Washington DC Trip

The soldier at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, just before the Changing of the Guard.

Us...by the Washington Monument

The Capitol

Me in front of the White House...notice the police handcuffing the guy in the background...read below to hear what happened!

The Lincoln Memorial

Abe!

Carl and I spent the last few days in Washington DC, just the two of us, for a work trip/getaway. Carl had to go up there for work, and our parents made it possible for me to join him on this trip. We had not spent a night away from Luke in his entire 17 months, so I was definitely nervous about how he and I would do without each other. Thankfully, he did AMAZINGLY! I did well, too! ;-) Isaac and Luke both waved and said bye to us as we left, so that made it easy to get in the truck and go. They were both well taken care of, and of course, a little spoiled by their incredible grandparents while we were away. I am so proud of what a big boy Isaac was, he made sure everything went as it should and helped out by sharing everything he knew...which in his mind of course he knows everything. Luke was happy and just had lots of fun without us! Did I mention how thankful I am for both sets of grandparents and their willingness to help out and let us getaway?

We arrived in DC at about 8:00 Saturday evening, so we checked in to the hotel and then quickly headed out to find dinner. We found a local hotspot right around the corner and had a yummy dinner, while sitting at the bar because we were too hungry to wait for a table. Sunday morning we slept in a little and then got ready quickly to head out to some sightseeing. We started at the Arlington National Cemetery, which was so impressive and humbling. We got there just in time to see "The Changing of the Guard" at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier...this was also very impressive! We left there, grabbed a taxi and headed to the White House. This was my first trip to DC, but not Carl's, so he was my personal tour guide, although we did see some things he had never seen or at least not in the last 15 years. He knew just where to go from the White House, so we walked along to all the sights. We saw the Washington Monument, then the Capitol, and then we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum. Yes, I know, it's quite amazing that he got me into TWO museums...those that know me well know that unfortunately I do not have a good appreication for museums. These museums were enjoyable though and quite interesting! Once we finished up there we decided to head back towards the hotel. We swung by the front side of the White House to snap some pictures on our way back. As Carl was taking a picture of me I heard a loud bang, like something falling...I looked back to see a man on the ground with three police officers around him and he was being cuffed! What in the world!?! The next thing we knew there were officers everywhere!!! It was incredible to see the security around there! They quickly forced everyone to cross the street, and we ended up next to the friends of the guy being questioned. According to them, he asked them to take a picture of him pretending to climb the fence...they showed us the pictures. Well, there is no playing around there...they are serious...as they should be! We stuck around for a few minutes, but then decided were too tired to stick around, I feel bad for that guy, he learned that lesson the hard way. After some rest in the hotel we decided we needed to head out to the Lincoln Memorial because we didn't know if we would have time the next day. So we put our shoes back on and headed out on our tired legs. We tried to make it before dark, but we just missed the sunset. It was still a beautiful sight, though! We left there and grabbed dinner just outside the hotel, a great pizza place followed by some delicious ice cream!

Carl had to work on Monday, so I took it easy around the hotel...it was a much needed time to relax! Once he finished working we did some more walking around and then had wonderful dinner at Old Ebbit Grill. The restaurant was just around the corner from the White House, it had a great atmosphere and the food was fabulous!

This morning we had to catch an early shuttle to the airport, and then caught a flight home. It was a wonderful trip, we made some great memories, and really enjoyed having some time to be just us. We made it home by about 2:30 and I have to say I was so excited to see my boys! I needed the break, I needed that time away, but I missed my boys so much and was so ready to hug and kiss them!