More Sight Seeing

Friday was the first time we went to DC and Pat flew home the next day. Greg has the whole week off, before he starts work, so we thought- what the heck? Let's go again! We ALMOST stayed home because I kept making excuses but I'm SO GLAD we didn't stay behind. It was GREAT! I'm really trying to "seize the day" while we're here. It's so easy to make excuses and with Greg having the week off, me being in my 2nd trimester AND the mild weather- I mean seriously, is it going to get better than this while we're here? I think not. I'm only going to get bigger, it's only going to get hotter, and this is the only time we'll be able to go during the week, which means less crowds. Perfect opportunity.

First of all, last time we drove. It worked out nice, but we got stuck in traffic around 5pm. We tried to get out earlier, but got lost in the city and then the rush hour came. It STINKS because we just updated our GPS but it constantly gets confused in the city. We think it may be the tall buildings, messing with the satellite reception. Who knows. Either way, it's constantly RECALCULATING. Parking is around $20 a day, plus $4.50 in toll roads (you have to pay just to drive on them) so we thought- why not try public transit? Maybe it will be cheaper and less stressful? Well, it wasn't going to be THAT much cheaper, but we thought it might be easier and maybe we could leave whenever, even during traffic. So we drive to the "park and ride" around 11am. There were around 2000 free parking spaces so we thought there would be room. NOPE. Not one single space, so we had to drive after all. But it STUNK because we already paid in tolls just to get there and then it stuck us going back towards home on the freeway so we had to get off and pay tolls AGAIN!!! ARGH!!! And THEN we went to park in the same place in the city and IT WAS FULL TOO!!! What the heck? It was this constant experience of, "Nope. Nevermind!" Well we finally found some parking and it was actually really close to the sights.

We first went to the Museum of American History. It started off great. We saw THE ACTUAL FLAG that was waved over the battle that inspired the Star Spangled Banner. It was HUGE. It was neat to read about and see with our own eyes. I didn't even know that was around to see. That part was cool and a bit spiritual. That song ALONE always makes me tear up. One of my favorites. So inspiring. After that- I think I was just tired- it was rough for me AND Scarlet. We were only there an hour and a half, but I was in a really crumby mood by the time we left and just thought, "UH! I want to go home now!" But the plan was to stay awhile to avoid the rush hour traffic and that was still hours away. I think it was 'cause I told Greg to go to whichever exhibit he wanted and OF COURSE he chooses the WAR section. C'mon, that's like the only history I know of this country! Well, the most frequently reviewed. So I was thinking, "Ick, I already KNOW all of this! I want to learn something NEW." And I was just annoyed of the whole thing. And war depresses me, so that didn't help. I mean I DID learn things, but later I saw that they had all these fancy beautiful First Lady Dresses and that's definitely something I've never seen. That's what I want- stuff I haven't seen before. How many WW2 memorials/museums/sights have I seen? I couldn't count. Scarlet was also struggling.

Well, we stopped and ate and Scarlet ran around outside. It was nice to have a break. There was a guy who set up buckets and a shopping cart to drum on and it sounded really cool. It was nice for background music.

Scarlet perked right up, too.

I was sick of being in a "dark tunnel" of lit up information and said we needed to see the outside sights. So we went to the White House.

Pretty funny story, Greg doesn't want me to tell you. We're walking and Greg's like, "I think it's over here." We're walking and getting closer and then it appears and I'm like, "What? This can't be it. Is this really it? It's so small! There are no grounds!" And Greg's like, "Don't you remember your parents talking about how small it was?" And we go back and forth saying it DOES look like it but that it didn't seem right. And though the building was WHITE, it didn't seem as bright as in the movies. WELL . . . it wasn't it. Ha, ha. It was right next DOOR, but it wasn't the white house. And then when we finally saw it, it was obvious and we were laughing that we thought the other building was it. Hilarious.

Side note: While writing reports at work, Greg once quoted a South Park episode and everyone was SHOCKED that Greg had ever seen an episode. From that moment on everyone would tease Greg about being a Closet Mormon South Park Watcher. They were always cracking jokes. It was pretty funny. So on his last day, his sergeant got him a little character from South Park, dressed up as a cop. So Greg took him along to send his sergeant a pic.

Then the pregnant lady needed another break, so Scarlet and Greg ran around.

It turned out to be a really beautiful day!

DC reminds me so much of bits of Europe. Clearly not the SAME, but there are bits and pieces, throughout, that just remind me of Paris or even Rome (the pillars). It reminds me of Paris because everything is laid out nicely, everything is pretty, everything is clean and it's full of beautiful walks and pathways lined with trees. It reminds me of Rome because so much is RIGHT THERE. And just the big buildings and pillars.

Then we dashed back into the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaurs. That was COOL. I may have seen dinosaurs when I was little, I don't know. But everything's just cooler as an adult. Realizing the reality of it all. Pretty fascinating and incredible. To imagine these covered in skin and roaming the earth.

Time for yet another break. We spent 9 hours there, so I was needing breaks all the time. I took my feet out and we ate dinner and before I know it this squirrel is creeping around and crawling closer . . . and closer . . . and then it's FACING MY FEET, all crouched down inching closer and closer and at this point I'm freaking out it's going to touch me. It definitely got within a foot of MY foot, but thank goodness not closer. I couldn't scare it away! I even threw a stick at it and it just latched on thinking it was food.

The Washington Monument is officially my favorite part of DC. It's spectacular. It's interesting, because upclose it really isn't impressive and just looks dingy and old. But from far away! So striking! So BEAUTIFUL! Powerful. I love it. The best part about it, is you can almost see it from everywhere! I can't tell you how many times I'd be somewhere new and turn my head and there it was. I LOVED how no matter where you were, it was just this constant thing. I loved it. I couldn't stop taking pictures of it.

Ok, we'd heard about the Cherry Blossoms and I thought, "Ok, they must be amazing, but are they really?" The first time we went the were all just starting to bloom and I thought, "Well, I know they're not in full bloom, but they don't look like they're going to be THAT incredible." WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!!! Just 4 days later and it's like stepping into a magical land of sweet beauty! They were EVERYWHERE. Thick. Dense. So pretty. Sooooo pretty! Bursts of white everywhere! It kept reminding me of Popcorn Popping.

They were all along the water.

The branches draped over the pathways.

It was amazing. And I never got used to it. It was an experience. I won't forget it. I'm so glad we went back this week. If you ever get a chance- see the blossoms in DC!!!!

Martin Luther King

The sun was setting, the blossoms were everywhere. It was very beautiful.

And of course, the Washington Monument! I just don't get sick of this thing! I thought you'd all love to see my impatience with Greg and the camera.

Ah, nice Megan.

The Jefferson Monument was pretty cool. It was really interesting to read his speech on the wall. Particularly, him talking about our laws and how they should always change with the people as we become more enlightened and evolve. I was really surprised to read that and I completely agree! It was really funny, there was this little girl there that thought Scarlet was really cute and asked to take a picture with her. Scarlet ran around and loved it. It was hard because people don't look at their feet when they're walking and she got so close to be walked on a few times. She did so good. She doesn't like being inside museums, but she did really well in the stroller, roaming around.

Seeing DC at night was a whole new experience. It was beautiful in a completely different way. Just walking at night was so peaceful. The crowds died down, the weather was perfect and the lights shined in the water. All the sights were still beautiful because they were all glowing in the night.

Our last stop was the Lincoln Memorial and we forgot to get a pic from the outside!!! Doesn't he look like a ghost?

Looking out from the memorial was the Washington monument. So pretty reflecting in the water.

Scarlet's becoming a little traveler now!

Sunday we went to our ward. We missed Sacrament, because the times were posted all weird online. It's at 8:30am! Kinda early, but I decided I'm psyched because Scarlet will always get a nap, which is the impossible task on Sundays. Now her schedule won't be messed with at all. We met a lot of really nice people and someone invited us over for dinner that night. They were really nice and had 3 young children and Scarlet had a ball playing with them. They seemed really cool too. And then tonight there was this "newcomers" birthday bash they have for the RS every few months so I got to go. It was just for who's birthday was that month and any newcomers so there were just 7 women and it was nice because it was easier to get to know people and remember their names.

The weather's been great. When we first got here it was so hot we turned on the AC. I started to panic, but it's cooled off and now it seems perfect. It's weird, I can definitely tell the humidity makes a difference. It just makes the heat more intense. It's weird. I always thought it meant I'd get sweaty, so far it just means I get more hot. I'm choosing not to think about the summer.