse Plant

We wandered around the rest of the place to check things out. I love that most DC museums are free!  I wish we were closer so that we could enjoy some day trips there to take advantage of the museums more often.

Camera Fights

Jakes and I had lots of camera fights over the weekend.

I won this one!

Visit to the Capitol Building

We started our visit to DC with getting lost!  YIKES!  I'll share a little secret with you, I think I told Pinky the GPS to go to SE instead of SW for our hotel directions.  And in DC that makes a BIG difference! ooops!

Anyway, we found the hotel and were able to check in early!  LOVE that! 

Parking in DC costs a premium.  Fortunately, I scored cheap parking just down the block.  If you're heading to DC and need parking, I highly recommend www.ParkingPanda.com.  They allow people and businesses to advertise their parking spaces for rent.  I paid $34 for the ENTIRE weekend.  The hotel wanted to charge us $30 per NIGHT.  Parking Panda is in several cities around the country so you might want to check them out if you're heading somewhere. (parking panda didn't compensate me for this, I just loved the service so much!)

After getting everything settled, we headed out to our Senators office to get passes to visit the galleries in the Capitol Building. TIP: Don't let the men be in charge of the maps and directions.  Jakes and AZ fought over the orientation of the map so they would know how to get us there.  I knew where I was going so I just kept walking and let them catch up.

It was HOT.  We hadn't gotten to the corner and sweat was pouring off of us.  I did take a water bottle that we shared. We turned a corner and saw this.......

US Capitol Building

A fabulous site to behold.  We walked around to the back where the visitors entrance is.  Across the street from the Visitors Center is the Library of Congress buildings.  AZ said to me "You could live there, couldn't you?"  Oh yeah Baby!  I love books!

Visitors Center in the Capitol Building

We joined our tour group and thanked the guide for the AC.   The Capitol Building is a work in progress.  They haven't really stopped construction on it since it was conceived in the early 1800's.  We were shown the different "completed" domes and how they compare to what is there now.

The Capitol Dome - Its Dizzying to look up!

It was impossible for me to get a really good picture of the dome.  The camera batteries were fighting with me because of the heat.

They took us into the original Senate chambers where everyone was cramped together.  We got to experience the "Whisper Spot".  The spot in the room where John Quincy Adams sat and could hear every word that was said in a whisper on the other side of the room.  It was pretty cool!

The Whisper Spot

After the tour, we wandered through all the exhibits and the gift shop, just wasting time because we really didn't want to go back out into the heat of the day.  One the way back we paused to get pictures.....

Me and Jakes - AZ needs more practice with the camera so he can get US and the building in the picture.

Me and Huny.  Jakes does pretty good with the camera

Jakes and Huny

We stopped in the Botanical Gardens to check out the Corpse Plant which was working on blooming. I'll share that tomorrow.  Its AMAZING!