Sunday July 22nd
Our plane to Washington DC departed at 6:25am. This means the alarm went off at 4am, but it was all worth it when we were able to check in early to our hotel. For the first four nights we stayed at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland where Zach’s conference was held. Right away it was off to the baseball game. Jeremy was kind enough drive us to the game and give us a mini tour of Capitol Hill.
Nationals Park did not disappoint.
We ate at the famous Ben’s Chili Bowl inside the ballpark. I had cheese fries and the guys had half-smokes.
Before the game the Presidents were walking around and Jeremy convinced me to take pictures. Some of my favorites from the trip.
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| Jeremy with His (Other) Twin Teddy R. |
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| Me and Mr. Lincoln |
My guy Lincoln won the Presidents' race after this happened:
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| Teddy, George, and Thomas Take a Spill |
It was a great game and the Nationals beat the Braves 9-2.
After the game Jeremy dropped us off. We were pretty tired from getting up so early, so we just went to the National Pastime Sports Bar and Grill in the hotel and called it a night.
Monday July 23rd
While Zach was at his conference I got play the tourist so I planned a day trip for myself to Alexandria, Virginia. It's directly across the Potomac River from National Harbor. To get there I took the water taxi.
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| View of Our Resort from Water Taxi |
From there I took the free trolley to the George Washington Masonic Memorial. It was fashioned after the Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
I took a guided tour and learned a lot more about Freemasons than I ever thought I would know, but the tour took us to the top of the tower for some amazing views.
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| Closed Eyes |
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| Alexandria's King Street |
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| Washington Monument |
From the memorial I took the free trolley back to Old Town Alexandria, the oldest section of the city and a historical district. Tons of landmarks, as well as, great restaurants and shopping. I stopped for lunch at the first of many French restaurants I would be dining at throughout the trip and had some delicious crepes.
After lunch I was ready for another guided tour so I went to the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum. This apothecary opened in 1796 and operated until 1933. The museum preserved everything exactly as it was left in 1933.
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| My Favorite was the Bloodletting Devices |
After my dorkdom had reached a new peak I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. Zach took the water taxi over after his conference and we went out to dinner at Bilbo Baggins Restaurant (okay maybe this was the new peak).
After dinner we went to go hear live Irish music at Daniel O'Connell's Restaurant.
Before we headed back to National Harbor I stopped for some homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Back on the water taxi...
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| Night View of Our Resort |
Tuesday July 24th
I spent Tuesday in National Harbor enjoying the many restaurants and shops. Zach and I had lunch at Elevation Burger, which is an environmentally-friendly burger chain I hope finds its way to Chicago.
After lunch we walked down to the harbor to take pictures with the terrifying giant man statue.
Then we hit up the Peeps Store (yes, there is such a thing as a Peeps store) before Zach had to get back for his next class.
I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and when Zach was done for the day we went to Cadillac Ranch for dinner.
After dinner I was finally able to catch the Bellagio-type fountain show at the resort.
Okay maybe not quite like the Bellagio, but it was cool. Entertainment for the evening was provided by the conference in the manner of a comedian/magician. It was...
After the entertainment we weren't tired so we decided to go to a piano bar. It was seriously called Bobby McKeys and the first song the piano player sang was "Me and My Bobby McGee." There weren't very many people there and everyone was talking to one another which made it a good time. We even talked to the piano man for awhile and posed for a picture with him. This was our request...
Wednesday July 25th
On Wednesday I rode the bus into DC and then took another bus to Georgetown.
And if you go to Georgetown you have to go to...
There was no line and I even got a table. My Vanilla Birthday Cake cupcake lived up to my expectations and I can't wait for the sisters to open a store in Chicago.
Then, as a big fan of visiting movie locations, I had to go see the famous Exorcist stairs.
After shopping at some stores I could not afford it was time for lunch at my second French cafe, Patisserie Poupon. I had a baguette and brie sandwich that transported me right back to Paris.
Then I went to visit the Old Stone House, the oldest building in Washington D.C. (because I'm really into Colonial times right now). It was built in 1766.
I hopped back on the bus and my next stop was the National Gallery of Art. Here are a few of my favorite paintings:
Then I took the bus back to meet Zach for happy hour at McCormick and Schmicks and a fancy dinner at McCloone's Pier House.
A nice send off to National Harbor before two days in DC.
Thursday July 26th
It was time to leave the beautiful Gaylord Resort and head to the Hilton Garden Inn DC. This was by far the hottest, stickiest day of the trip so luckily we had planned to go to the Smithsonian museums all afternoon. But before we did that we fueled up at the Juice Joint Cafe.
We walked through the mall to get to the National Museum of American History.
When we got to the museum the first thing we had to find was the ruby slippers. And then Kermit.
We joined a tour, but couldn't really hear the tour guide and he wanted to rush through the First Ladies' dresses exhibit so we ditched that pretty quick.
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| Michelle Obama's Inauguration Gown |
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| Me and My Girl Hilary Clinton's Dress |
Our favorite exhibit was "American on the Move" because they had a vintage CTA car. It was the Ravenswood Line which is now the Brown Line.
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| There's the Francisco Stop |
The walk to the Museum of Natural History was like walking through a sauna, but it was worth it to see the dinosaurs, the giant whale, and the Hope Diamond.
I also enjoy these pictures of Zach and I with these large stuffed animals.
At this point our feet were killing us, but we still had one more museum to go, The Smithsonian American Art Museum.
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| "Christmas" by Grandma Moses for Mom |
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| "Cape Cod Morning" by Edward Hopper for Dad |
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| Zach as George Washington |
We were so grateful when it was time to meet Beth and Jeremy at Matchbox. Finally we were able to sit down and enjoy a nice dinner. It was so great of them to meet us in the city even though they both had to work all day. Great pizza and conversation.
Friday July 27th
On our final day in DC. Zach had to work out of the ABA office, so I had another day all to myself. I spent the morning walking around the National Mall.
My favorite memorial by far was the FDR Memorial (as recommended by Meg). It is a series of his quotes with statues and waterfalls. Everything he said is still so relevant today.
After so much walking I was starving. Wouldn't you know I stumbled upon another French cafe, Saint Michel, where I had another amazing baguette and brie sandwich.
When Zach got off work we went to Bar Code for dinner (as recommended by Jeremy) for our final dinner in DC.
We were back to the hotel in time for the opening ceremonies, but the TV kept cutting in and out, so we didn't get to see very much of it. Oh well.
Saturday July 28th
Saturday was our day to spend with Beth and Jeremy at their house in Springfield, Virginia. Jeremy grilled out and I must say he makes a mean veggie burger. We spent the afternoon talking and watching the Olympics. For dinner we went to an excellent Mexican restaurant. When we got back to Beth and Jeremy's house we found out that our plane was cancelled. This was bad because we were put on a later flight and wouldn't get back in time to pick up Scooter from boarding, but it was good because we got to stay up later hanging out with Beth and Jeremy.
Sunday July 29th
On Sunday we spent a leisurely afternoon at Reagan National airport. After a uneventful flight we were back in sweet home Chicago.
“In summer, the song sings itself.” - William Carlos Williams
