2.19.2014

DC DAY 1

Road Trip:
A sereis of road or away games


I'm back from my weekend trip to DC and I'm here to recap our adventure. Just like usual, I'm going to break this into a couple posts (two to be specific) and talk about each day we were in Washington. 

Saturday started at 5:30am (still dark out) because we were scheduled to be on the 6:45am Amtrak train from Penn Station to Union Station. That was quite the doozy. I'm glad I booked an early train so we could have all day Saturday to spend hanging around the city, but I forgot to plan for the late night binge watching of House of Cards. No better way to prepare for Washington than to watch that... right? This was our first time taking the Amtrack and I have to really applaud how easy and wonderful it was. The train was very clean, spacious and had the added benefit of wi-fi (so we could watch more House of Cards). The ride was about 3 hours (with a lot of stops in between) and next thing I know, we're in DC. 

We hopped in a cab and headed to the St. Gregory Hotel to drop our bags. If you remember this list from Friday, you'll remember we had a lot of things we wanted to get done and not a lot of time. So we were off to our first stop: The Library of Congress.

It was a great way to begin our trip and was a really spectacular place all around. It was breathtaking how gorgeous the place was and all the detail in the building. We missed the time for the tour, so we just ended up walking around ourselves, which was just as nice. My favorite part was the Jefferson Library, where his collection of books were on display. There was also this brief summary about his library that explained, "The books were divided into categories, 'memory' 'reason' and 'imagination' which Jefferson interpreted as 'history' 'philosophy' and 'fine arts.'" They didn't allow photos in most places, so I don't have any to show, but I do suggest googling Jefferson's Library if you've never seen it! Really cool room. 




They also had these wonderful sayings above the windows. This was one of my favorites:


The view from the window:

I also may of snapped a selfie in the bathroom. Because... why not? 


After the Library of Congress, we walked next door to the U. S. Supreme Court. It wasn't open, but it was really a fascinating building to just be around. I will admit that it was freeeeeeezing outside, but I think it kind of worked to our advantage. DC is a big tourist spot and I think a lot of people like to go during better weather (which I get--- that's smart). But it just so happened we wanted to go this weekend and we wanted to spend a three day weekend away. So with it being a holiday and the weather being so cold, we had a lot of DC to ourselves... which I kind of really loved. (No photobombs in my pictures... kind of)

One thing I really just didn't think of was how BIG this building really is. I mean this place was huge and we took some photos on the steps to put it in perspective. 

(about that photobomb...)




Of course I had to take a selfie and send it to my dad. What better photo than a picture of his daughter and the Supreme Court?!

After the Supreme Court, we walked across the street to the Capitol Building (it was really convenient how close these all were). Once again, no one there! (It might have some to do with the fact we were at the back, but still... pretty cool.)


One of my favorite photos I've taken of Andrew! (A good sign of things to come!)

After some time inside the Capitol Building, we moseyed on over to the Newseum. Now this was probably our favorite stop during our time in DC. A friend recommended the museum and we really just had a blast (we spent 3 hours there). The Newseum is a new place in DC that is an interactive museum of news and journalism. Things inside included front pages of every daily paper (all states as well as international), history of the 9/11 attack, a huge portion of the Berlin Wall, a floor dedicated to First Amendment rights, freedom of press around the world, and history of newspaper, radio, TV and internet. We were there until close but could have spent many more hours there. This was also the only thing we had to pay for, but it was totally worth it. I highly recommend it for anyone traveling to DC!

I was so into the museum I forgot to take pictures of everything, but I did snap a few shots of the interactive 'be a reporter' section. They had set up a camera, green screen and prompter to read off and have your segment filmed. So what do I do? Film my segment, take a selfie and *drop the mic* (the last part is a lie, but added for a dramatic effect).




Then on our way home, we passed by (and took a few shots of) the White House. It was a perfect setting with the colors in the sky and the white of the snow. 
Pretty great way to end our stops on Day 1. 

As an extended Valentine's Day present, Andrew took me to The Oval Room for dinner. The dinner was out of this world and the wine was right there with it. We lost track of time and spent three hours there eating, drinking in a bottle of wine and enjoying our time together. It wasn't until they were closing that we left. The place was just one of those places where you want to stay forever.

 We have this rule where whenever we're sitting down together-- at a restaurant, at the kitchen table, anywhere--- there are no cell phones. They get put away and not pulled out until we're out the door. We chose to do this because there are just sometimes when the cellphones become part of the norm and part of the conversation. But we're choosing to really spend time with each other, and not our phones.



So that was Day 1! I'll be back tomorrow with the post for the rest of the trip.
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