Tyler and I love adventure and LOVE to travel. Together we have been to 9 cities in 6 European countries on a 3 week backpacking trip, to Mexico, three ski trips (2 Colorado and 1 Montana), a Southern Caribbean cruise, a 2 week road trip from San Fran to Seattle <Road Trip>, to Dana Point/Laguna Beach <California-cation>, and plenty of trips around MN and WI. When we moved to North Carolina, we decided to try to explore cities around us and up and down the coast for the next few years instead of a bigger trip. One of these long weekend trips that I really wanted to do was Washington D.C. Tyler had a week long CE course there so I thought it would be perfect for us to go up the weekend before. I went on a school trip to DC in 8th grade and loved it. Tyler had never been and really didn't care to go but has since declared DC his favorite US city.
As usual, I did my research before we left to find all the places I wanted to get to or try. Unfortunately, Tyler must have thrown the list out so I may not remember all the great restaurants we tried. We left Friday after work and made the long drive to DC. Tyler found a great hotel deal downtown so we stayed there the first two nights.
Saturday was the only nice day so we made the most of it! We are fast paced travelers and try to squeeze in as much as possible so no surprise that we walked 8-10 miles the first day. We picked up Starbucks and headed to our first stop.
White House
Back view
Tyler immediately became obsessed with all the buildings. He is also obsessed with House of Cards so for the first few hours of walking around he kept on asking, "Do you think this is where they filmed?"
I love his love of photography
The one bummer about our visit is that we were still a little early. The fountains were all off and nothing was in bloom yet. That didn't stop us from enjoying the National Mall.
Lincoln Memorial
Vietnam Veteran Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
FDR Memorial
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
World War II Memorial
US Capital (and our only picture of us together from the trip)
One regret - I would have liked to do a tour of the capital but didn't book it far enough in advance
Okay I lied - I also snapped a picture using the self-timer on my cell phone ;)
Washington Monument
Next we ventured over to Union Station. Not really a tourist stop but I knew Tyler would love it. He actually came back here one night during the week (after I left) and got dinner and read a book in one of the coffee shops inside.
After all that walking, we jumped on the metro to Dupont Circle to grab some drinks at one of the restaurants on my list.
We took the metro back to our hotel to freshen up and then checked out the American Art Museum before meeting up with our friends, Amelia and Jim, for dinner. Amelia is one of my very best friends from law school and she and her bf were in DC for the weekend as well! I was so excited to see her and we had so much fun. Jim is going to medical school in VA so we are hoping to meet up with both of them for another weekend in the fall. We went to dinner at the District Chophouse and LOVED it. It was so good and our service was wonderful. They actually have a brewery upstairs so they also brought us a bunch of beer samples throughout our dinner.
It was Jim's birthday!
After we made our way next door to the Iron Horse for more drinks and conversation.
<3
The next morning Tyler and I went to the eastern markets. They were very cool to check out and I would have loved to spend more time there but it was sooo cold out on Sunday and we planned to meet up with Amelia and Jim again for lunch before they left. We met them for pizza in Arlington.
After, our next stop was the old post office building. They let you go up in the old clock tower and the views are amazing!
Then it was back to the National Mall to check out the Smithsonian museums. We checked out the National Museum of Natural History, which had an exhibit that we both loved, the National Air and Space Museum and also the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (not part of the Smithsonian). At this point I was tired, hungry and DONE with walking!
We met up with Tyler's coworker Dave and his wife Erika for sushi and drinks that night. Since Tyler's CE course started the next morning, we checked out of our hotel and in to a hotel at Bethesda. The next morning (Monday), Erika and I took the metro to the Supreme Court. We had hoped to sit in on the oral argument of the day but didn't make it there early enough. Instead, we waited for 50 minutes in the 3-5 minute line. This was the line that you were supposed to get inside and listen to the oral argument for 3-5 minutes. We were probably in there for 62 seconds when they made us leave but it was still worth it! The Supreme Court has exhibits, pictures and videos in the basement that we enjoyed after.
Our next stop was the Library of Congress. They have free hour-long tours. We enjoyed this but the tour got a little long at the end. This building is amazing and is a must see when in DC!
Erika and I had a very late lunch by U-Street before meeting up with the boys after their course. We found a Korean restaurant for dinner and drinks and loved it. Such a fun night!
Tuesday morning I joined Tyler and his coworkers for breakfast and took the metro to the airport. I wish I would have stayed another day or two because I had a slow work week waiting for me. Tyler had a great time the rest of the week checking out more of the restaurants on my list with his coworkers. He also loved the course he attended so it was good all around!
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