Baby GIRL Johnson!

Inauguration Day

More Pictures of Inauguration Day

4:11 am in the metro

4:32 am waiting at the Silver Ticket Gate

The sun joins us at 7:14 am

9:10 am

Good Eats in Washington DC

We ate a lot of amazing food on our trip. Even the cafes in the museums had pretty incredible food. We had a pretty interesting experience one of our first nights at Marrakesh, a Moroccan restaurant. None of us had ever eaten anywhere like this so it was new to us all. No menu, no prices listed anywhere, just a set 7 course meal to share between us with no silverware. 

Oh...and belly dancing!

Mt. Vernon

Mt. Vernon is where we traveled the furthest to. It's right on the Potomac river and really a stunning place to see. It was quite large even though it only comprised of a portion of the land that George Washington actually owned. This is where he retired to after being President and very much loved his life there. 

Here is the Mansion.

The back of the Mansion.

And the line to get into the Mansion. Needless to say we didn't wait in line.

This is a small monument dedicated to George Washington's slaves, and their burial place.

The burial place of George and Martha Washington.

Other Outside Attractions

As I'm sure you will see, we weren't very good at taking a lot of pictures. We feel like we saw just about every monument and site you could possibly see while in DC but it was so cold and we were so bundles up that it took too much effort to take pictures! Ah, excuses. 

These first couple pictures are at the World War II Memorial. These cold winter pictures don't do it justice, it's a beautiful site that I'd love to go back and see in warmer weather.

Here's Kara with the Washington Monument in the background. This is the same spot we took the picture of the White House (below). It's really cool how all these places, along with the museums, are all relatively close to one another. 

The White House, the place that's not decorated with cheap stuff like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, you know, the places where I dream to one day shop!

I could have sworn we took pictures while at the Jefferson Memorial but, alas, they are nowhere to be found. We were there the day of the big concert but we thought it started a whole lot earlier than it actually did! We were just about as close as you could get but when we realized it wasn't for another 4 hours and we hadn't eaten anything in hours we decided to leave. 

Smithsonian

The Smithsonian wasn't too high on my priority list for this trip, I basically thought it was just some old building with old paintings in it. Little did I know, literally, that it was made up of several different museums each incredible in their own respect. 

Seriously?! The ruby slippers?! Sure, they're really not very stylish, and sequins haven't been used in how many years, but certainly a sight to see. This was in The National Museum of American History. 

This is what you walk in to see when you enter The National Museum of Natural History, by far my favorite museum. There's no way you could see it all in one day, or maybe even two! Such a great place to  take kids to with everything from gems and rocks to whales and dinosaurs, Jack and Owen would have loved it!

Here's the Hope Diamond, in the same museum.

Still in the same museum we spent way too much to watch a 40 minute 3D movie on Dinosaurs. Oh well, experiences. 

The US Capitol Building

It's pretty dang impressive standing on Capitol grounds, it's an amazing building.

Here's Kara, looking fab, right before the tour. The statue in the background is Lady Liberty, the same statue that is on the top of the outside of the building.

Nick and Kara outside the Capitol after the tour. It was such a beautiful day, great for pictures. 

This is inside the Capitol and it's called the Crypt. It was built to bury George Washington in but he died before it was ever finished, he was instead buried at his home at Mt. Vernon. 

This "compass" is where the four zip codes of DC intersect, it's also where the President Elects' sign papers for their Inaguration. 

Kara, Keara, and Jayme standing on the "compass".

This is the inside of the copper rotunda; it's absolutely amazing. There's a whole explanation to the painting on the ceiling but do you think I actually remember it? I just know George Washington is up there somewhere. 

Hail to the Chief

This is how it was for us.  Well, actually, run your hands and feet under ice cold water until they ache, then stick them in the freezer, then watch this.  THAT'S how it was for us.