after dinner on friday, marissa and i hopped on the bolt bus to washington, dc. the ride seemed awfully long and i couldn't sleep due to the icebox of a bus we were driving in. it was a long night, but i was so happy when i finally got to see my girl ksav.
saturday morning, we all piled in the car and went to see the changing of the guard at arlington cementary. it is a huge deal to be selected as a guard who attends the tomb of the unknown soldier. but in that heat i just do not know how they do it.
afterwards, we went and saw the pentagon memorial. i was happy marissa suggested we add this to our itinerary. the memorial's design is intensely symbolic.
later that day, ksav and andrew dropped us downtown, where marissa and i visited the washington monument and we went and saw the smithsonian's museum of american history. the museum was not quite what we were expecting. i honestly thought the work could have been better curated and the design of the exhibits given more consideration. i did love seeing the first ladies ignagural ball gowns, julia child's kitchen, dorothy's red slippers, and the original kermit the frog.
that evening we got invited to gibson island where we enjoyed the views of chesepeake bay. and for the first time in a long time, marissa and i got to sit down to a full on family dinner. oh and also in attendance was a minature golden doodle, so now i'm convinced that molly needs a sister.
on sunday we just conquered it all.
we hit up the white house
the consitutional gardens and the declaration of independence memorial
the korean memorial (not pictured)
enjoyed a hot dog, soda and popsicle from a street vendor for lunch
the national portrait gallery
this was one of my personal favorites on the trip by far. the collection was extensive and covered all different mediums. i really loved the calder exhibition and will blog about that shortly.
the smithsonian's air and space museum
this place was packed and had a similiar feel to the american history museum. so we didnt last too long in here.
the national archives
we beelined our way to the bill of rights, constitution and the declaration of independence. check, check and check.
that evening, despite some showers we had some delcious burgers off the grill, watermelon, and chips. it was a perfect way to ring in the fourth and relax after a long day.
marissa and i visited the capitol building
the jefferson building at the library of congress
which had some wondered exhibitions. and marissa decided that she would like jefferson's personal library in her house one day. dream big right.
we had orginally planned on going to the parade, but we decided we would bypass the crowds and hit up ben's chili bowl instead.
excellent decision. we wolfed those chili cheese fries. bill cosby would have been proud. him and obama get free grub here. nbd
after lunch, we headed over to the the kennedy center for the performing arts. it was off the beaten path but worth it. the building was designed by edward durell stone and i had been wanting to see it. marissa and i even got a private tour of the whole building.
afterwards, we made our way back to union station and took our bootys back to new york. and we arrived just in time for me to see the macys firework show on the hudson.
happy birthday america.
in the words of d dub
huzzah
and i also brought my real camera to dc, so you might soon see some real pictures
