A trip to the Capitol!

Jerry had to go to the Washington DC area for a work conference so we decided to go down a week early and have a little vacation.  We both have been to DC before, but we were both children.  I had forgotten how close everything is.

Day One:
Jerry and I arrived at our hotel around 1ish.  We decided to grab lunch and explore the city.  We just started walking and ended up at Union Station.  Throughout the trip we became very familiar with using the train.  We continued to walk and ended up at the capital. 

The weather was perfect for most of the trip.  Which was nice because we did a lot of walking!  That night we decided to go to a National's game. 

The stadium was really nice.  Something that I found interesting was a party area that was right outside the stadium.  Because most everyone rides the train to the ballpark, there really isn't a way to tailgate.  So when you get off the train, the first thing you see is this party area filled with food trucks, games (corn hole, latter golf)and a band.  It was like a tailgate party without the tailgate.  :)

I also enjoyed the President's race.  It was pretty funny watching these buys on a Seqway. 


Day Two- Bicycle Tour!
We decided to take a Bicycle Tour.  This tour was awesome!  It was just the two of us and  the tour guide. 

 The capital:

 Washington Monument:

 Jefferson Memorial:

 FDR Memorial:

 MLK Memorial:

 World War II Memorial:

 Everything was in walking distance.  This is the view from one side of WWII Memorial:

 Lincoln Memorial:

The water in front of Washington Monument was being worked on.  Can't you just see Jenny from Forest Gump?? 

 After the tour we decided to eat some lunch at a place called Legal Seafood.  It was very yummy! 

That evening we decided to walk to the White House and enjoy the sites at night. 

 This is a picture of WWII Memorial and Lincoln's Memorial in the very back--- beautiful!

 That night we were walking around Washington Monument and President Obama's helicopter flew over us.  It was pretty cool. 

Day 3- Smithsonian's!

We decided to visit the National Museum of American History.  It was very interesting!  My favorite part was seeing all of the First Ladies' Inaugural Gowns.  This was Michelle Obama's--- beautiful!

 After the American History Museum, we decided to go to the Holocaust Memorial Museum.  All I can say is wow.  This museum is incredibly moving and it's hard to imagine this happened. 

After the museum, we decided to take the train to Georgetown.  Prior to the visit, I purchased a Groupon for an hour long boat ride down the Potomac River.  The boat ride was great time rest our very tired feet. 

 After the boat ride we walked around Georgetown.  Georgetown is very cute and has excellent shopping!  We also found Georgetown Cupcakes.  The line was out the door and around the corner... I was so not willing to wait that long for a cupcake!

Day 4- Baltimore

Jerry and I decided to take the Amtrak to Baltimore. When we arrived we went to the Aquarium and saw a dolphin show!  

After the Aquarium, we decided walk around the harbor to grab lunch at a bar called Pickles.  I felt like I was at a Tech football game.  People were everywhere and excited to cheer on the Orioles or Phillie's.  I liked the National's stadium better, but I liked the atmosphere at Camden Yards.  Also, while we were there Tommy Hunter, Chris Davis, Darren O'Day and Endy Chavez (former players of the Rangers) were all playing.  Chris Davis was one of Jerry's favorite players.   

I like how the stadium had the Baltimore skyline in the background. 

After the game we decided to head back to the train station.  Unfortunately, one of the station's power was out and they were not sure when they would be up in running.  The guy said it could be 2 hours or it could be 20.  This was obviously a problem because I had to catch my flight that next morning. 

We decided to split a cab with a guy going DC and got back at a reasonable hour! 

We had a great time on our trip!  I loved seeing the sites and sounds and exploring the city with Jerry.  We walked our tails off-- my feet need a vacation!!!