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.
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