Matt, Talmadge and I got the fabulous opportunity to spend the 4th of July in Washington D.C. We got to spend it with one of our best friends the Bells who live their and live literally a stone throw away from the Pentagon and the Washington Monument and all those around there. Matt and I have never been there before and it was so great!!! Gives you a huge appreciation for everything our country has done for us! There is so much to see in D.C. I think you could stay there a month and maybe have scratched the surface. I tried to not post to many pictures so hopefully you enjoy!
We started out our trip with the 4th of July parade going right down Constitution Ave!
Even thought Talmadge loved the parade. Because we got into D.C. at 1am, this is how he spent the better half of the parade
We road bikes all around for the day, a total of 16 miles to see all the monuments right there. (which if anyone is going there bike is the way to see these monuments)
Jefferson Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
World War II Memorial
Washington Monument
Our children in deep thought :)
Then we were lucky enough to spend the evening at their apartment to watch the fireworks next to the Washington Monument!
The next day we had our tour of the Capital. It is huge and so pretty inside, but didn't have enough room to post all the pictures!
That night we went to a Baseball game.
The next day we had our tour of the White House! Incredibly cool!! We couldn't take pictures inside but definitely worth doing when you are there.
Right outside the front steps!
Then we headed out to the National Museum of Science (Night at the Museum, Museum). Which is huge, Talmadge loved all the dinosaur bones! I loved what I call the "taxidermy section", where is every animal possible stuffed and displayed. Very cool!!
We ended each day, which was so hot in the 100's with massive humidity (I have never sweated so bad in my life, literally) We ended each day swimming on top of their roof.
The next day we headed off to Arlington Cemetery. To see the rows and rows of headstones, which was very so beyond humbling.
At the top of Arlington Cemetery is the tomb of the unknown soldier, which for me was my favorite part of this trip. The humbleness the we pay to all those we haven't been able to find makes me love this country more then I ever have before!
Every half an hour they do a guard change, and you have to be completely quite during this or they will ask you to leave. It is a great gun transfer and announcement by their head general. It takes about 10 minutes to do.
(By the way, note the marks on the cement and carpet. They are so precise with their steps it has worn marks into the cement)
This is in the back of were you sit and watch the soldiers. So pretty all done in stone!
Another museum were they have the original Dorothy Shoes.
And the Stone from Nauvoo Temple
The last day we were there, we started out going to Mt. Vernon, were George Washington lived. We got to tour the inside and see a lot of the rooms, included the bedroom and bed the he died in.
The fabulous porch they used to sit on.
And the Potomac River this porch looks over. It is beautiful!!
George Washington's tomb
They even still have some of the slave quarters there, which is quite unreal to see.
Then we headed off to Iwo Jima memorial. Which by the way is so much bigger in person then I though it was.
We ended the day going to the Pentagon to see the Memorial of 911. This was really pretty. The memorial are to look like wings on a plane, each wing facing out for those that were in the Pentagon and facing toward the Pentagon for all those that were on the plane. At the end of each wing is the persons name done all in order front to pack from youngest to oldest. Great way to end the trip!!!
There were tons more places we went and most of them we couldn't take pictures in, like to see the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and things like that. Fabulous trip!
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