Visiting Our Nation's Capital...

Steve and I visited the beautiful city of Washington D.C. this past weekend. We were actually in the area for the wedding of one of Steve's long time friends, so we thought we'd take a few extra days and make a mini vacation out of it. We only had a couple of days for sight seeing, and there is SOOOO much to see in the Washington area, so we made the most of it. It was an exhausting trip, and we got lost a few times thanks to my not-so-fabulous "navimaguessing" skills. But, we lived through all of it and we had a blast. I can't wait to go back!!

Our first stop on our list of things to see was Arlington National Cemetery. We got lost and it took us about an hour to get to where we needed to be, but we finally made it. And let me tell you... It was worth every single second of being lost! It was such an amazing place.

The thing I really wanted to see while there was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guard, so that was the first place we went. The Tomb is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year... rain or shine. The guards change every 30 minutes in the summer and every hour in the winter. We were lucky enough to get there just a few minutes before the Changing ceremony.

I was in absolute awe watching the Changing take place. Every step was precise, every movement was sharp. When the relieving Guard came out to take his place, he as well as his uniform and firearm were thoroughly and ceremonioiusly inspected. Every uniform was perfect, every medal in it's place. If you look closely at the picture of the guard walking in front of the Tomb, you can see rust colored stains on the concrete. These stains have been left by the taps on the shoes of the men who guard the Tomb. The darker brown spots you see are where the three guards (during the changing ceremony) have tapped their feet together in perfect unison. It was amazing to watch!

I think the best part about visiting Arlington was that you see people of all ages, from every corner of the world... and they're all there to pay their respects to those who rest there. It's a very peaceful place.

After Arlington, Steve and I headed to the Air and Space Museum. Since the Natural History Museum had been closed for renovations, many of their displays were moved to the Air and Space Museum. We kindof had the best of both worlds! Among the things we saw were Abraham Lincoln's hat, Thomas Edison's light bulb, the original Kermit the Frog, and my favorite... the ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore while filming the Wizard of Oz! I LOVE that movie and seeing those ruby slippers was at the top of my list of things to do!

After leaving the museum, we headed across the street to the National Archives where the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are all on Display. I was a little bummed when we saw the signs that said that flash photography was not allowed, but when we got to see the documents, I understood why. They have been meticulously preserved and kept in very dim lighting... but they are still extremely faded and very difficult to read. I'm definitely glad we got the opportunity to see them when we did!

Our next stop was by far my favorite thing we did the whole trip. Steve and I took a guided segway tour of the city and it was a blast!! The tour group met up at 6:00pm, and after about 30 minutes of practicing on our segways, we were off and running! Our tour guide was very knowledgable and was able to give us some interesting stories as well. Our tour included stops at the Capital building, White House, Supreme Court, Washington Monument, FBI Headquarters, and even Ford's Theatre... just to name a few. It was great!

We were with a group of about 10 people and they were a really fun bunch. Steve made fast friends with a man by the name of Mike Winn who is the president of a bank in Oklahoma City. He and his wife, Patty were so much fun! Poor Patty took nasty spill off her segway at one point, and ended up in the bushes once too. But she was a real trooper and just hopped back on both times and kept on going. They were hilarious!!

Steve and I have decided that any city we travel to, we're going to see if there's a segway tour. They are so much fun, and if you can do them at night you can avoid all the crowds of people. They're totally worth it!!

Our segway tour ended at about 9:30pm, so Steve and I made a trip to a local pizza place called "Matchbox" for some amazing pizza, and then we decided that we still had a couple more monuments to visit. So, we headed over to see Honest Abe. Talk about an impressive monument!

Our last stop of the night was the Vietnam Memorial. I was really hoping to get to see it during the day, but we just didn't have time. It was really dark and the wall was hard to see, so I couldn't get any pictures. But at the same time it was kinda cool because we were the only ones there. I could get as close to the wall as I wanted and read the poems that had been written and see the pictures that had been left there. It was very humbling to look at all the names that were on that wall. I couldn't believe how many there were.

It was such an amazing trip! There was so much to see and we had so little time. I really hope that we are able to go back another time to see more sites and learn more about our nation's history!