Kris and Kari

Kris and Kari
Vegas

Saturday, November 9, 2013

DC

I remember going to Washington DC during spring break when I was in 7th grade.  I LOVED it then, and I loved this trip.

My Dad was obsessed with Washington DC.  He made the trip 4 times!  He didn't visit many other places, but always went back to DC.



Last year, Kris won a contest at an annual work party.  He won first place!  The prize was a gift card for Delta Vacations.  It would have been nice to use the gift card to one of the other places we were already planning on going, but there were stipulations and weird rules with the gift card.  Baltimore was a good option to fly into from Vegas, and good dates, so we went to Baltimore and Washington DC.  I'm glad we could.

We flew into Baltimore after being delayed for 2 hours.  It was actually nice we were delayed waiting to leave the airport, instead of in the air.   Lighting struck the tower at BWI and they delayed ALL incoming and outgoing flights.  Some planes were in the air an extra hour, and some had to land in Virginia and take a bus up to Baltimore.
Snuggling with Dad during a flight delay.

We landed, got to our hotel, and immediately made it to the Orioles/Yankees game that night.   It was a beautiful stadium!   We saw Mariano Riveria pitch for his last time at Camden Yards.  It was a good, close, and exciting game.  I like those games.  I'd rather see home runs,  than a pitcher's duel.



We are from Vegas and get cold other places.


Maddux was kicking and dancing to the music. When the crowd would cheer "Let's go O's" he would laugh and yell.



Cameramen thought he was cute.  They recorded him.

I just wanted to be like the statue, don't mind me.




After the game, Kris saw this lady carrying the rubber from the pitchers mound.  She is a Yankees fan that preordered (back in April) the rubber from the mound.

The next morning, before we left to DC, we went to Baltimore Harbor, and  the birthplace/museum of Babe Ruth.









Then off to DC.  Holy cow, LOTS of traffic in DC - yikes!  I did see a sign for "Gel Manicure & Pedicure for $20",  I so badly wanted to do that, what a good deal. :)

We stopped by Lincoln's Cottage on the way to our hotel.  We just walked in and walked around, I guess you are supposed to do this by tour guide, but we saw most of the house before someone stopped us.





Our hotel was nice. It was right next door to a 24 hour CVS, which came in handy, and had a nice hot complimentary breakfast in the AM. 

That night we took the subway to the Nationals game and crossed another ballpark off of our list.



There were like 100 missionaires at the game. 




President bobble head race.

This is not my picture, but it looked so much better than mine.

Don't ride the metro  after a game, at least not with a baby and a stroller.  I told Kris we should grab a taxi, because the metro will be packed.  It was SOO packed!  Everyone was standing butt to crotch, while we were trying to carry Maddux & a stroller (no elevators, so carrying all this down and up stairs).   There were too many people to make the 1st subway we wanted that came by (after a 10 minute wait), but we were first in line for the next one to come.  The next one came 20 minutes later, sigh...  Still waiting butt to crotch. So 30 minute wait. It was pleasant (sarcasm).

Maddux mad doggin some people on the way to the metro


So-- finally the next metro ride came.  I felt like Simba and Mufassa when the stampede came down.  The subway opened and we were psuhed way to the back.  The good news- we got to sit down--bad news- when it was our turn to get off, we couldnt get past the 40 people standing butt to crotch blocking the doors, and missed our exit.



OK-- sorry!  That vent is over.  Now to the good stuff.

The next day we went to Mt. Vernon to see George Washingotn's tomb & mansion.   We stopped in a cute little town called Alexandria.  There was a cobblestone road, and a farmers market.


And we got to see my cousin and her husband!  They live in Maryland, and are expecting a little girl early next year.  We ate at Charthouse right on the water, and she gave me all the insider tips for our stay.  She laughed at my subway story and said "we've all been there.."   hahah.




Mt. Vernon was really cool.  It was especially over-crowded that day because they were having this annual fair. It made parking really tough, but we got to see this cool fair.  It was all these shops set up, and it looked all old school.  Everyone was in costume and character.  They were selling turkey legs, handmade soaps, weird old school wooden toys, and we bought Maddux his first gun.  It was $1, we couldn't say no.






Maddux grabbing George Washington's nose.





On our way back to DC we stopped at the Arlington Cemetary.  We saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, JFK grave, and Iwo Jima. 





If you ever go to DC. Be prepared to walk! Bring comfortable shoes, and just know you will get a leg workout.  My calves were sore for a few days.

When we made it back to the hotel that night, we were starving. We didn't want to go too far for dinner.  The place right across from our hotel had good reviews on Yelp.  It turned out to be a little tapas place, which we weren't expecting, but it was really good.   It was called Lincoln.  They use locally grown food, and their menu changes every 6 weeks or so because they use seasonal and fresh items.  We got Deviled Eggs with Smoked Bacon Jelly on top (so good!), Chicken Pot Pie, Mac N Cheese (rated #1 in DC), and crab tator tots.




The next day was a long day for walking.  We went to tour Ford's theatre in the morning.  The really cool thing about this tour was it was very quiet and an empty day.  They usually close the door and entry way to Lincln's box suite, but because it was quiet they opened it up.

I didn't want to smile in front of where President Lincoln died, but I  didn't realize I was giving such a creepy look. 

Right outside Ford's Theater is the Peterson house where Lincoln went after he was shot, and where he died.



Stopped at a cheap little souvenir shop after Fords Theater. I love the souvenir we got!  It is an ornament of the Lincoln Memorial, with a little santa sitting on Lincoln's lap.   That is always the souvenir we get when we travel - an ornament. 



We went to the the national archives, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, The Holocaust Museum, WWII Memorial, Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial.








We took a night cruise on this little boat.  We used a groupon for the night cruise, and I liked it.  It was a good break from all the walking.  I wouldn't recommend doing the night cruise without the groupon.  You can't see most of the memorials and monuments from the river because of all the trees.


Monday morning, I woke up early worked remotely for a little.
We walked around some more before we had to leave.  We went by the capital building.  We were not by the navy yard.  My Mom text me asking if the shooting would delay our flight at all.  We were there the same day as the shooting.  Scary and sad for those families who lost their loved ones.




We also went to the White House.  Maddux thought it was boring.  We went close and took pictures, and then as we were leaving they were asking everyone to leave.  Not only did everyone have to leave, no one else could come walk up or take pictures.  It was probably because of the shooting




Then we drove back up to Baltimore to fly home.  We do love vacations, but it is always nice to make it back home.  Maddux was cracking up at Finding Nemo on the flight home.  I think I found him laughing the funniest part.