"It is not down in any map; true places never are."

On Thursday, my group from UGA had the opportunity to visit the State Department which was exciting. We were able to tour the diplomatic reception rooms on the 8th floor which were incredible entertaining rooms full of historic furniture, including a desk that Benjamin Franklin signed the Treaty of Paris on. Neat!

Thursday night Justin flew into DC to visit for the weekend! We had an amazing time and were able to pack a lot of sight-seeing into one weekend. I think I saw more this weekend than I have seen the rest of the time I have been here. Haha...

We made dinner Thursday night and then we took a long walk on the National Mall going all the way to the Lincoln Memorial. By the time we made our way from the Capitol to the Washington Monument to the World War II Memorial to the Korean War Memorial to the Vietnam War Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial, we were exhausted. Justin suggested taking a cab back, and although my thriftyness didn't want to spend the money, I agreed so my feet wouldn't continue to suffer.

Friday morning we woke up super early to go to the White House for a tour. We had a great tour guide with a booming, theatrical voice who showed us around the East Wing of the White House. We were able to see the china room, the library, the red room, the green room, the blue room (they are really creative with names), and more. It was a great tour and definitely made it worth waking up early. Our next stop was the Capitol where I got to be our tour guide and show Justin around.

After our morning tours, we came back to my apartment and made lunch. After lunch I had to attend a seminar at the CIA with my UGA cronies. The CIA tour was really neat. What an incredible opportunity to visit a top secret agency! There was a museum full of secret, operative gear, and we were able to meet with UGA alumni who currently work for the CIA.

When I got back from the CIA tour, Justin and I had a date night! We went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History where we encountered huge dinosaur skeletons, lots of rocks and minerals (including the Hope diamond) and an orchid garden. We had dinner at Acadiana which was delicious. I had blackened redfish over spinach and cornbread with crawfish etouffee on top. Yum!

Saturday we woke up super early again, but this time to get it line for tickets to go to the top of the Washington Monument. Once we picked up our tickets, we went to Eastern Market for breakfast and to look around a little bit. There are several artists who set up on the weekends. I am trying to decide which piece of art I want to bring home, and I got to get Justin's opinion. For breakfast I had "The Brick," a breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg, potatoes, cheese and green chile cheese grits. We were also convinced by the staff to order a blueberry, buckwheat pancake which is their specialty. Everything was delicious. After we finished up breakfast, we made our way back to the Washington Monument for our allotted ticket time. We took an elevator to the very top where we had amazing views of all of DC. I think the best part was on the trip back down when the magical elevator doors would become unfrosted so visitors could see the special commemorative stones inside the monument.

Justin and the Washington Monument


Justin in line for Eastern Market Breakfast


Justin and I at the top of the monument


Next we walked over to the Tidal Basin to check out the Cherry Blossom Festival. It was packed with people everywhere, but the blossoms were absolutely gorgeous as they are starting to bloom. We took tons and tons of pictures and walked around the entire Tidal Basin. The first monument we saw around the Basin was the Jefferson Memorial. The second was probably one of my favorite things we saw all weekend and that was the FDR Memorial. It was a beautiful space beside the line of cherry blossom trees. The memorial was made up of fountains and gardens and statues. It was very neat.

Cherry Blossoms!


Justin and I with the Cherry Blossoms


Justin and I at the FDR Memorial


After all of our excursions that morning we were feeling pretty exhausted. We made our way to the George Washington University campus and found a Starbucks to warm up in and have our packed lunch. We went back over to the National Mall and walked around the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Our last stop for the day was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and it was HUGE. We walked around for hours looking at all the different exhibits from the Wright Brothers to modern technology in airplanes, from the planets to walking inside a spaceship. I can't believe we did all of that in one day, but we did. For dinner we went to Matchbox and had great pizza and baby burgers.

Justin in the Sculpture Garden


Justin in the Air and Space Museum


Sunday we went to church which was fun to introduce Justin to some of the girls in my small group and show him Ebenezers Church. After church we went to a wonderful place for brunch, Founding Farmers, which is known for its commitment to making food using all fresh ingredients. We had a cranberry cucumber cooler (Justin's favorite) and a homemade ginger ale to drink. Both were amazing. We also shared beignets which are served with raspberry, chocolate, and caramel for dipping. They were light and fluffy and wonderful. Both of our meals were delicious. It was a great place for brunch!

After brunch we went out to the National Cathedral which is still as magnificent as it was the first time I saw it. I was still amazed by the size and beauty of this building. After walking around the Cathedral we went back to the White House to take pictures. On our way, we encountered some friendly squirrels and birds who loved our goldfish that we were eating. Justin became the squirrel whisperer and was able to have them eat straight out of his hand. After another cold day we went to Starbucks for coffee and to warm up. We went home and made some pasta for dinner.

Justin and I at the National Cathedral


Justin and his squirrel friend


Justin and I in front of the White House


To finish up the weekend we walked around the neighborhood, saw a few last minute things, and had two of my favorite snacks: a homemade pop-tart from Ted's Bulletin and Village fries from Good Stuff Eatery.

It was a great weekend and a nice break from the daily grind. This week I am back to my internship and school work with a paper to write for the week.

Weekend Shenanigans

I had a really fun weekend! Friday night I cheered on the Dawgs as much as I could all the way from DC. Unfortunately, my cheering didn't being a win, but it was a great game! I can't wait to be back in Athens next year for basketball season.

On Saturday I woke up early to go to the United States Botanic Garden. They have such a beautiful space. I was itching to take some pictures (see previous blog post). After that, I went over the the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and looked around. They have some really neat exhibits about the history of American Indians.

I met up with some girls from my small group and we went to Georgetown. There are several rival cupcake spots, but we went to the newest: Sprinkles. I bought two cupcakes, a strawberry and a milk chocolate, and both were delicious!

My next stop was my weekly adventure to the grocery store. Somehow I bought more than I usually do, which made the walk home quite the workout. My biceps are going to be HUGE from shopping here.

I went to the Saturday night service at Ebenezers Church which was amazing as usual. We talked about Abraham and his amazing faith.

For dinner Bethany and I went to Ted's Bulletin. They specialize in classic American items, and I heard they had great sloppy joe sandwiches so that is what I had. And it was really good! They also have a pastry chef who makes homemade pop-tarts, twinkies, and snowballs. Fun! Bethany and I lucked out and got a free cinnamon sugar pop-tart which was also delicious!

The finale of Saturday was an impromptu dance party on the hall.

On Sunday a small group of us ventured out to Mount Vernon. It was a very long journey on the metro and then on a bus to get there, but it was well worth it. We took a mansion tour and learned about how President Washington and the First Lady lived. They had an amazing view of the Potomac River from their back porch. President Washington was also a farmer with over 8,000 acres. They had many farm animals including some especially cute lambs. We were able to meet First Lady Washington who was very quick on her feet as she answered questions about her life and the era. It was a neat day trip!



On our way home from Mount Vernon, we stopped in Old Town Alexandria for dinner. We decided on Hank's Oyster Bar which was a really fun place. They specialize in oysters and when I ordered half a dozen, they brought me 6 different kinds from the Eastern Seaboard. It was neat to try different ones. I also had some delicious lobster bisque. Yum!

Our final stop was Alexandria Cupcakes. As if two cupcakes were not enough Saturday, Sunday I had a chocolate peanut butter which was out-of-this-world good.

It was a successful weekend!!!

The United States Botanic Garden

Crazy and Busy in DC

It has been a while since i have made a blog post. Things have been so busy in DC! I have definitely found a routine between my internship and fun and food. I can't believe I only have a little over 5 weeks left.

Since my last blog post, we had a seminar luncheon at National Geographic. I did not realize what a huge organization National Geographic is. We were able to meet the communications director who is a UGA alum. The inventor of the Crittercam was also there. He was so neat and a great example of someone who really followed their dreams. We were able to watch videos from the Crittercam footage while he explained the process of creating the Crittercam. Check it out: Crittercam

I also was able to travel home the weekend before last by flying stand-by. It was a very last minute decision, but it was so nice to get home and see everyone. Flyign stand-by proved to be a little stressful Sunday night when I was afraid I wouldn't make it back for work and class on Monday. I had a paper due too! But everything worked out.

Last week I was able to attend an address by the Prime Minister of Australia to Congress. It was so neat! She spoke a lot about Australia's allegiance to the United States. There was a lot of getting up and clapping and sitting back down. It was so diplomatic, for lack of a better word.

The next day I went to a hearing where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was testifying about the budget of the State Department. It was really incredible to be so close to her. She was insanely well-prepared and knowledgeable about United States involvement oversees.

Out next seminar was at the Pentagon where Brigadier General Haire gave us a tour. I was amazed by the enormous size of the building. We were able to go to the memorial and chapel where the Pentagon was hit by a plane on September 11. We were also able to walk between the "glass doors." This is a special area of the pentagon which is where the offices of the Secretary of Defense and the Chiefs of Staff are located.

Last Friday I went to dinner with Bethany, Bethany's sister, and their friends at Perry's in Adams Morgan. They have a great outdoor sitting area on top of the restaurant, but it was a little too cold for us to sit outside. They also had a large sushi menu and it was delicious!

I spent the weekend enjoying the beautiful weather. It really warmed up outside. A group of us went down to the National Mall and played frisbee on Saturday. I also explored the United States Botanical Garden. It was a beautiful conservatory with tons of different plants. I definitely want to go back with my camera and take some pictures.

I am really enjoying my small group at National Community Church. We get together once and week and everyone is awesome. We have been reading through Romans together. I am so blessed for this amazing group of women!!!

This week I began to interview for summer internships. It has been a very busy week. I am definitely looking forward to the weekend! I am hoping to go to Georgetown and to Mount Vernon.

"God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go... If you keep in step with the Spirit, God is going to make sure you get where He wants you to go. He is always working behind the scenes, engineering our circumstances and setting us up for success." - Mark Batterson

wizards, midterm, and miracles

Last Tuesday we went to a Wizards game which was really fun even though they lost to the Pacers.

Friday night I went a Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni mixer at the Metropolitan Club. After the mixer a group of us went to an alum's place in the suburbs to hang out. It was really nice to get a little bit out of the city and meet some new people.

I spent a majority of the weekend studying for my midterm which was on Monday. Sunday night was probably the most difficult night to focus because the Oscars were on and were a definite distraction! I think it went really well though so hopefully all that studying paid off.

I also did the usual stuff of the weekend. I slept in a little bit, went to church, went to the grocery store. I have been getting a little tired of the regular-ole ham and turkey sandwiches I take for lunch everyday. So I got creative and bought all the ingredients of my favorite Jimmy John's sandwich, the Italian Night Club. My lunches this week have been so good!

Yesterday we went to General Electric for a seminar about their government relations department. It was really interesting to learn how they incorporate "messaging" into their government relations plan. Things such as advertisements, websites, using twitter and incorporating people at the local level.

After the seminar I met up with my church small group for dinner at Chix which was really good! Then we went to the National Community Church All-Church Celebration at the historic Lincoln Theatre. It was a great night of worship and celebrating God's miracles especially as this church continues to grow and make an impact in DC. I am so lucky to have found a great place to get plugged in in DC.