Washington DC

July 03, 2014
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I'm pretty sure I could spend a couple of weeks in Washington DC and still have a list of things I wanted to see. My first trip to Washington DC was back when I was in 8th grade, and my second was when I chaperoned the same school trip as a senior in high school. Mark had never been to DC so I wanted to give him a quick tour.

We arrived early in the evening and decided to take the metro to the National Cathedral. It is a massive cathedral with stunning architecture.



We didn't realize that the metro stop would be so far from the cathedral so we ended up going for quite a nice walk through this area of town. Let me just say, I was in love with the houses and entire area. Gorgeous old houses and a quiet neighborhood. So beautiful. We finally got back to our hotel after dark and decided to just go to a nearby restaurant. We were actually disappointed in the food. It was just a little diner style place on the bottom floor of a nearby hotel. After we walked around and stopped at a place to get frozen custard. It was delicious. We got back to our hotel late and headed straight to bed. We stayed in the Grand Hyatt Hotel, located about 4 blocks from the White House. The hotel was beautiful.
The inside of our hotel.  Source
The next morning we woke up and planned on heading down to the mall. The weather was cloudy and cool, and when I checked the forecast the night before it was supposed to stay that way. Well, apparently I should have checked that morning too because we dressed in jeans and it was hot. Really hot. Our first stop was the White House. Of course there were tons of people surrounding the gate, but it was great to see it again. I snapped some photos and we explained to Amelia who lives in the White House. Then we walked on.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Amelia was really excited to visit the Washington Monument. When we first arrived in D.C. she saw it right away and kept asking when we would get to visit it.

Because it was so ridiculously hot and we were dressed so wrong for that type of weather, we didn't end up visiting all of the monuments as we had hoped, but we saw a few before heading to a couple museums. 
The World War II Memorial
My light sensitive child was having a hard time smiling in the sun. It was just too bright. 
We visited the Museum of Natural History first. I remember this being my favorite museum when I visited D.C. the two times prior to this. Amelia, my animal lover, loved this place and didn't want to leave.

We met up with Mr. & Mrs. Clarke... two of the most wonderful people I know. Mr. Clark was my teacher in middle school, he led the DC/NYC trips that I went on (8th grade and in HS), he was my tennis coach, my Catholic confirmation sponsor and he married my husband and I. His wife Sue is as nice as can be and I absolutely adore her. Clarke (what we all call him) was in DC working for a few weeks so they met us at the museum. We walked around and got a chance to catch up. He made jokes as to who the animals resemble (my sisters) and it really made our stop there more special. 
Us with Sue
Amelia and I with Clarke
The museum has a live butterfly exhibit that Amelia and I went in. It was beautiful. Gorgeous flowers all over and butterflies over every size and color flying about. It was definitely a highlight for her and she still talks about it when people as how our trip was.


We also spent a very short time at the Museum of American History. Clarke showed us the type of helicopter he was in during Vietnam and explained the job he did.

After the museums we parted ways and Mark, Amelia and I got ready to head to our next destination... New York City. Our time in DC, while incredibly brief, was wonderful. We packed a lot into the day and had a great (and sweaty) time. We made one final stop on our way out of town. Georgetown Cupcakes aka DC Cupcakes. Well worth the stop. The best cupcakes ever! 

Next... check back for our time in NYC. 
Ashley Elizabeth
2 Comments

2 comments:

  1. PolkaDottyPlaceJuly 4, 2014 at 6:48 AM

    Looks like you had a wonderful time!! I've always wanted to visit DC in the Spring to see the Cherry Blossoms and see the sights. I am hoping to make it there one day soon. You guys packed a lot in and I'm so happy that you got to try DC Cupcakes!! They always look amazing, I love the sisters and want to go there, too! Hope you have a great weekend :)

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  2. Erica DJuly 4, 2014 at 7:41 AM

    I have been to Washington DC! I have family that live close by there so I have visited too many times to even count. I also popped over to Baltimore and went to that beautiful Aquarium they have there and I drove over to Ocean City Beach...which was kinda far. Washington has tons of great Museums! I went to Spain, Venice and Rome last month and I'm already planning my next vacation!

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