It was Cinco's birthday and this year we went down to Washington, DC. DC was officially founded on July 16, 1790. George Washington chose the site from land donated by Maryland and Virginia, as it was a compromise between the northern and southern states.
I have been to DC a few times in the past, but I don't think all of the things I saw in those trips combined were equal to what we saw this past weekend. The beauty of DC is that so many things are free, and a lot of it is walkable.
There are two main gripes I have about our nation's capitol: the 10% tax is ridiculous. I know someone has to pay for the lovely White House lawn and the Smithsonian, but 10%? Geez. Gripe #2 is the DC Metro. We seemed to always just miss the train, and the next one wouldn't come for another 15+ minutes. For a city of over half a million, you'd think the weekend public transportation system would be more efficient.
Here's the breakdown of activities:
FRIDAY:
- White House (no tour)
- Washington Monument
- Jefferson Memorial
- FDR Memorial
- MLK Memorial
- Bureau of Printing and Engraving (tour)
- Old Post Office and Bell Tower
- Museum of American History
- Texas BBQ birthday dinner
- Drinks with friends in Dupont Circle
SATURDAY:
- National Building Museum (we snuck into the Lego Exhibit)
- National Archives (saw the original Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights)
- Capitol (tour)
- Library of Congress
- Supreme Court (walk by--building was closed)
- Ford Theater (walk by--was closed for a matinee)
- Air & Space Museum
- Arlington National Cemetery (was so exhausted at this point, we took the trolley tour--just looking at the hill the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sat upon made me want to cry.)
- Dinner on U street with all of my DC friends. And Vickie.
We left on Sunday and I was lucky enough to have breakfast with Little Cookie, who just happened to be in DC from NC. I had missed her visit to New York because I was in Taiwan. It was a really great way to end the trip.
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| White House. We didn't see any snipers, just lots of kids. |
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| The Capitol! |
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| On the trolley at Arlington National Cemetery |
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| Great Hall, Library of Congress |
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| Washington Monument! It was closed from the earthquake last year. |
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| Air and Space Museum |
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| Breakfast with Little Cookie |
