US Capitol Christmas Tree |
Christmas is almost here! As I am writing this, Christmas is about two weeks away. One thing I love about big cities is that there are always lots of Christmas festivities. So far I have had two great Christmas weekends here in DC and plan on having another in NYC next week.
Two weekends ago I was lucky enough to have my mom (you can see her blog here) in town and we had a great weekend together.
Saturday we went to Middleburg, Virginia for their "Hunt" and Christmas parade. Middleburg is a nice little town about an hour outside of DC. We met my friend Samantha there and together we decided that Middleburg is very much a real life Stars Hollow (from Gilmore Girls). It is a small town of great people, shops, food, and traditions.
The Middleburg Hunt |
The Hunt is one of their great traditions. It takes place in the morning and pays tribute to the rich fox hunting history in the area. First the lead horses and the hounds come through followed by others on their horses in their full fox hunting regalia.
We also got a special Christmas treat, we got to tour the White House and see all of the Christmas decorations!!
This was really unexpected. Typically you have to schedule a tour of the White House through your senator or congressman's office at least a month in advance and even then there is no guarantee that you will get it because of the White House's rigorous schedule. But lucky for us, my office received an email about last minute tour openings the week before my mom came! We applied and were accepted!
White House Gingerbread House |
This past weekend was my second Christmas weekend. Timing has definitely been on my side lately (knock on wood) and one of my best friends since middle school was in Maryland with her work and came to visit me for the weekend. We had a great time catching up and got to do some DC Christmas activities along with my friend Samantha.
It was quite a marathon of a day but it was totally worth it. After visiting a museum and doing some exploring we went ice skating at the National Gallery of Art on the National Mall. I don't know how many times in life I will get to go ice skating in front of the National Archives which holds some of the greatest documents of our country so I had to take advantage while the weather was warm.
Although both weekends were packed full and a little tiring, they were both a great way to wind down my time here in DC.
But no worries, I leave Saturday but still have several DC blog posts that I have not been able to post yet that I will post after I return to SC.
Oh and one more thing...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
I gave my mom a very special gift this year that you can give too! My mom is a former teacher (still one at heart) and education is very close to her heart so this year, in her honor, I gave the gift of education to girls in Pakistan and you can too by clicking here! Every dollar counts and every dollar helps! To learn more, visit my friend Caroline's blog here. She is working in Pakistan and doing some pretty incredible things there. Now, go do something awesome!!
Thanks for a wonderful weekend in DC and especially thanks for the donation for my birthday!
ReplyDeleteAgain, such a cool post! Love reading these and experiencing your excitement and adventures :)
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