What a treat it was to go to Washington DC and participate in the Restoring Honor rally on 8/28. It was great to see so many people get together and not talk about politics, but about bringing God back to the center of this country. How uplifting. We got extra lucky and even got tickets for the 8/27 event at the Kennedy Center, which was also very neat. We sat on the 3rd row from the stage and got to be very close to the speakers. It was a short and exhausting trip, but very rewarding.
Washington DC is one of my favorite cities in the world. What a beautiful place. Like last time we were in DC, we chose to stay in the Dulles area, where hotel prices are much more affordable, especially during large events. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn by the airport and paid no more than $75 a night. Not bad when you're splitting it with your in-laws! The weather wasn't too bad. Yes, it was hot, but not as humid as it could have been. Temperatures during the event were around 85-88F, with humidity of about 50%. So it was bearable. We got great parking every time we drove to the city. We parked once at the Kennedy Center ($20/day) and then we parked on 14th Street and Constitution the other days for FREE!! Nothing like free parking in DC.
Now, a few tips to those traveling to DC:
- Book a Capitol tour in advance here. It will save you having to wait in line for a long time just to get tickets.
- Do not bring a large backpack to the Capitol. They won't let you go on the tour.
- Favorite Smithsonian museums: Museum of American History, Holocaust Museum and Museum of Natural History. If time is limited, I recommend going to those. If you have extra time, go to the National Archives and see the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. Lines can be pretty long and the documents are usually surrounded by a wild horde of curious humans, so be patient. The documents are fading, but it's really cool to see them.
- If it's your first time going there, you might think that there's no place to eat in the Mall area, like we did the first time we were there. WRONG! Just go a couple of blocks out of the Mall area and enjoy everything from PotBelly's (great grilled sub place) to Starbucks. Don't fall into the trap of eating at the museum cafeteria. You'll come out of there hungry and $10 poorer.
- If you have a smartphone, download a DC Metro app. It's very handy.
- Although the White House doesn't offer tours anymore (at least that we could find), visit the White House Visitors Center on the corner of E and 15th. It's not incredible, but it has some cool historical facts that we weren't aware of. Spent 20 minutes there and learned a lot.
Here are some photos of our trip this last weekend. Enjoy!
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| Kennedy Center |
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| Lincoln Memorial |
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| Lincoln Memorial with the in-laws |
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| Vietnam Memorial |
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| Awwww |
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| Washington Monument |
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| Capitol Visitors Center |
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| Capitol Visitors Center |
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| US Capitol Rotunda |
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| Capitol Rotunda |
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| Brigham Young statue in the Capitol |
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| US Capitol |
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| White House |
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| Kennedy Center |
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| Restoring Honor Rally |
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| Restoring Honor Rally |
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| Restoring Honor Rally |
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| Restoring Honor Rally |
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| Lincoln Memorial from the WWII memorial |
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| White House |
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| Ford's Theater |
So Jealous. (I feel like I say that a LOT on your blog. :))
ReplyDeleteGlad you guys got to go and that you had a good time. From what we heard, it was a VERY quick trip packed with LOTS of good stuff.
Wish we could have gone.
P.S. You are sooooo right about eating at the museum. It is not great and it took all of my savings to get a meal there. ;)
Loved the pictures!
ReplyDelete