This was definitely the most educational/informative vacation we've ever taken for Mother's Day!
Friday:
My mom and I woke up really early Friday morning and met Stacey and Mandy at the airport. We grabbed some breakfast and coffee and jumped on the plane. Once we landed, we grabbed our bags and jumped in a taxi to our hotel. We stayed at the Embassy Row Hotel in Dupont Circle and we loved it!
Once we got checked in, we dropped our bags and grabbed my itinerary!
First stop - Burger Tap Shake in Washington Circle. The walk there was so great, we got see beautiful row homes, magnificent gardens, and even got to see vintage WWII planes fly over in remembrance of the 70th anniversary of victory in Europe. This area is referred to as Foggy Bottom. FB is one of the oldest late 18th and 19th century neighborhoods in DC. It is thought to have received its name due to its riverside location, which made it susceptible to concentrations of fog and industrial smoke.
After a great burger and beer, we got back on the road. We strolled through George Washington University, until we got to Lafayette Square.
Once here, we checked out the White House and the Treasury.
Did you know?
- There are 132 rooms, 32 bathrooms and 6 levels to accommodate all the people who live in, work in, and visit the White House. There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 7 staircases, and 3 elevators.
- The White House has approximately 6.000 visitors a day. We were not 4 of them, unfortunately you have to book this way in advance so they can run a background check on you.
- The White House requires 570 gallons of paint to cover its outside surface.
We walked to the other side of the White House so we could see the Ellipse. There is so much construction taking place, that we couldn't get that close.
We continued walking south until we reached the Washington Monument. Its incredibly beautiful and made from marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss. It is both the world's tallest stone structure and the world's tallest obelisk, standing 554 feet 7 11/32 inches tall. It is the tallest monumental column in the world is all are measured above their pedestrian entrances, but two are taller when measured above ground, although the latter are neither all stone nor true obelisks.
We strolled west to the WWII Memorial. They were having a huge celebration, so there were ladies dressed up like they would have been back in the day, waiting for their men to come home. They had flowers everywhere!
Reflecting Pool, and although it was really cool, it was really dirty. All of the Cherry Blossoms are beginning to fall off the trees, so they was a build up of dead flowers in the water and all over the ground. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is the largest of the many reflecting pools in DC. It hosts many of the 24 million visitors a year who visit the National Mall.
We continued walking west until we hit the Lincoln Memorial.
Did you know?
- It cost $3 million to build.
- Started 2/2/1915 (Lincoln's Bday) and dedicated 5/30/1922
- Made of marble and limestone
- Height - 99 feet tall
- Visitors per year - 3,638,806
- North wall - contains an inscription of Lincoln's second inaugural speech.
- South wall - has the complete Gettysburg address inscribed on it.
- The 36 enormous columns represent each of the states in the Union at the time of the President's death in 1865.
- By the completion of the monument in May 1922, the Union had increased by 12 more states, so the names of all 48 states were carved on the outside of the memorial wall's. Following the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as states, a plaque with the names of these new states was added.
- Martin Luther King, Jr., made his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps on August 28, 1963.
At this point, we had been walking all day long, so we opted for a taxi across the Arlington Bridge into Arlington, Virginia instead of walking.
We arrived at the National Cemetery and got to see the Kennedy's burial site, the changing of the guards and the Tomb of the Unknown.
We jumped in another taxi and headed back to our hotel so we could get ready for dinner.
We had reservations for Farmers Fishers Bakers in Georgetown and it was a good thing because there was a HUGE wait!
Dinner was fantastic! We ordered a few different meals and split it between the four of us.
Saturday:
We woke up bright and early and headed for breakfast at Firehook Bakery and Coffee House in Dupont Circle. After getting a bite to eat, we took a taxi to the Holocaust Museum.
We had intentions of going to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, but they are closed on the weekends.
That was ok though, because we needed to wait in line at the Holocaust Museum in order to get tickets right when it opened. You could spend days in this museum. It's 4 stories tall and houses the most unique artifacts.
From here, we walked towards the Smithsonian Castle, and passed a massive building, taking up an entire block (Agriculture building).
The Smithsonian Castle was beautiful and had some neat information in it, we also grabbed lunch in the cafe while there.
Across the street from the Castle is the US Department of Energy.
On the back side of the castle is the National Mall, unfortunately there was a lot of construction and we weren't able to walk directly across to the National Museum of Natural History, so all 4 of us jumped on a pedi cab. We came to this particular museum, well because they are really cool, but also because they have a Butterfly Exhibit right now. This is another museum you could spend days in, unfortunately, we didn't have the time carved out in our itinerary so we had to look pretty quickly.
Located to the east of the Museum before the National Gallery of Art, was a huge fountain. We were so hot that we had to take our shoes off and dip our toes in to cool down, and get some ice cream!
Across the street is the National Archives and Records Administration. I guess I just assumed we would walk in and get to see the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, but the line was so incredibly long! Instead, we got a quick peak at the Magna Carta, and continued on our way.
We jumped in another cab and headed to the US Capitol, where we saw the Reflecting Pool and Ulysses S. Grant Memorial.
We jumped in a cab again and it took us to Union Station.
Did you know?
- It cost $125 million dollars, much of which went into the 22 karat gold leaf that adorns the 96 foot high vaulted ceilings.
- There are statues of 36 Roman legionnaires. Originally they were naked, but rather than offend puritanical sensibilities they were given shields to cover their unmentionables.
- This is the Amtrak HQ!
- Originally the are where Union Station now sits was known as "Swampoodle", because it was pretty much a sewage-infested shantytown.
- In addition to the Roman legionnaires, there are also 6 statues, each representing a Greek god or demigod (Prometheus, Apollo, Ceres, Themis and Thales) and the mathematician, Archimedes.
- It used to have an on-site mortuary.
- Antiques were discovered in the air shafts in the 1980s, and no one knows how or why they were placed there, but it's believed they've been there since 1907.
We had purchased tickets for the Monument Night Tour but needed to waste some time, so we did a little shopping, and then went over to Kelly's Irish Bar and grabbed a few drinks and played Heads Up.
We went back for our tour and jumped on the bus. I highly recommend this tour to everyone, it was amazing! A few of the monuments we had already seen, but they took us to the Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument, the National WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and Martin Luther King Memorial.
After the tour, the bus was making stops throughout town so we jumped off in Chinatown. I really wanted to check out the Friendship Arch.
After this, we grabbed a cab back to our hotel and grabbed a drink on the outside patio of our hotel.
My mom called it a night, and Mandy, Stacey and myself went to another bar down the street.
Sunday:
We woke up bright and early because we wanted to hang out in Georgetown before having to leave town. We went back to Farmers Fishers and Bakers and had a really nice breakfast!
After breakfast we grabbed a cab back to the airport and flew home. When we landed, the pilot was letting all the moms take a picture in the cockpit so we all jumped in!
I hope all 3 of you had a wonderful mothers day weekend. Yall are the best moms in the world, and I love yall so much! Time to start planning Mother's Day 2016 Getaway...maybe London haha.
No comments:
Post a Comment