Our Nation's Capital

Ben was scheduled to go to DC for a training class for work this week, so we decided to make a mini-vacation out of it and go up a couple days early to see the sights. We got there around dinner time on Saturday. We checked into our hotel (right outside DC in Arlington) and rested for a few minutes, then went out in search of a place to eat. We ended up driving around Georgetown and found a little pizzeria to eat at. We drove around a little more, and by that time it was starting to get dark, so we decided to go see the Washington Monument at night. It was really pretty.

We tried to take pictures of some other monuments from the WM, but they were all a little blurry since it was night time I guess. This one is the Lincoln Memorial:

The Capitol building:

Ben's cousin Samantha lives right outside DC, so Sunday morning, we went to church with her in Alexandria, then had lunch at a neat little cafe that serves brunch type stuff. We let Isabelle get a little nap in the car, then went to the DC zoo.

The King of the Zoo:

Izzy thought the lion and tiger were really cool.

We had to wait in line for what seemed like a very long time to see the Panda, but it was worth it. He was so cute, and Isabelle loved him.

Mommy and Izzy in front of the waterfall:

We ran out of energy before we got to see everything (it was extremely hot outside), but we had a great time. As we were leaving, I was completely exhausted and wondering if it had been worth it. Just about that time Isabelle said, "I lub tha zoom!" (That is her word for zoo.) That totally made it all worth it.

Once we got done with the zoo, it was getting close to dinner time, so we decided to go to see Union Station and then eat in the food court there. It was huge with every kind of cuisine you could think of, and there were all these vendors handing you samples left and right. It was wonderful. :)

These two pictures were right outside Union Station:

We wanted to do a night trolley tour of DC, but it would have taken 3 and 1/2 hours, and we didn't think Isabelle would last that long, so we just drove around a little bit, then headed back to our hotel. Sunday night we got to stay at a hotel right in the heart of DC (on Pennsylvania Ave). So the next morning, we were able to get up, get breakfast then walk right to the White House (in the wrong direction for a few blocks, but that's okay, I still love you, Honey).

Barack Obama's crib:

Daddy and Izzy in front of the White House:

There were all these protestors lined up all the way down Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House: That was kind of cool to see.

So for some reason, I thought it was going to be a short walk from the White House to the Lincoln Memorial. I was VERY wrong. It was a very long walk, and Isabelle fell asleep on the way there.

Ben and I with the Washington Monument in the background:

It was so cool to see this up close in person. I had been to DC as a kid, but I don't think I had ever seen the LM up close.

A picture of the WM taken from the Lincoln memorial:

Little did we know that the Arlington Cemetary was right behind the Lincoln memorial, or we would have just walked there, but we were sooo exhausted from our walk from the White House, that we decided to take a cab back to our hotel and get our car. Then we drove to Arlington to see the Women in Military Service to America Memorial. This memorial is particularly special to me because my Nanny was in the Navy during WWII.

The outside of the Memorial: It is the first thing you see when you pull up to Arlington Cemetary.

The displays inside were really nice (and it was Air Conditioned!!)

They had a room where you could look up the names of women who were in the service. This was my Nanny's page:

It was a really good experience, and I'm glad we got to go. I just wish we could've stayed longer. My sister's roomate's Dad lives outside DC, so my they just happened to be going up this weekend too, so Izzy and I caught a ride back with them Monday afternoon, while Ben stayed on for work. He'll be back tonight.


Here is a little video of Izzy playing in the fountains near the Washington Monument the first night we were there. I think this was one of her favorite things we did:

Hope you all had a good weekend!