DC Trip - Day 3

This will be a shorter post...

On Day 3 of our trip (Monday) we stayed in.  A part of the snow storm that hit St. Louis hit the DC area.  We didn't get a foot of snow there like they did in St. Louis, but that combined with being so tired and sore we decided to stay in while Keith was an adult and went to work.

How did we spend our day?  Well... we watched some movies on Netflix - I put on Big Fish.  I hadn't seen it in awhile and thought it we would all enjoy it.

My mom put on Bernie - a dark comedy with Jack Black - it was very good and interesting.

Lindsey put on the Lorax, but this is when I developed a pretty stellar headache and took a nap instead of watching it.

When Keith got home we decided to to go Ben's Chili Bowl. 

It's one of those local places you're suppose to go to.  It's been on some TV shows like a Man vs. Food or Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  (not sure which, but that type of show.)  The chili was awesome!  It's spicy like I like.  We had chili dogs, chili fries and Lindsey had vegetarian chili.

The big deal here was President Obama came and ate there - Lindsey even bought a shirt that said that.  President Obama and his family can eat free there anytime they want... oh and Bill Cosby can too.

See him on the left

Quite the Diner feel huh?

We really lucked out on our timing b/c it wasn't too crowded.  Keith said it's typically WAY more crowded with a long line.  Worked out perfectly!

After our nice little dinner we had our second Target trip of the week.  The first one didn't have brooms and Mom really wanted Keith to have a broom, haha.  This time it was in DC so the Target was in like a mall type of place and was two stories.  It was a different experience.  We also got Keith some board games as a 'house warming' present.

And that's what we did the rest of the night - played Scattergories... we really are a board game family!

DC Trip - Day 2

On our second day in DC we were already pretty tired - I mean we had done a LOT of walking on Day 1.  But still we were going to do something, the problem was figuring out what.

Some ideas were tossed around, but Mom and Keith decided on Mount Vernon.  If you don't know what that place is... or if you haven't seen National Treasure 2:  Book of Secrets then Mount Vernon is where George Washington lived.

His face is everywhere!

Let's start off with the stuff that we probably should have done differently had we known how popular this place is to visit.

We got there at let's say around noon on Sunday... the earliest we could buy a house tour for (which is what you buy to get on the grounds) was 3:45... so we did that.  It was so so so so so crowded there.  It was Spring Break (doh) and there was about a million school groups there.  In hindsight we probably should have bought tickets online - you live you learn.

Here's Lindsey and Keith waiting in line to buy tickets while I was waiting in line to use the bathroom... Mount Vernon - line after line...

While we were killing time we decided to watch a bunch of the movies and look at the education center and museum.  I will say that if you wanted to watch every video display and movie they had and read every sign for one you'd know a sh!t ton about Washington and you'd probably spend 3 days in there.  They really pack the information in.

Here we are posing next to the Washington family of statues.

Something I learned about Washington - he has no direct descendants.  Martha was widowed with children when she met Washington.  So that little girl I'm standing next to as well as the one Keith it standing in front of are his grandchildren, but technically its his step-grandchildren.

We toured around the visitor's center, education center and museum.  We got to see some movies - a general one about Mount Vernon and Washington, Washington's live, the Revolutionary War (with rumble seats and snow), him becoming President (and not king and stepping down after two terms), and even one on Martha and George's love (aww).  They were corny, but still learned some stuff.  I mean George Washington was a pretty cool dude.

After we did all those things it was around 3 so we headed over to see the house.

So pretty

You might be able to see on the right hand side of that picture a (surprise) line of people.  You could only enter that line when your ticket said, so for us that was 3:45.... but to make things even better - they were running behind!  It was around this point that we decided to not see the house.  But that's okay b/c we already saw the miniature version

ignore my bad face

So at least we saw some of it right? right?  Although I'll never know if that passage was they talk about in National Treasure 2:  Book of Secret really is real :(

At least we got a nice picture in front of the house...

The grounds of this place were very pretty - it's quite the estate and it very much is set up to spend a whole day here.  It was a bit chilly (for me at least) and we were tired from walking around so much the day before (again, I was sore at least) so there may have been more on the grounds to see.  I think Washington's grave is there too.  I would just plan ahead for crowds here if you go and buy tickets ahead of time.

After we left we headed down the George Washington Memorial Parkway to Alexandria, VA.  An idea I had earlier was to go to the Torpedo Factory which I went to awhile back on one of my work trips, but timing wise it just didn't work out.  But we did get food in Alexandria, but before that we stopped at this Masonic temple thing the Masons built in honor of George Washington.

I'm not going to lie... I didn't get out of the car at this stop, but that ended up being okay b/c they were closing up as Keith and mom tried to go in.

We ate at this place called Firefly's it was pretty good.  Mom liked it a lot b/c the artwork on the walls was from National Parks.

Mom pretended to take pictures of us so she could capture the artwork.

After we were sufficiently full we went to Target where mom really wanted to buy Keith some stuff (a broom, trash can, cleaning products) and we got some food b/c we heard it might snow the next day and wanted to have something to eat at Keith's.  We weren't sure how much they were going to get in DC but STL had just been hit with a lot of snow.  This Target in Alexandria was the most crowded thing I've ever seen.  We weren't sure if it was normally this crowded on a Sunday or if the potential for snow caused it to be more crowded... but that place had like every lane open and there was a line at each.  It was crazy!

We then headed back to Keith's place and picked up some cupcakes from a place near his house along the way (how did we not get a picture of the cupcakes?) but the place was called Cakelove and they were delicious. We got six - Toffee Crunch, Lemon Coconut, Smores, Cookies and Cream, Chocolate with Chocolate, and a Coffee one.

We went back to Keith's place where we hung out and relaxed and thus ended Day 2.

DC Trip - Day 1

Our first real day in DC was Saturday, March 23.  We got up in the morning and ate at a cute crepe place near Keith's house.  They were really yummy.  The shop is small, so you can watch how they make the crepes while waiting for your food - entertainment and good food!

This was really only my second time having a crepe and this time I went with a savory one instead of sweet.  I got egg, cheese and spinach - it was delicious.  I got to try a bite of Lindsey and Keith's (and mom's) too Lin and Keith both got sweet crepes with nutella - they were yummy too.

Then we headed to the subway station to head down to the mall.  It was really nice that Keith knew the system - made us feel more comfortable.

We left the subway and headed up to the mall.  One of the cool things about getting out at a station like that is you get off the escalator and you are right there around all these memorials and buildings you seen in movies and TV.  We then started the longest walk of my life (dramatic much) - we walked toward the Washington Memorial

That looks familiar!

Looking back you can see the US Capital Building

Way back there in the distance.

The Washington Memorial is currently being worked on due the the earthquake that happened awhile ago.  You can't get up close to it right now... but that was something I did when I was there the first time waaaaay back in the nineties (1995 I believe)

Then we saw the World War II Memorial.

This memorial is quite jam packed... they have a section for each state

Hey, we're from there!

And sections for D-Day, women's role in the war and a memento to those that died.


This explains about the wall of stars for all those that died or went missing.  One star for every 100 - and there was a lot of stars 4,054 to be exact.

One of the best things about visiting this memorial is there was a group of honor flight veterans there experiencing their memorial for the very first time.  I've actually written about honor flight before, but it's a wonderful program.  As the post tells you my grandpa got to participant in it and he still talks about what an amazing experience it is.  Over the weekend at Easter I talked to him about seeing his memorial and he got all choked up about it.  It really does mean a lot to the WWII Veterans!

Next we headed over to the Vietnam War Memorial.  That one really puts in perspective that war as well.  It's just a sleek black granite wall with all the names of those soldiers that died or went missing (the difference is marked).  There are volunteers and park guides standing around that will help you find a name of the wall.  There were also flowers and other items left by family members and friends near their name.

Next we headed across the street to see the Albert Einstein Memorial - let me tell you how challenging it was to get this picture!

Back away other families!

Then we made our way over to the Lincoln Memorial.  There is so much Lincoln around, and we've done so many Lincoln related national parks, so seeing the big guy in his memorial on the mall was pretty great.

So many people everywhere!

Pretty amazing view looked at the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument

Next we went to the Korean War Memorial.  I really like that all the memorials are unique.  This one had statues in military ware marching together.

There is also a wall with etched faces in it.

Can you see my reflection?

We then headed across the street to see the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.  You walk up to this wall - which I think was the wall of inequality.

Then there's another big stone in the middle and there he is - the one that broke down the barriers. 
The memorial is also filled with many quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Next to MLK's memorial is the VERY big FDR Memorial.  I guess there was a lot to cover since he was president for so long and did some many wonderful things for this country.

Hey, another one of mom!

There were many different statues there - you know people like posing with statues.

There's got to be something better on...

Waiting for those government handouts :)

There was a part with all this iron work - with hand prints on it - so we TCL Chinese Theatered it

my hand fits!
 

Then we made the walk over the the Jefferson Memorial.

Are we ever going to get there?!?

There's the man himself - I already knew some about him and westward expansion from working at the Arch.

Looking up at Jefferson

Picture not staged at all :-/

What a view - only time we saw the White House... sadly...

Waaaay in the distance

After the Jefferson Memorial we walked a bunch to find something to eat.  We ate at Pot Belly Subs, which was good and we luckily got there 15 minutes before they closed... whew - we were happy to site down for awhile.  After we were full and rested a bit we headed to the subway to go to our next stop.  When we exited the metro there were some street performers - a guy playing drums on buckets and a dance crew.  We checked them out and then headed over to the International Spy Museum.

The museum was pretty great.  It had a lot of interactive exhibits and lots of things to read and see.  Some of the interactive exhibits were identifying the person in disguise and code breaking.  It was a bit on the crowded side (but what's new we were in DC) and probably less crowded than it could be.  They do try to steadily release people into the museum so not everyone goes in at once which is nice.  There were some good videos to see - our favorite was at the end which had real life spies talking about their 'Bond' moments.  You couldn't take any pictures in the museum part - but here's a photo of a James Bond villain car from the lobby.

Showed the video of the car on that screen - one of the Pierce Brosnan ones in some ice scene.

Speaking of the James Bond thing - they had a whole exhibit of James Bond villains - which was pretty neat even though I've only seen Casino Royale and Quantam of Solace.  I will say that Keith got us discounted tickets, but normally this place costs $20 a person - I'm not sure if it's worth that since 4 adults (like us) would have been $80... but it was a very good museum especially if you think spy history is cool (which duh, it is!)

We were really REALLY beat by the end of the day and headed back home.  We ordered delivery from a nearby Thai place and went to bed early.  I know I was very sore (stupid hips) as were everyone else... but Keith since he's used to walking so much.  Goes to show I need to get into shape!

DC Trip - Getting There

Last week we took a trip out to Washington, DC to visit my brother.  A couple of months ago my brother moved out to DC (actually Silver Spring if we want to get all specific) for a job.  It's sad that he's not here anymore - but I gotta say he moved to a pretty great place.

We decided to go visit him over Lindsey's spring break for three reasons 1) the weather would be nice and not hotter than balls like it would be in summer time, 2)  there wouldn't be as many people, and 3) to see the cherry blossoms.

Spoiler alert... none of those things fully happened...

But anyway... back to the point of this post - getting there!

We left on Thursday, March 20th in the afternoon.  I worked until 2 since my sister had class until that time anyway.  I got home and we packed up the car and left lickity split (hey, my mom was ready to hit the road!)  After a brief stop at Taco Bell (Lindsey and I were hungry) we were officially on the road.

I'm not sure how much I've posted about this on the blog, but we've taken loads of road trips and like to make stops on the way for snacks, bathroom breaks and best of all road-side attractions.  It's a nice way to break up the drive a bit.  Roadside America is a great place to find these hidden treasures.

Our first roadside stop was to visit a fire breathing dragon in in Vandalia, Illinois, also known as the Kaskaskia Dragon.

First you have to buy some coins at the local hardware store

Dragon Fire brings good luck, make a wish!

Then you drop the coin in the box and watch what happens.

FIRE!

I had a video of it, but getting it to post here is challenging... the fire lasts about 10 seconds, but entertainment city y'all.

Next we drove by this 1910 Restored Gas Station.  When you drive through the station it even dings a bell inside... like it did back in the old days.

It was around this time in our trip that I got a call from my bank saying that my debit card may have a fraudulent charge on it.  After speaking with them, there indeed was a charge of $216 in California.  They ended up shutting my debit card off and I was left without it for the remainder of the trip (boo, hiss)... luckily I still had a credit card, but I felt all violated and shiznit.  A week later I realized that this was most likely related to the Schnucks breach, which effected a lot of people I know.  Made me feel better about how this happened.

We next stopped at the World's Largest Wind Chime in Casey, IL.

This is somewhat funny because last year my mom, me and my grandma went to Eureka Springs and down there they claimed to have the World's Largest Wind Chimes... but it's certified that the ones in Casey, IL are indeed the largest...

Eureka Springs

Now looking at the picture maybe the Eureka Springs ones want to get all specific with The World's Largest Tuned Musical Wind Chime... umm... semantics I'd say.

The ended our first day - we drove into almost Ohio that night got a hotel and were back on the road again the next day.

Our first stop was a national park - Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park.  Here we learned about the Wright Brothers. 

A replica of their plane.

It was a pretty great museum, and we even learned a bit, like the Wrights were printers and bicycle makers before they built their airplane.  They had a lot of good hands on exhibits - totally worth the stop.  They also had an exhibit on parachutes.

In awe

One of the few pictures of my mom - in a cut out... realized after I saw these pics that there was a place for our hands too... oh well!

This was where Lindsey and I got our first real stamp in our National Parks Passport.  It's going to be a lot of fun getting these stamps!

Then we drove and drove and drove and drove... and stopped at the Flight 93 National Memorial.  This is in very rural Pennsylvania where United 93 crashed on September 11, 2001.  This plane was headed for the US Capital Building in Washington, DC.  It is will in the process of being built, but a very sad place.  It was also really cold and windy.

33 passengers and 7 crew members... does not include the 4 terrorist on board as well.

After that little detour (hey it was in rural Pennsylvania!) we finally headed towards Keith in Silver Spring.  Hey, there is he in his low ceiling, basement apartment.

This evening we were beat from the drive and didn't want to go out.  So we ordered in from a local pizza place which has fire oven baked pizzas (Pacci's) - very tasty.

Quite a trip to get out there - but nothing compared to what we did the next day :)