DC Bound!

After a long a rigorous semester Greg and I decided to celebrate by taking an end of the year mini-cation and pay our respects to our nation's capitol. We loaded up faithful RAVi and set out to finish what we started way back in August 2009, treking across the country.

The trip from Louisville to DC is about 575 miles and ten hours. Since I was leaving from work and we didn't want to pull an all-nighter we broke up the trip by stopping for a delicious meal in Charleston, WV and then staying the night in Cumberland, MD before descending into DC. Of course we had to stop for our customary state border pictures along the way passing through four more: West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Entering the "Wild and Wonderful" West Virginia!

Yummy food at Bluegrass Kitchen

Merry Maryland!

Technically our trip didn't take us through Pennsylania so we took a 2 mile detour north to stop in and take these pics.

In His abounding grace, God blessed us with an excellent priceline deal on a hotel (Embassy Suites) outside of the DC Metro area in Arlington, VA which was just a few blocks away from a Metro station. After parking and getting settled down we were all set to take on the city!

Friday was an incredibly packed schedule, but our first order of business was to do all the "DC only" things that are exclusive to our Nation's Capitol. Our first stop was to visit the Supreme Court where we were able to listen to a very insightful lecture in the actual Supreme Courtroom. It was exciting to be in the same room where so much landmark legislation has and will be passed!

Next we ventured over to the US Capitol where both houses of Congress sit. Thankfully we were still able to get a day-of pass to tour the Capitol Building. Although innundated with way too many immature HS tour groups, the tour was very interesting with art, artchitecture and history scattered throughout.

About this time we were starving for some good grub so we ventured a bit off the beaten path to indulge our foodie sides at Matchbox. Needless to say these delicious sliders and woodfired pizza totally hit the spot and fueled us for some more sightseeing.

Cute typical DC homes on the Eastside

Next on Cami's crazy itinerary was to walk the Capitol Mall which spans from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial and is lined with Smithsonian Museums, Art Galleries and various National Monuements. The walk was nice (but incredibly long) and as the photos can attest probably the best monument was the Washington Monument which is the tall obelisk that you imagine when you think of DC.

Smithsonian Castle

We also enjoyed the WWII Memorial and Vietnam Veteran Memorial as well as the Lincoln Memorial which sits top the Reflecting Pool (which was actually really gross and dirty, haha)
WWII Memorial

Reflecting Pool

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

As our sore legs and tired feet protested against further abuse we made our way out of the hub of the city to (of course) Chinatown (more like China block) and adventurously tried some Burmese food at Burma Restaurant before retiring, thankfully exhausted, to the hotel.

On Saturday after a yummy hotel breakfast we were ready for another day of fun (albeit with a little less walking). We started off wandering the city a little bit more attempting to get reasonably close to the White House (which was a fail), but enjoying the walk past the many government buildings nonetheless.

Failed White House Picture- Security was so intense!

Next we hammed up the tourist act and went to see the National Archives which houses the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. It could have been really neat, but unfortunately it was just a cattle herd mobbed through a dimly light building at warp speed, boo!

Fortunately we made up for it by having some relaxed fun on the Capitol Mall grass and then visiting the Holocaust Museum which was a weekend highlight. Not only was it incredibly informative and well done, but emotionally very powerful as it traced World War II and its impacts on so many. Definitely a must visit if you are ever in DC.

After taking in museums we swung by Tortilla Cafe briefly before heading to meet up with some old UCLA friends, Annie Hsiao and Stella & Jay Ho (and new baby Caleb). It was a nice blessing and change of pace to be able to catch up with friends.

To end the day we took a short trip out of town to Annandale, VA to stop by a Trader Joes and then on to some dearly missed Korean Food at Yechon.

On Sunday morning we were able to drive into town and attend Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Greg was very excited about the whole prospect after attending one of their weekender conferences and we both really enjoyed the service.

We stopped by an adorable French place called Bistro Cacao for lunch then headed to Ford's Theater to see the place where dear President's Lincoln was assassinated. It was quite fascinating and I love learning about Lincoln history (he was such a God fearing man!).

Then after a quick drive to Georgetown (a shopping district) to get some special cupcake ingredients from Dean & Deluca we met a college friend, Mitchell Kim, for the most wonderful mussel feast ever. It was this dingy little dive bar called Granville Moores (named after the Doctor's office that the restaurant took over) but the mussels were divine. Definitely something that will be missed until we find ourselves fortunate to be in DC again! We retired to the hotel for the last night to rest up for the long drive back home.

Passing back home we passed through Virginia, but West Virginia was absolutely stunning. Even though KY is really green, nothing can compare to the beauty of West Virginia! I went a little picture happy, but in the end it was worth it!

It was a fast-paced, busy trip, but we were so thankful for the chance to get away and enjoy time with one another. Plus we can now say we have traversed the Continental US from sea to shining sea.

(PS: I'm making a photo book so this is just a helpful reminder to me. Photos: 302, 308, 319, 336, 341, 344, 355, 356, 360, 374, 387, 391, 404, 406*, 417, 418, 432, 438, 440, 444, 460, 454, 476, 483, 488*,496, 497, 516, 521, 531*, 546, 012, 019, 023, 026, 038, 043, 066, 071, 087, 098, 117, 136, 146, 156, 163)