Not afraid to get our geek on...

Matthew and I took our first real vacation since our honeymoon! After lots of thought, we decided on Washington D.C. We are both nerds at heart, and Washington D.C. holds so much history and reverence. It seemed like the perfect place! And...it was!

We stayed in Arlington, VA, at a great hotel in the cutest community. Our hotel was surrounded by Condos, restaurants, a grocery store, and shops. Our hotel had a free ride to the train. We woke up every morning, enjoyed Caribou coffee and breakfast on our ride to the train. We hopped the train to D.C. and enjoyed each day walking around our Nation's capital and reveling in the history that is D.C. After each busy day, we headed back to the hotel for a nap (yes, I had to take a nap to recover...I've never felt so old!) and then enjoyed one of the sweet shops in our little community. We literally ate outside every night. It was perfect weather! And can I tell you that everyone had a dog there! It made us miss Katie Bug! 

It was amazing to see these historical places. To see where and how our nation was formed. To walk streets that our forefathers walked. I suggest that everyone go see Washington D.C.! Especially, if you want to gain respect for our country and the people that made and continue to make it possible for us to live in freedom! So here's what we saw...((WARNING: Lots of pictures ahead...))

This is how we started our trip...my husband knows me so well!

Vietnam War Veterans Wall

Sweet note from a little boy:
"For my Papa's Best Friend: Peter Fletcher,
Thank you for serving our country."

This is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial facing the reflecting pool, to give his most famous speech, "I have a dream...". I was speechless to stand here and look out to see what he saw.

The Lincoln Memorial

President Lincoln

World War II Memorial

The White House

The Archives (Matthew's favorite!)

Hello Caribou! Discovered this awesome coffee with my Kureg coffee maker. It took the place of my beloved Starbucks on our trip. Amazing!

Arlington Cemetery: Kennedy Burial Plot

Thank you Cameron and Stacey for introducing us to this game. Although I busted it to come back from 0 to 101, only to "Pig Out" on what was supposed to be my final, winning roll. Boo!

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Super excited to be in Washington D.C. and to see the Washington Memorial! 

Amazing!

The Police Officer Memorial:
Men and women who have given their lives to protect their cities.
Its sad that these people are often overlooked, even though they put their lives on the line everyday for the people in their cities.
Forgive me, I'm a little biased.

Arlington Cemetery: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
This tomb and graves represent all the men and women who are unknown and/or still not found.
These men and women gave their lives so that we could be free.
So much reverence and respect at this place.
No words.

Arlington Cemetery: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
These guards walk 21 paces, pause for 21 seconds, and then repeat. 

Arlington Cemetery:
Thank you to all those men and women who gave their lives,
and continue to put their lives on the line,
so that we may be free.

Ford's Theatre: Where President Lincoln was assassinated. We didn't plan on this site, but we were SO excited when we found it. It was an incredible museum.
Side note: Matthew may have gotten in trouble for taking a picture leaning over the balcony. Oops!

I have so many more pics that I could post, but I probably shouldn't take up too much of your time. We had an amazing trip and will easily suggest to anyone to visit Washington D.C. yourselves. We also had fun on our first vacation. With school and work, and such different work schedules, we don't get a lot of time together. While this is all we've ever known, and most days we're ok with it, it gets pretty hard sometimes to be married, but still feel so single. To have these 11 days together was a true blessing!

Washington D.C., you are truly amazing! We can't wait to see you again!

P.S. We didn't spend the entire 11 days in D.C., we also visited the Lake House again. More on that later...