This past weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC for the 4th of July weekend. I had never been to our nation's capital before so it was quite a weekend. My cousin Laura is there for the summer working with Fat Tire Bike Tours' City Segway business. The Mark family as well as our granddad was there for the weekend as well. Granddaddy and I kicked the weekend off by hoping on segways and getting a grand tour of the city from Laura. It was fun to see all of the sites on wheels instead of having to walk around the whole city. Laura was a fabulous guide and made the tour fun and educational. Later that afternoon we had a private tour of the Capitol thanks to a Baylor friend who is interning with a congressman this summer. Friday evening, the Braves just happened to be playing the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. We watched the exciting game (Go Braves!) from great seats behind home plate and enjoyed a wonderful fireworks show after the game.
The next day we all traveled to Arlington Cemetary where we visited cousin Billy's grave, saw JFK's grave and the eternal flame, and witnessed the changing of the guard in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier. That afternoon, Laura and Aunt Allyson saved a spot for us on the lawn of the Capitol while the rest of us walked up and down the mall and saw many of the memorials. My feet nearly fell off, so I was relieved to be able to relax on the lawn for the 4th of July festivities. We had a great time at the concert singing along with Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Natasha Beddingfield, Big Bird and Elmo, and the cast of Jersey Boys. The fireworks show on the mall was absolutely stunning to say the least - the best I've seen yet (even better than the downtown Waco fireworks show if you can believe it)!
Sunday we all went to a delicious local waffle cafe, and then visited many of the museums including the National Art Museum, the Natural History Museum, the American History Museum, and the Newseum which was by far my favorite. On our last night there we emjoyed one another's company at a nice restaurant by the waterfront.
I also got to see some good old Waco friends who are now living in DC during the weekend. It was such a great weekend. There is just so much to do in the capital. It was surreal being in DC for the 4th of July and I can't wait to go back!
I loved seeing your pics again! The Jersey Boys were my favorite at the concert. So much to see and do...glad you got to experience it all!
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ReplyDeleteI watched a replay of the concert Sunday night, but I didn't think about you being there (duh!). Thinking back, I believe I saw you -- you were the third girl on the right when the blonde was singing out in the audience. And you were standing next to an older man when Barry walked by on his way to the main stage (Was that your uncle? you seemed to like him).
ReplyDeleteHey Mary! Just found your blog today, I'm going to have to had you to my list to keep updated-I had no idea you moved to Portland, it's a beautiful city. I loved looking at your pics from your parent's visit, hope you and family are doing well!
ReplyDelete-Joanna :)