Part Dos

The second day we woke up early to go on a tour of the White House! (Unfortunately, Obama and I changed places- he was on a trip to Arizona. I should have asked him if he wanted a tour of my house too!)

Of course cameras are not allowed inside so Andrea took pictures of me coming out... just to prove that I actually was behind the gates! :) (That little speck by the tree is me! :) )

Once outside that gate..there's no going back! It was really interesting to see the East Wing and all the different rooms- However, I would say that the highlight would have to be the secret service guys! I should have slipped them my number! :)

Here we are outside the North entrance that I just came out from

And then the south side...maybe next time we can play volleyball on that lawn!

We also were able to do the Paddle boats on the Potomac River. It was beautiful with the Jefferson and Washington Memorials. We thought it would be pretty easy, but it was quite a leg work out! It was so relaxing to just sit, talk, and enjoy the view! Totally worth the 10 bucks! (Especially because we go to wear those awesome life jackets! We just put out of our mind how many other people wore them and sweated in them! gross! :) )

Some other cool sights

These pictures really show the true sweatiness of DC! (I of course I had to pretend to be holding the Washington Monument like everyone else does! )

This bridge goes up to Arlington cemetery and this other picture is me with good ole FDR.

Here we were at Arlington cemetery where we saw JFK's grave and the eternal flame. Man- I thought it was hot and then with the heat from the flame...I took the picture as fast as I could and then ran to the shade!

Here we are at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Another emotional place. There is quite a reverence there.

Plus I finally found my throne!




I finally made it to my name state! :) (And apparently they do NOT like speeders!) Plus we went into Maryland when we went to the temple. It was a drive by picture, so its a little blurred!

The last day we had a quick visit to Mt Vernon...

Even though we didn't have too much time here, I learned a lot about Washington and was amazed at the person he was!

As expected, DC is amazing. I loved all the history and especially experiencing it with such a great friend! Thanks again! Can't wait to go back!

DC part 1

Who knew that being in a different time zone for just a few days would completely throw my body out of wack. I have been so sleepy since I've been back that I dont have it in me to be all creative in presenting my DC trip! :) Therefore, I figured I'd just post pictures and you can do with it as you please!

It was my first time in DC and since my friend works there I had a terrific tour guide! Thanks to Andrea and her sister Brittany, I had so many great tours and SO much fun!

Before we went on a tour of the Capitol, We stopped by Andrea's office (since she works for one of the Senators) and took some pictures of the Utah Senator's offices. And another one that caught my eye as we were walking down the hall! :)

This last one should show you how I felt about this Senator. A Joke. Thats about it. "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And dog gone it people like me." Saturday Night Live to senator...hmm... Lets see how he does.

Here are pictures of the amazing buildings that we were able to see...

Library of Congress: (Awesome tour and beautiful inside. This is highly recommended to tour)

Capitol in the front: (I forgot my camera when we went inside. So I guess you'll just have to trust me that it was fabulous! I really enjoyed it!)

And the back where the inauguration happens:

Supreme Court building:

The Pentagon- We were able to go on a tour and the people that gave the tour were hilarious! I really enjoyed myself! Even though it was a pretty general tour, it did give me a greater respect for the safety of our country. When we left, I truly felt like our country is in good hands!

Dont I look like I totally belong there! Who knows...I might just try it out!

This is the Pentagon memorial from 9/11. It was very touching.Each person that died has their own bench. At the end of the bench it says their name. If you notice the benches are facing in 2 different directions. They did it for a reason. If while you read the name and you look up and see the pentagon, that person died in the Pentagon. If you read the name and you look up and see the sky, they died in the plane. Whoever designed it did a great job!

You can see the 2 different color bricks here from where they re-built the building

Once those trees grow it will be a really enjoyable place. As for right now, the heat/humidity was almost too much for me! I was a ball of sweat when we left here!

That night we saw the Marine show. They talk to you at first and explain all the different groups and what they do. This is on the lawn of the Marine's barracks.(I almost won the prize for the person who traveled the furthest to be there, but a silly lady behind me was from LA! Rude!)

They played songs and marched around. There were also the Marines that did a gun show as they flipped these huge guns all around. Impressive. The whole thing was very patriotic. My eyes even filled with tears a few times.

Their American flag only has 13 stars for the original colonies... cool.

Okay...thats all I have energy for for tonight...I just have a few more pictures that I'll post tomorrow! Get excited!