Tuesday, August 10, 2010

"City of Magnificent Intentions" -Charles Dickens

Sorry for the lack of posting this past week.  I have good reason however!  I was on vacation!! ...... well, more of a vacation than the one I'm already on haha :P

My friend Sarah, my sister N'Krysta, my sister-in-law Suzie, and I took a road trip down to Washington, D.C.  We stayed with our good friend who used to live in Connecticut, Jennifer Anderson.  It was so fun!!!

Anyways, I have about a million pictures from the trip, but I chose just a "few" of my favorite pictures and stories to tell you:

(Wednesday) First, a long drive in Sarah's car.  D.C. is 6-8 hours away from my house in Connecticut.

It was great for catching up on some zzz's, though.

Finally, we arrived in Washington, D.C.!!

(Thursday) We found this funny sign in Arlington.  Click on the picture for a closer look of the creeper sign.

Delicious lunch on the National Mall.  There were some teenage boys playing frisbee nearby and one of them had a BYU t-shirt on.  Suzie tried to talk to one of them; he told her that didn't go to BYU yet and then walked away.  I guess he wasn't interested in talking to older women haha :P

This grinning old man skull was part of a fascinating exhibition at the Museum of Natural History.

Cera and Sarah.

In case you can't tell, we're mimicking the fossils behind us.  We're pretty good at being dinosaurs :)

At the Museum of American History, Suzie posed next to a costume from a Carol Burnett sketch.  Check out the classic spoof of Gone With the Wind.

I love love love gymnastics.  So of course I needed a picture next to Nastia Liukin's leotard from her individual all-around gold-medal win from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

There was entire exhibit about Abraham Lincoln that was really interesting.  For instance, did you know his illiterate step-mother encouraged his education?  He and his father became estranged and weren't even speaking when his father died.  President Lincoln had two different casts made of his face; you can see the aging that the presidency caused him.

Sarah hadn't been to a zoo since she was 5 years old, so, on Friday, we went to the National Zoo.  When we got off the metro, though, we couldn't figure out which way the zoo was.  There was a map nearby that we consulted, but it turned out to be upside down.  How did we discover this?  Oh, by walking a mile in the wrong direction :P

I did find a photo-op in that random downtown, though.  Oddly enough, there is a giant inside joke at BYU about Wu-Tang.  Check out this HumorU video to get in on the joke.

The zoo was a lot of fun (when we finally got there).

It turned out to be Sarah's favorite part!

We all modeled next to the Connecticut Avenue sign.  N'Krysta looked the most like an actual model, though :)

This was one memorial I had never seen before.  The Air Force Memorial was designed to mirror the formation pilots make for a fallen comrade.  Free concerts are held at the memorial on Friday nights.

On Saturday, we went to the Eastern Market and ate some of the famous Blue-Bucks.

The stands had awesome artwork, produce, crafts, etc.

Throwback anyone?

We also went to the Holocaust Museum, but pictures aren't allowed.  I had never been before and wasn't quite sure what to expect.  It was a solemn, enlightening, thought-provoking, emotional experience.

We dined at 2Amys with our good friend Tito.  The pizza and Italian rice balls were pretty delicious.  We actually hung out with Tito all week.  My favorite part of the whole week was staying up till 2am with him, N'Krysta, and Sarah playing card games on a blanket outside.

(Sunday) Jen took us to the National Harbor.  It was a beautiful morning.

We saw this awesome statue, called The Awakening.

And just had tons of fun :D

We decided that N'Krysta had a "black" sounding name, so we re-christened her N'Kryzduh.  There she is with her peeps.

Jennifer was so awesome to let us crash at her house.  She was mine and Sarah's YW leader when we were Mia Maids.  She is one of the most sincere and sweet people I have ever met.

We went to church right near Mt. Vernon.

And who did I run into?  My old friend Jonathan.  We lived near each other back at school.  Favorite memory with him?  Once, we played foosball as a team and we won 20-something times in a row.  In fact, we have never been defeated... challenge, anyone?

Finally, on the ride back home, we were using toll-free directions from Google.  Due to some construction, I had to improvise and accidentally took us into the Baltimore ghetto.  But we got home just fine, albeit late (2am anyone?).

1 comment:

  1. I loved your view coming into my world. I have spent my life living in the places you visited on your vacation. The only places I've not been to or lived near are the Church and the Holocaust museum, though I've passed the museum many, many times. I've been to the 2Amy's. I lived near the zoo. I was raised near Eastern Market, I've worked and visited friends in Arlington for years. I've even been lost in the Baltimore ghetto. And, I live near and visit often National Harbor--I was there today.

    Thank you so, so, so much,

    Regards,

    Will

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