On our second day in Washington DC we were able to see so many great things. We started our morning off by waiting in line to get our tickets to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Holocaust Museum, and the Washington Monument. After we had all of our tickets in hand we went straight over to the American History History Smithsonian. I didn't really take many pictures of the stuff I actually loved there - guess I was too busy looking. So I guess you'll see lots of odds and ends as far as pictures go. My favorite exhibit was the First Lady one. It was so awesome to see all of the different dresses throughout time and their accessories that they wore as well. I read every first lady's story. Way cool!
Snapping some pictures while waiting in line to get our tickets for the Washington Monument.
Waiting in line for our tickets to the Holocaust Museum.
Snapping some pictures walking over to the American History Smithsonian. It is so cool that everything is so close together.
This picture doesn't really do this exhibit justice. We saw the actual flag that inspired the national anthem. Such a cool experience.
Like I said just odds and ends. Nothing too exciting that I took pictures of. Woops!
Waiting to go up top in the Washington Monument. One of my favorite things we did on the whole trip. You can see the whole city from up there. I loved it. Even though we almost got in a fight with a mean lady who cut in front of us waiting to look out one of the windows. By the way most of the tour guides there were pretty rude. Don't expect to get service with a smile out there. :0)
At the bottom of the monument.
The views from up top! This is the U.S. Capitol. It was so awesome to be able to see so many landmarks from up top. Philip never went up top the Washington Monument last time he was there. He thought being able to do this was pretty cool too.
Jefferson Memorial
The White House
Next stop. The Holocaust Museum. There's no photography allowed inside so all I have are my words. Now first of all, I wouldn't go to this museum if you are looking to walk away uplifted. Many people choose not to visit this museum because it is kind of a downer. I'm going to steal what Philip's aunt Jana said about the museum because I think it describes it great. "That museum was amazing, disturbing and heartbreaking and should be seen by everyone!!"
Before going into the museum I thought I knew quite a bit about the holocaust. I mean you learn about it in school and I guess you just think that you have heard a lot about it. In the grand scheme of everything that happened I feel like now before I went in I knew only a small part.
To know what happened makes me feel ashamed for the humanity of humankind. There are so many things that I looked at in there and just wanted to break down crying. Experiments were conducted on people, limbs cut off, and children killed. Seriously broke my heart. If you ever are in Washington DC I recommend visiting this museum. Like I said you won't walk away feeling uplifted but you will walk away with a new sense of appreciation for life and to know what kind of freedom we have now. I just couldn't imagine going through those awful dreadful experiences.
I've seen this quote before but it caught my eye when we were leaving the museum.
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Once again I didn't really do well with taking pictures, but this is the hotel we stayed in the night before our anniversary. It's The Westin in Alexandria, VA. It's part of Old Town. We were so exhausted after walking around all day that as soon as we got to the hotel- we both crashed. Finally we decided we should probably wake up and go out for dinner. We went out to eat at Joe Theismann's Restaurant and it was super yummy! Thanks for the recommendation Jared and Erin. We just sat there at dinner and talked about life. We talked about our first year of our marriage and many other things. It was so nice just to be away from home and have just that "us" time.
After dinner we went on a walk down King Street. I loved all the different shops and just the environment of it all. It was a great time must to get away for both of us and have a night to ourselves without any worry. :0)
