Our Nation's Capital

Fifth Stop: Washington D.C.

When I returned from Europe in 2012 I decided to make a list of places in the U.S. that I wanted to explore. The top 3 that I mentally enumerated were Seattle, Boston, and DC. Seattle's allure lay in the Pacific Northwest scenery, cool coffee shops, Pike's Place images, and of course my cousin Juliana. Boston and DC were appealing because of their historical significance and longevity (and good high school friends James and Stephen). I crossed off Seattle in October 2014 and Boston in October 2015, both were wonderful experiences and I have a desire to go back. I was able to tick DC as well on this epic road trip - but don't worry my list of cities to visit grows faster than I can eliminate candidates (San Francisco, Philadelphia, Portland). 

My cousin Susan is currently living outside the city, so I was able to hire her on as a tour guide and bed and breakfast operator.

We ventured into the city Saturday morning and were greeted with a lovely snow/rain onslaught. We were able to duck into the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History where we received a respite from the storm (along with every other tourist and their small children). 



The marine life exhibit was very interesting and pretty, complete with this beautiful cnidarian. Among the many crazy cool displays at the museum were the Hope Diamond, a T. Rex, and some awesome mummies.







Our next stop was the National Gallery. I am a sucker for impressionism and this collection delivered. I was floored by the number of pieces on display by Degas, Renoir, Monet, Pissarro, etc. We gave the whole gallery our full attention, but we'll know next time that the impressionism wing is enough to occupy you for a few hours! I will forever be thankful for my amazing teachers in high school. My AP English teacher featured a unit on great artists and composers which really instilled an appreciation for the amazing works and creators. I'm glad I was "forced" to learn so much so that I can view the works with that knowledge.





Andy Warhol



Roy Lichtenstein

Me as Pop Art.



Thomas Moran is one of my favorite artists/environmentalists

I was excited to see one of Degas' famed dancers. This is a very typical Degas piece while the gallery also had some of his sculptures that I wasn't as versed in.





Ahhhh who doesn't love Monet?





This is one of my favorite pieces that we saw. I'm a particular fan of Renoir.

The Jefferson Memorial



My main man, Abe

Not only does the White House have a garden, but a bee hive as well! Very impressed.





We also got to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. While waiting in line the people behind us remarked "yeah I think that was when we told Britain we were leaving" and "The Bill of Rights... I think that one is important too". We weren't allowed to take pictures, but I'm sure you've seen what they look like before (if not you can watch National Treasure- to which we referenced many times). 

I missed the cherry blossoms by a week, but there was still a lot of blooming going on while I was in the capital.