As much as I travel during the year for work, DC is just never one of those stops. Guilt was starting to creep up on me -- I was so ready for an all-American trip. Time to see the White House in all it's glory!
We ventured into the city on Christmas Eve. It was chilly and misty (which later turned to rain, then freezing rain, and then even some snow flurries). We were bundled up with coats and boots. We started at the Lincoln Memorial -- probably my favorite part of the day.
Our lovely tour guide for the day was Ian's cousin Megan, who did a perfect job of taking us around.
We made our way to the Korean War Memorial.
We then kept working our way down toward the Smithsonian.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
World War II Memorial
I'm very proud to say that my Papa stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. He was also one of the very fortunate ones that lived to tell the tale.
When the weather got chillier, Ian bought hot chocolate for us girls and we made our way to the National Museum of Natural History.
The Hope Diamond!
It was different than I imagined ... I was surprised to see that it was a blue diamond and that it was in a setting. My mind's eye had it clear and in a round brilliant cut, unset.
Our nephew was so excited to see the Titanoboa exhibit ... a 48-foot long snake. Rest assured, it existed 65 million years ago. The remains were discovered in a Columbian coal mine.
From there, we made our way to the National Air and Space Museum, where Ian was in heaven. He especially loved the WWII aircraft exhibit.
I loved getting to drive through Georgetown (so cute, quaint, and hip!) and also see our nation's capital.
Christmas Day, we got ready and all gathered around to start opening gifts.
We took a break to have a big Christmas lunch with a turkey and lots of sides.
When presents resumed, our niece opened the adorable mink coat and beret (faux!) that I got her for her American Girl dolls.
This picture below makes me laugh. See my fur-covered leggings? That's pretty much a standard. Anyone else sport this look often? :)
Ian's grandparents are just the best. My heart beamed when I saw that they have our Christmas card from last year framed on the shelf.
We truly had a wonderful visit, and the next morning we awoke to a snow-covered ground! How lucky are we. It made the drive home a bit nerve-wracking, but the most important part is that we made it home safely. It was a lovely Christmas and I can now check another item off of my list of cities to see. DC ... done and done!
Happy New Years Eve to all of you, and I can't wait to see what sort of glitter-filled evenings you all have.
