Washington DC

The end of April, Steve and I were able to go to Washington, D.C for a FREE trip through Premier. This is my 2nd year to win the Designer Leadership trip for FREE!! We are responsible for getting to the location, thus DC, and then we eat and are entertained for free. And, it's not the Motel 6 where we stay. We stayed at the Luxurious Gaylord National. It had just been open about 1 year and it was amazing!!

I have to be honest....I was less than excited when it was first introduced that DC would be our trip this year. But, I knew Steve would LOVE it. He loves history, I do not. So, I worked really hard to earn the trip for us!!

But, I am so glad we went. I actually really enjoyed it and I learned SO MUCH!! I will share just a few of things I learned. When a person (me) knows NOTHING....it's not too hard to learn something...or A LOT!

This is not our bus, but Lana and I had to take our picture with the "Premier" bus! how cool!!

On our way to Georgetown, we ran across these houses! They were so cute and quaint. Just adorable. There was a FOR SALE sign in one yard, so Heather got on her cell phone and called to inquire about the price. She finally learned that the price of the houses in the picture above vary depending on the # bedrooms/baths. They do not figure square footage, but simply list the # bedrooms and baths. Strange, huh?? So, the varying prices were anywhere from $500,000 to $900,000. No, I did not make a typo. $900,000. wow!!! and they are tiny.

The Capital

I learned that D.C. stands for District of Columbia and that DC is not a state or part of a state. I guess that makes since!

Arlington Cemetery

This was amazing, probably one of my favorite things we saw. We saw the changing of the guards--amazing how those men can walk in perfect harmony.

There are approximately 27 funerals a month held here.

General Lee Custer's house was on the top of the hill. They are in the process of renovating it right now. (General Lee was the Commanding General of the Confederate Army--I just learned this right now, as Steve is helping me do this blog!!)

Did you know General Lee married the great-grand-daughter of George Washington's wife? George Washington was Martha Custer Washington's 2nd husband. Interesting, huh?? Her first husband died. I'd say that was a good 2nd marriage!!

My family of jewelers: Lana, Rebecca, me, Heather, Dawn

This is part of Kennedy's Memorial.

I learned these words are part of his famous Inauguration speech.

This is Kennedy's tomb and the eternal flame behind it. Jacqueline Kennedy is buried next to President Kennedy. On each side of them are his children. One daughter died at birth and his infant son died, a couple days old, 3 months prior to Kennedy's assassination. Can you imagine his wife? Jacqueline Kennedy had remarried, but was still buried next to President Kennedy. Interesting!

"Raising of the flag at Iwo Jima"

This was a cool story. Of course, I had never heard of this.

This took place on an island in the Pacific Ocean, when American soldiers defeated the Japanese Army and captured the island. The statue shows these men raising the flag after the victory. This is actually the 2nd flag they raised on the island because the Admiral didn't think the first flag was large enough. They didn't get picture the first time. A reporter took this picture, not knowing it's significance!

Washington Monument.

We didn't get to go to the top of the monument. We just observed it from across the Reflection Pool.

I learned President Washington was the only President NOT to live in the White House.

Steve baby with Washington Monument in the background!

Lincoln's Memorial.
I thought this was the coolest and most impressive monument. The detail in his face was amazing. The statue is over 20 feet tall and 19 feet wide and is carved in granite.

I learned Lincoln was the 16th President. Jefferson was the 3rd and Obama is the 44th. (Yep--I learned all that this weekend!)

World War II Memorial. There are 4000 gold stars here, each star represents a 100 US fatalities. During the war, families would display a blue star in their window to signify they had a family member fighting in the war. That would change to a gold star, should they be killed in battle. Interesting, huh??

The White House

This of course, was cool to see. We stood behind the wrought-iron fence that also had wire between the iron bars. We were not sure why the wire was necessary, it's not like anyone could fit through the bars.

We did not tour the White House because you had to set up your tours weeks to arriving in DC. We did go to the Visitors Bureau or some mini museum and saw tons of current pictures of the White House, saw all the rooms, old and current. It was very interesting. There were family pictures from past Presidents, some of their personal belongings and just interesting facts. Facts like: Barbara Bush bought $200,000 china for the White House with her own money. I don't know if all First Ladies pick out new china, but lots of them had their "own" china and there is now a collection of all the china in the house.

We learned they are putting in a basketball goal at the White House currently, for Obama, he loves to play basketball.

We were surprised the White House is right downtown DC right in the middle of the hustle and bustle. Diagonal from the white house is a hot-dog stand and a t-shirt stand---within eyes view. Interesting.

Snipers on the roof of the White House--taking a break, getting a drink of water!

Anthony--or that's the name he gave us. He was a Secret Service agent, hiding in the side trees of the White House lawn. Steve happened to see him and started talking to him. Pretty soon we had a crowd around us as we drilled him with question after question. This quite possibly could have been my favorite part of the trip. I know.... But, it was SO COOL talking to him. This day he was on a 12 hour shift. Our group decided this wasn't very safe. By hour 8 he wasn't going to be as sharp as his first hour of work!!

Anthony told us that at least once a month someone jumps the fence of the White House. It is a misdemeanor, so the agents cannot shoot at them. They do release dogs that run/barking/ready to attack. Anthony says the dogs slow the jumpers down quickly!

The Capital. Steve took this picture from Arlington Cemetery.
We could also see the Pentagon from Arlington Cemetery.

One of the buildings down-town. Steve loved looking at all the architecture of the old buildings. He commented on how buildings are not made the same way today.

More intricate detail in the buildings---never mind that there are NAKED ladies carved in FULL detail. I could not believe this. There were more than one buildings with these naked carvings on top.

Our group: Curt and Lana, Heather and Dawn, Mark and Rebecca, and us!

I have lots more pictures, but I will not put them all in this post. There are just too many. These are my favorites and/or my favorite places we visited!

It was a fun group and a great trip! We would definitely like to take our kids to DC when they are middle school/high school aged. Maybe they can learn what I learned -- a bit earlier!