 |
| TJ Memorial |
Last night at around 5:30pm three of "the girls" and I returned to Rochester after our girl's weekend in Washington, DC. The weekend, our ninth annual, was a blast! Here are the deets...
 |
| Sue photo bombs The Capital |
Lorie, Heather and Gina arrived from Massena around 8pm on Wednesday to spend the night before we headed out for our journey on Thursday morning. But, first things first: wine and catching up on the porch on a beautiful almost-summer's night. It was great, and really relaxing. On Thursday morning we got going around 9pm and took the usual route (Country Cupboard!) until, against my better judgement (and despite the fact that I knew the route), I let my GPS guide me on a crazy route that took us around Baltimore and into DC/Northern Virginia on the opposite end that I usually enter. The trip was made immeasurably longer due to the infamous DC traffic. Grrrrr!
 |
| Vietnam Memorial |
We finally arrived at the hotel (after dropping some goodies off to Mom Shiao) at around 7pm and promptly headed down to happy hour, which featured FREE DRINKS. You heard me right. I think it was mostly free wine and beer but, hey, it was just what we needed after being in the car for 10 hours. After drinks we walked down to one of my and Sue's fave restaurants, The Austin Grill, for a little dinner and collapsed afterward to get up at 5am to arrive at the WHITE HOUSE (!) by 7:15 in time for our 7:30 tour.
 |
| The Girls at the FDR Memorial |
 |
| The White House |
As it turns out, we didn't really need to rush. We were delayed for an hour because Heather's last name was spelled wrong on "the list" (damn interns!) and we had to hang out while she waited in the "pen" until they cleared her. When she was finally set free we were off and running for our self-guided tour, which didn't take too long since there is really just a limited area to see. Still, it was pretty cool to be there. After our tour, we walked the mall for hours, seeing the major sites and spending some time at the museums. I was especially happy to be able to catch the Jefferson exhibit at the American History Museum, which I had been looking forward to. So, we did it all, except the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR memorial, and the MLK memorial. It was a beautiful and inspiring day.
 |
| The Korean War Memorial |
 |
| Good 'Ole Abe |
After our day walking probably 8-10 miles in all (my feet were carved up) we went out to dinner at a great Greek restaurant in Old Town (Alexandria), then to bed we went to get ready for our next fun day. On Saturday morning we slept in a little, then met Mom Shiao for breakfast before doing some shopping in Old Towne. At around 2pm we jumped in the car and headed to Arlington Cemetery,
Jefferson Memorial, the FDR memorial, and the MLK memorial. As many times as I have been to DC, I have never seen the TJ/FDR/MLK memorials, although I had been to Arlington Cemetery and seen the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but even that had been a really long time ago. It was another wonderful day and I continue to be in awe of our Capitol.
 |
| The Vietnam Memorial |
 |
| Are all men created equal? |
After our travels we returned to the hotel to freshen up before going to dinner. We let Lorie pick the place and surprised her with a little birthday celebration. On Sunday morning we were up early to hit the road. On the way back I DID NOT listen to my GPS and found my way home just fine, thank you.
It was another really fun weekend of laughter and a chance to unwind. We are all so fortunate that we are able to leave our troubles behind for a couple of days each year and spend some (drama free) time together. I love "my girls" and am so blessed to have them in my life!
 |
| MLK - So huge! |
Comments