I am now well on my way to becoming a history teacher but one thing has been missing from my travels that seems like it should be a prerequisite for all social studies teachers in America...a trip to our Capital, Washington D.C. With my cousin working for the state department in D.C. and only there for a short time between stints at embassies in Llubjlana and Tijuana the time was right to make that trip.
Megan and I finally purchased our tickets only after receiving our wedding gift from my cousin, which was a gift certificate to Southwest Airlines. Thanks Meags! You know us well! We were slated to go to DC late on Thursday and return to Indy on Tuesday morning overlapping MLK Jr. Day.
On Thursday, Megan and I made our way to the airport in the midst of a howling snow storm. Our flight was delayed an hour so we got to enjoy dinner at the bar in the terminal. While eating our meal and downing our large beers we watched the snow plows work on the tarmac. It was quite a site to see as they would line up before their plowing.
The flight, although, delayed went smoothly and we arrived at BWI around 10:30 and were wonderfully picked up by my cousin, Meaghan, and her girlfriend, Maggie. We made it back to their apartment near DuPont Circle around 11 or 11:30 and went to bed because our gracious hosts had to get up early for work and we were going to have a full day of site-seeing.
Friday morning, we rose early as Meags and Mags were off to work. We showered and were out the door by 8 a.m. We found our way to the Metro Station and luckily had pre-loaded cards which enabled us to breeze right through the turnstiles like we were locals. Well except for the fact that we thought we could both get on the Metro using only 1 card...nope. Each person needs a card so after I breezed through like a local, I realized that Megan couldn't get on so I had to toss her my wallet so she could go purchase a card.
We didn't really have a plan beyond go to the Mall and see stuff. So we got off on the Metro down near the Mall and started walking. This is when we first caught glimpse of the Washington Monument standing proud in the middle of the Mall. But first things first, we were to visit the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, The BEP. We took the small tour of the facility were they were printing sheets of $20 bills. It was pretty cool to see them printing millions of dollars every hour.
 |
| Washington Monument |
 |
| Apollo Lunar Module |
The tour was pretty cool and we got to learn about the history of the building and some cool stories and facts. We didn't get to go to the Senate or House chambers but wandering the halls of the Capitol was pretty awesome.
After our tour, we wandered through the Library of Congress but we were too hungry and couldn't really focus on all the books so we walked down the street from the Capitol and stumbled on a placed called Good Stuff Eatery that was doing a lot of business so we sat down there. The burgers were tasty and filling, the fries were hot and fresh, and the Dr. Pepper was cold and delicious. All in all, we were feeling pretty awesome and decided to relax there for a bit before venturing on.
After we read our tour books and relaxed at Good Stuff, we decided that we would walk back towards the Red Line Metro and stop off at a few places along the way. First stop was the Supreme Court. We explored the halls of the Supreme Court, which was surprisingly interesting, at least to me. I hadn't heard or read a lot about this and it included some cool history of the court.
The Supreme Court is actually right next to the Capitol and after our visit to the court we took the one picture that I needed to take ever since I was in 3rd grade and saw the School House Rock video, "I'm Just a Bill"
 |
| I'm Just a Bill Sittin' on Capitol Hill |
As we were approaching the Metro, we decided to stop in the National Archives and see the documents of Freedom. We did a quick tour of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Although, we were feeling inspired by the Nic Cage, we did not need to steal the Declaration of Independence. Tired from our long day of museuming, we slumped into our seats on the Metro and enjoyed the short ride back to DuPont Circle and our weekend home. We had a little down time before Meaghan and Maggie were ready to go meet one of their friends at a bar for happy hour.
We walked up to U Street because the weather was a little warmer and it was only about a 10 minute walk to our happy hour spot, The Fainting Goat. After a few adult beverages, we decided on seafood for dinner and walked to Pearl Dive Oyster Bar. Megan ordered the Crawfish Etouffe and I had the Fried Oyster Po Boy. Both were incredible and after dinner our entire group was stuffed and beat tired.
The next morning we had brunch plans with my cousin Melissa and her husband Tim. We weren't in any hurry so we enjoyed some coffee and lounged around until they arrived in from Baltimore. We walked back up to U Street and found our brunch spot, Eatonville, which I guess is the name of some fictional southern town from some author's book. I don't know much about the name but the bloody Mary was exceptionally spiced and the grits and shrimp were perfectly done. Everyone else enjoyed their meals as well because we had all licked our plates clean by the end of the meal.
From U Street we couldn't figure out a direct route via the Metro so we hopped on a bus that took us straight down to the Mall. Because it was MLK weekend we felt it was necessary to visit his memorial and because it was over by the Holocaust Museum, we would walk through that first. Plus, it was really windy and cold so we wanted to warm up and hope that the wind died down.
The Holocaust museum was stunning and solemn. It takes you on a journey from 1933 when Hitler took power and started persecuting Jews up until the Concentration Camps and "Final Solution." To the girl wearing the "I'm Not Sorry" sweatshirt, we know you didn't plan on wearing that shirt to the Holocaust Museum but maybe wear a jacket or something because you look rude and insensitive. We were all a little shocked by the atrocities within the Museum but it was very well done and would recommend a visit whenever you are in DC.
 |
| Jefferson Memorial While Walking Around the Tidal Basin |
We then walked across the street to check out the Lincoln Memorial, which is at the very end of the Mall. As we approached the memorial, you get amazing views of the entire length of the Mall.
After, we stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, directly where Martin Luther King gave his "I have a Dream" speech, we jumped in a taxi and made our way back to DuPont Circle. We stopped at Kramerbooks and Afterwords Cafe to enjoy a hot beverage and a dessert before Tim and Melissa had to leave. Meaghan, Maggie, Megan, and I then went back to their place to relax and nap before going to dinner. We met up with Abby and Zach's friends that were in town as well at a Mexican place called Alero Restaurant. We had a few drinks and some tacos and enjoyed our Eastern European prostitute looking waitress. After dinner, we walked to a few more bars before calling it a night.
Sunday morning was a rough one for me, partly because I seemed to have taken a middle of the night nap in the bathroom. I'm not exactly sure why but everyone was super confused why all the towels were on the ground. I wanted to make my new bed comfortable. After having a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee, Megan and I left the apartment to allow Meaghan and Maggie time to study for their Spanish language tests coming up that week. We stopped at Starbucks and then found that the Red Line Metro wasn't running on Sunday, uggh!
We tried to figure out the free bus because of the outage but didn't trust where it would take us so we decided to walk. It was a nice day and we enjoyed the walk, especially because from DuPont Circle towards the Mall it is generally down hill. We also got to walk by the casa de Obama, where we were scheduled to have a tour first thing on Tuesday morning.
 |
| The White House |
 |
| The White House |
 |
| The Mall |
 |
| Ground View |
After the show, we talked with Meaghan who agreed to pick us up from the Mall and we would go to dinner at Union Market which has an array of food choices. Plus this way we got to see the Mall at night which was splendid.
 |
| The Capitol |
 |
| Washington Monument |
 |
| World War II Memorial |
 |
| Jefferson Memorial |
 |
| Lincoln Memorial |
Monday morning we woke up and had a plan. Jefferson Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, then a little roadtrip to Annapolis. We drove to Jefferson Memorial because it is a little far on the edge of the Mall and I came back to the realization that Thomas Jefferson was the man.
 |
| TJ Standing Tall |
 |
| MLK Jr on MLK Jr Day |
 |
| Washington Monument and The White House looking over the Tidal Basin |
 |
| The Steps of Jefferson's Monument |
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, we solemnly publish and declare that these colonies are and or right ought to be free and independent states --- and for the support of this declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honour.
I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made new truths discovered and manners and opinion change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
After our visit with TJ, we got back in the car and drove across the Potomac to see Arlington Cemetery. On our way there we saw the Iwo Jima Memorial and decided it was worth a stop.
 |
| Iwo Jima Memorial |
 |
| Epic Iwo Jima Shot |
After our brief detour, we made our way in to Arlington Cemetery and were greeted with free parking! Some crazy stories about Arlington. It was originally General Robert E. Lee's house. It was also built by relatives of Robert E. Lee and George Washington. The Union Army needed a place to bury their dead and decided to take the land from the Lee family so if Lee returned from the war he would have to look at all the buried soldiers he caused. We explored the cemetery which is a seemingly endless set of rows of tombstones. We found our way to John F. Kennedy's grave and then the Tomb of the Unknown.
 |
| General Lee's House on Top of the Hill |
 |
| "Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Solider Known But To God" |
We found our way back to the car and eventually we were heading towards Chesapeake Bay and Annapolis. Upon arrival, we were all very hungry and didn't hesitate to head straight to the Boatyard Bar and Grill, which came highly recommended. It didn't disappoint as we devoured fish & chips, crabcakes, and oysters. Now feeling energized we explored the capitol of Maryland. We wandered onto the Naval Academy, explored some old churches, the capitol building, and finally the wharf where Benjamin Franklin used to drink beers. When we arrived back in DC we frantically were checking the weather because a large snow storm was approaching and from what we now knew, DC doesn't do well with snow.
 |
| Annapolis |
 |
| Maryland State Capitol |
Our flight was supposed to be in the afternoon but the weather was supposed to be the worst in the afternoon. We also had a tour of the White House scheduled for the morning which we were both looking forward to. We went to bed without making any decisions. Meaghan woke up at 4 a.m. and announced that the federal government was officially on a snow day. Megan and I decided that since it wasn't snowing yet that we would change our flight to the 9 a.m. flight out. Southwest was ahead of the game and allowed all changes free of charge! Meaghan and Maggie agreed that because the lack of snow yet they could drive us so we left for the airport early. We arrived around 6:30 and sat around until our flight. It had just barely started snowing when we left but we made it home without any problems.
We were super glad to have done that because DC received around 10 inches of snow that day and they have now famously had snow days when they received only 1 or 2 inches of snow. BWI was essentially shut down for 36 hours starting on the afternoon of when we were supposed to fly out. Lucky for us!
No comments:
Post a Comment