Washington DC

The nation's capital is one of my favorite places to visit. There is incredible architecture, history, and museums, and best of all, its almost all free. Finally, a great way to put those hard earned tax dollars to work: a free vacation.

The plan was to drive down to the district, but after realizing that taking a bus takes just as long but ends up being thirty bucks cheaper than gas (plus you can sleep the whole way) and that DC has a Metro system anyway, it was off to Port Authority, then Union Station to be picked up by the lovely Jake Johnson. After getting back to his place, Kayla greeted us all (Jake, Natalie, and their roommate Jordan) with mulled wine. I had never had mulled wine before, but it was delicious. We stayed up all night chatting. Great to see them again, they are a ton of fun.

The next morning we headed into the city and went straight for the Smithsonian American History Museum. I hadn't been to this museum in ages, and I was really looking forward to it. I had been to Philadelphia earlier this fall, so I got a good amount of American history there, but this museum trumps all. We probably spent the most amount of time (like an hour and a half) in the war section of the museum. There was a ton of George Washington's property and other Revolutionary War equipment that had been saved and placed into the museum. I love looking at an item that was owned by someone who has gone from being a hero to a legend. Looking at his camp chest and stool that were worn out with use made him seem more real and less legendary. It somehow makes the story seem more tangible, which it what I love about history.

My biggest complaint about the war section of the American History Museum: I spent a good 20 minutes looking into each major war because the sections were so large, but when I got to the section on World War One, the great war, the war to end all wars, there was one window display with stuff. The Great White Fleet got a small mention, and there was a figure with a gas mask. I realize that WWI was ugly, but I would hope for that section to get a big revamp in the future.

After the museum I got a call from my awesome cousin Caity who lives in northern Virginia. I hopped in the Metro and she picked me up and took me out for one of the tastiest sub sandwiches I've ever had. I wish I remember the name of the place we went. So good. We went back to her house and waited for the rest of the family to get back. My cousin Kellen got back first, showed me that she got Caity a crowbar for christmas (to fend off zombies of course, Kellen is awesome) and we promptly started playing Left for Dead 2. After killing zombies for awhile my Aunt and Uncle got back to the house along with my cousin Keegan. I love this family so much because even though I only get to see them every couple of years, we have the greatest time together no matter what. We always pick up right where we left off (in this case, it was Super Monkey Ball 2) and it was really hard to leave after dinner that night. I'm sure the pumpkin cake and homemade meal probably had something to do with that, but I love them.

I met back up with the gang and we went to the Big Pencil, or the Washington Monument, whatever you wanna call it. Being able to touch the 150 year old granite on the base of the monument is pretty incredible. Also, being the only ones there at 9PM was also pretty cool. We also headed down to the White House, checked out the christmas tree (which looked fake), and the giant White House train sets. Guess which was my favorite?

I learned a really important lesson after that. I had been getting over a cold that came back after I didn't take care of myself during a cold. Turns out spending 4 hours in freezing temps wasn't the greatest idea. The next day I didn't feel great, and when I got home to Jake and Kayla's I literally crashed. Fever, chills, no energy. They had a great night and I tried to as well, but I don't even remember most of that night. So sick. Sunday we went to Madame Tussauds and had some Fro Yo. It was really interesting to see another Madame Tussauds after working in one for the past few months. There were parts of the attraction I loved, and others I didn't so much. The Frozen Yogurt was delicious, but perhaps way too sugary.

Other than falling victim to a virus for a third time in a month, my trip to DC was absolutely wonderful. While I got to see a bunch of monuments and American history, nothing could compare to just sitting around and chatting with my friends and family. It was something that I took for granted for a long time back home, but being out here makes those moments all the more special.

Especially with the holidays right around the corner. I worked both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but Skyped with my family both days. My next blog will explain what I treated myself with on Christmas. It was impromptu, and amazing.