Washington DC

A few weeks ago Daniel and I visited my brother in Washington DC.  Even though it was a very busy vacation, it was refreshing for us to spend time with Michael and sleep in way later than we have in months (22 months, to be exact).  Elli stayed part of the time with some friends, and my parents flew down to spend some time with her as well.  Michael is a great tour guide, because even though he's seen most of the places multiple times already, he still enjoys it, and he has a knack for retaining all kinds of information about each place. Of course, we took a ton of pictures, but I'm going to try to pull out the highlights for us:

Day 1: Pentagon, National Cathedral

Michael knows the guy who organizes the tours of the Pentagon, so we got the normal tour and an additional private section, which was my favorite part.  We enjoyed the Hall of Heroes and the September 11 Memorial the most.  You can't take pictures inside the Pentagon, but here are some of the memorial, which was truly beautiful.

 Michael made a good point when he said that DC is an unusual tourist experience because you are so familiar with the points of interest.  The National Cathedral, however, was completely new to Daniel and I, which is perhaps part of the reason it was such a highlight.  What a treasure!  We got there in the late afternoon, when the light was just right to illuminate the stained glass windows, creating a gorgeous display on the stone.

Day 2:  FDR Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, National Archives, and Museum of Natural History

Daniel especially enjoyed the FDR Memorial, and I can't help but be mesmerized by a good waterfall (even a man made one!).  And yes, I am posing with a dog... that picture was especially for Elli. :)

Day 3: Holocaust Museum, Museum of American History (Star Spangled Banner), White House, Ebbott's Grill, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, WWII Memorial, Washington Monument

This was probably our busiest day, since we started off by visiting Michael's church (which we loved), and then packed in as much as we could!  We started at the Holocaust Museum, which is for obvious reasons - kind of a downer.  A great museum, but I don't think I'll ever go again.  

The only picture of the three of us from the trip:

Michael planned out our itinerary, and I'm so glad he took us to see the main monuments at night.  They were beautiful lit up, and bonus - less crowded!

I really loved the WWII Memorial, especially at night.  This one was new to us both as well. 

Day 4:  Mt. Vernon

So, this is the day I probably should have just said, "Let's ditch the schedule and sleep in!"  But I didn't, and my sweet brother and husband did not complain once as we drove to Mt Vernon and explored the house and grounds.  Although it's a beautiful home with a spectacular view of the Potomac, it's not nearly as impressive as monuments... but I found it interesting to see how people lived in those days.