This past week Mel and I took a trip to D.C. to visit our Uncle Jeff. It was Melissa's first time and I had not been in about ten years. We had a blast! Uncle Jeff gave us the VIP tour of the city. Here are some day by day shots of our trip.
Our first stop was the D.C. Temple, which is gorgeous.
That night Uncle Jeff and Billy took us to all the monuments. Nighttime is by far the best time to see them.
The WWII memorial...
The Korean War memorial...
Uncle Jeff surprised us with presidential suite tickets to the Nationals game.
After the game we strolled through Georgetown.
We decided to take the train up to Philadelphia for the day. This is at Union Station.
Mel's first train ride...
Rocky steps...
Rocky Statue...
Can't go to Philly without eating some cheesesteaks. We had heard about both Pat and Geno's, which are located across the street from each other. We got one of each and Geno's beat out Pat's by a mile in our opinions, but both were delicious.
We have been watching the HBO series "John Adams" in preparation for our trip. It was awesome to go to Independence Hall and see where our country was founded.
We looove each other!
We were wiped out and found a Marriott with a comfy lobby.
At the end of the day we were walking back to the train station and watched Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper shoot a couple of scenes of a movie they are working on.
Jeff got us a private tour of the White House. We were able to see the White House kitchen and the President's personal elevator, among other things. He was actually there that day and according to the elevator he was on the 2nd floor.
Melissa vetoing the health care reform bill... good job, babe!
Michelle was very pleased with my speech.
Ford's Theatre...
The Peterson house where Abraham Lincoln was taken after he was shot...
We were able to see the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc. at the National Archives.
Melissa was personally invited into Julia Child's kitchen at the Museum of American History :)
Museum of Natural History
Topped off the day eating smores at Cosi's. Thanks to Erika for the recommendation.
We also were able to take a tour of the U.S. Capitol building.
Our tour guide got us tickets to both the House and Senate Galleries. The Senate was holding a vote at the time so we saw people like John McCain, Orrin Hatch, Harry Reid, John Kerry, etc.
The Rotunda...
We squeezed in a tour of the Supreme Court...
and the Library of Congress.
Mount Vernon was one of the highlights of our trip. Uncle Jeff took some time off of work this day to go out there with us. We got a private tour and were even able to go up in the cupola (a.k.a. that thing on the top of the house above the front door). It was amazing.
In the cupola.
Rita's is something I have been craving ever since my mission. They are only on the East Coast and I think they are great. Here we are with Jeff and Billy.
We made the mistake of walking from the Washington Monument to Arlington National Cemetary. It may not seem far but it felt far. We chose to take a taxi on the way back.
J.F.K.'s gravesite
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Graves with the Lee mansion in the background. It was so peaceful to walk around the cemetery.
We decided to check out all of the monuments during the day time. As mentioned earlier, we liked them better at night, mainly because during the day we were surrounded by 8th graders who haven't figured out that you should shower on a daily basis.
Vietnam War Memorial...
WWII with the Lincoln in the background...
Nice shot, Mel!
We loved the FDR memorial...
and the Jefferson.
We went to the top of the Washington Monument. It offered great views of the city. Check out this view of the White House.
Soooo tired and trying to close our eyes in the middle of the Mall. We were resting for.....
our segway tour! Uncle Jeff scored us a private tour. Wow, these things provide endless amounts of fun. Much more efficient than walking. Every 8th grader that we passed would yell out, "SEGWAAAAAY!!!!" We have never felt cooler, helmets and all :).
Uncle Jeff also turned us on to Five Guys. It is the In-N-Out of the East Coast. Super good...
We capped off that night with a Pearl Jam concert. Uncle Jeff's friend, Moody, is known as D.C.'s Rock Doc because he is the doctor for most of the rock bands that come into town on tour. He scored us some VIP tickets. Thanks Moody!
The Air and Space Museum is very entertaining.
This is the Wright Brothers actual plane that they first got off the ground in 1903.
Relaxing before our tour of the Holocaust Museum and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Ha, I have never seen a squirrel do this...
We ended this day (Mel's B-Day celebration day) by going to an Oriole's game. Our Uncle is good friends with Pat Sajak so he invited us out to his suite. He and his family were great. He even got Mel a birthday brownie with a candle and led the Happy Birthday song, which I got on video and am trying to upload.
Before we got on the plane to head back home we made it out to the National Cathedral.
We ended our trip on Jeff's stoop with some Five Guys.
Thanks again to Jeff and Billy who showed us a great time! We are working on putting up a couple of videos but are having some issues. Check back soon to see if we get them figured out.
15 comments:
Holy Cow! What an awesome trip!!! That looks like so much fun. You have some great connections. I'm dying to see DC. Very cool!
Ok we are so jealous! You guys look like you had so much fun! What an awesome trip! We guys look great and we are so excited to have you closer to us! :) Yeah! Happy Birthday Mel! Love you guys!
We love your pictures and account of the trip. We have seen all that you took in and loved every minute of our trips. We have seen a lot of it more than once. Love Washington D. C. and I really love Jeff's house and the bedroom that guests stay in. Thanks foar sharing these awesome pictures. Love, Grandma. Best picture, you two on your motorized transportation, helmits and all. I like the one with Pat Sajack too. Really love them all and especially love you two. Grandma C
Oh man I don't think anyone else could have done any more in one week! Your uncle is the man. He hooked you up huge. I love D.C. this made me homesick for it just reading and seeing the pictures :-) Congratulations on the move. Can't wait to hear more about that...
Wow! Best trip ever! You two did a ton! I'm glad you had fun and loved DC. I miss it! You two look like you're doing great! Mel love the dark hair! Miss you!
Too bad we didn't know you were coming! I would have love to show you around! (And you could have met Benjamin :) Oh well. Hopefully you'll get to come out again in the next 3 years so we can show you a few more sights.
Best. trip. ever! You guyssss! Love all the pics and the updates. Here are my thoughts: 1. Philly cheesestakes are for sure delicious. 2. Did you happen to go to Scranton? ;) 3. Bradley Cooper! I love him! (Don't tell Casey). 4. Uncle Jeff is AWESOME! You guys got the hook up! 5. We have Five Guys in Denver-- just another reason for you guys to come visit us :) 6. Mt. Vernon is soooo cool huh! 7. Happy Birthday again, MEL!!!!
We miss you! The trip looked amaaaazing! Thanks for all the pics :)
Looks like you guys had a great trip!!! Thanks for coming to stay with us before you left!! We loved having you here! You're welcome back anytime... and yes we really mean that!! :)
I want to go on that trip! Wish I had such an awesome uncle.
DC is great. Love Air and Space. Been there 12 times. We are off to NYC tomorrow
Wow! You guys got to see a lot of cool things. I was tired just reading about your adventures. You must have had to take some time off just to recover from your vacation. I'm most jealous about the ball games though. Looks like you had great seats.
Happy Birthday Mel!
wow what a fun fun trip! We miss you guys!
What a super fun trip! Next time we go on a trip you guys are going to plan it for us:), you fit so many fun activities into each day.
So fun. We totally should have met up. Oops. I hear you guys are moving back to Cali. That's so exciting. I know how hard it is to be away from the Hubby though. 2 1/2 months this summer. IT surprisingly goes by fast though. Miss you and love you!
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