My Role As Tour Guide

As I mentioned before, my parents were in DC a couple weeks ago and since Patrick, who knows this city inside out, had to fly to Moscow for the week, I had the distinguished honor of acting as tour guide.  "Acting" is the key word as I still have lots to learn about this city despite living here for a year and a half (probably because I just blindly follow Patrick along everywhere and let him do the leading).

I asked my parents ahead of time what they wanted to see.  Naturally, their response was "whatever you want to show us!"  Not helpful considering that this city is crawling with tourist sights.  We only had about two and a half good days of sightseeing so I decided to hit up the major spots and save the rest for their next trip.  Here's what we were able to fit in:

• The Capitol Building.  We lucked out and got a private tour of the capitol that I had set up through Nebraska's Senate Office.  We also got to sit in the Senate gallery while they were in session.  Unfortunately we forgot to take pictures while we were inside :(  But here's my mom and me standing outside the Capitol.  Did I forget to mention there was torrential downpour that morning and even a tornado watch?

• The White House.  There are many disadvantages to visiting the city during the first week of December (the cold weather being the main one), but a major plus side is getting to see all of the White House Christmas decorations!  The tour was amazing but the decorations were particularly awe-inspiring.  Each room had its own Christmas tree that was decorated by a different organization.  Unfortunately no cameras were allowed on the tour.

• The National Archives.  The most notable documents we saw here were the Bill of Rights, The Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence.  Most of the documents are too faded to read now but it's still neat to see them up close.  Again, no cameras were allowed, but here is a shot of the beautiful exterior: 

• The Library of Congress.  Aside from being the largest library in the country (by law, two copies of every copyright is sent here), it is also probably one of the most impressive architectural designs in the country (unfortunately my pictures don't do it justice).  We took a tour that lasted over an hour and most of it was explaining all of the architectural nuances of the building.  My dad was more interested in learning that National Treasure actually was shot inside the building and that the "Book of Secrets" from the movie used to be on display but later was moved someplace else.

• The Newseum.  Patrick and my favorite museum here even though admittance is $20 per person.  Doable considering that virtually everything else here is free. My dad liked the gangster exhibit and my mom liked the Elvis display.  Other notable features of the museum are a section of the Berlin Wall and a piece of the World Trade Center.

• The National Museum of American History.  My parents also really liked this one.  Mostly known for the Star Spangled Banner, the First Ladies' dresses, Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers, Julia Child's kitchen, and Abraham Lincoln's hat. 

• Arlington National Cemetery.  I've been here multiple times but I still get chills watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (maybe that also has to do with the fact that it was freezing outside).  We also saw the Kennedy's gravesite and Robert E. Lee's mansion at the top of the hill which offers this stunning view of DC (and Pierre L'Enfant's tomb aka the architect of DC):

• The Lincoln Monument, The Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, and the WWII Memorial.  Yep, we braved the freezing temperature and saw them all.  If we look cold, it's because we really were.

•  The Museum of Natural History.  Definitely the highlight of the entire week.  You may recall my earlier post about the carpet convention.  On Friday night they held a private dinner party at the Museum of Natural History.  They had buffets of food and tables set up among the displays.  We were able to eat a delicious dinner (complete with a mashed potato bar) and then wander around the exhibits afterwards.  It was a blast.  They also had some HGTV hosts around as special guests during the convention (Chip and Tanya), so we took our picture with them.  Also, my mom had to see the Hope Diamond display twice.  

HGTV guy

HGTV girl

The Hope Diamond

The night would not have been complete without the obvious "the museum is alive!" jokes from my dad.  Which makes this picture particularly amusing...

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