30 hours in DC

A while ago, HB and I realized that we weren't having enough fun. So we've been trying to have more fun, whether it's apple picking on a Saturday afternoon or something as simple as going out to the new sky bar downtown for a drink. 

check out the boots!

So this weekend HB and I decided to head up to DC and enjoy some of the sights. He'd never been, and I had only been for my 8th grade trip. And we had a BLAST. We drove up Saturday morning (through the colorful Virginia countryside), spent the night, and came back Sunday evening. How much can you pack into 30ish hours? This is how much:

First we went to Arlington National Cemetery. We ended up spending over two hours there. We got to see the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldiers. Then they did a couple of memorials there. Very moving. Also, did you know that Arlington used to be Robert E. Lee's plantation? His old house is still there and is set up as a little museum. It was really great to walk around and see the beauty of the place.

Then we stopped off at our hotel, The Palomar. We decided to stay in Dupont Circle because the money we knew we would spend in cab rides was going to be less expensive than staying near all the sights. The hotel was great, except for the walls were paper thin. Thank God the drunk people next to us abstained for the night.

And did we see the sights. We went to the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, The Korean War Memorial (my favorite), the MLK Jr. Memorial, the FDR Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the White House. This was an additional three miles of walking after walking all around Arlington.

We stopped off the day with dinner at Bistrot du Coin and drinks at Veritas wine bar with some friends.

By day two, our legs were in serious pain. I didn't think we would even be able to walk at all during the day, but we made it to the American Museum of History and the Natural Museum of History. The American Museum of History was just OK. Everything was really interactive, and we would normally love this, but we were so exhausted it wasn't interesting enough to us. My favorite part was the dresses of the First Ladies, but they had half of the exhibit closed. Then we decided to go to the Natural Museum of History. THIS was more our scene. The dinosaur bones, the early mammal bones (do you know how big North American sloths are? HUGE), the minerals and sea creatures; it was all amazing. HB and I were like two little kids, running around yelling, "OMG, check THIS out!" After we took a break on a park bench along the National Mall just watching tourists walk by.

We left around dinner time Sunday, wishing we had more time but knowing we're close enough that we can go whenever we want. I'm so glad we've been having so much fun lately. I feel like we spend all our time laughing. It's nice to have found someone who I can laugh with AND is into the same things as I am. <3