DC Cherry Blossoms 2013

One thing I have been wanting to do since last fall is to see DC with all of the cherry blossoms. Lucky me, the peak week just happened to fall on my birthday week! So my mom and I jumped in the car and drove the 7 hours up to DC. 

At first we had a hard time finding a hotel that still had open rooms. All of the hotels in the city were booked except for the $400+/night rooms which was a little out of our price range. We checked hotels in Arlington and Alexandria but could not find rooms there either. Eventually my mom found a room at the Hampton Inn at Fort Belvoir/Mount Vernon at a reasonable price. It was just a few miles from Mount Vernon and about a 30 minute drive to the city. When we first got to Fort Belvoir we were a little nervous. It does not look like the safest place for two women to stay alone. However when we got to our hotel we found that it was fairly new and very nice. 

After a good night's sleep at our nice hotel we went into the city. Because we knew we wanted to rent bikes for the day and that Bike and Roll has a location at Union Station we decided that it would be easiest to park our car in the garage at Union Station so that we would not have to worry about parking meters or anything. The one thing we did not like about this is that after 5 hours at the garage it charges you for a full day. 5-24 hours is $22. I think they could make a few more increments in that 19 hour range but maybe that is just me. We did decide though that it was still easier and worth the cost and for 6 hours we probably would have paid almost as much any way. 

After getting to Union Station we decided not to rent our bikes immediately because I wanted to go to the Capitol to see the new Rosa Parks statue in the State Statuary collection.  My friend Courtney who is interning for a congressman met us and took us to the statue. It was awesome! Thanks Courtney for the VIP treatment. 

Rosa Parks Statue

After a quick stop by my old office we were headed back to Union Station to get our bikes. Oh but first we had a quick pit stop at the Ben and Jerry's tent outside of the station for some FREE ice cream!! Awesome little treat. 

The US Capitol with Cherry Blossoms in front!

We got our bikes from Bike and Roll at Union Station. I have written about them before here, super nice people! We also found a coupon for 50% off a second bike rental just by googling "Bike and Roll DC Coupon." We biked down around the Capitol, to the National Mall, the Tidal Basin, the Jefferson Memorial, over to the Lincoln Memorial, and then back to Union Station. Quite a ride!

View of the Capitol through the trees from the Tidal Basin

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

It really was not that crowded until we got to the Tidal Basin where we had to get off our bikes a couple of times because of all of the people. The bikes were definitely worth it though! 

Thomas Jefferson Memorial at the Tidal Basin

Side story: when we first got to the National Mall we saw two women (one probably in her 50's and the other in her 60's) sitting on one of the benches and the older lady looked like she had passed out on the younger lady. At first we thought someone was helping them but then the older lady started throwing up and the "helpers" walked away. We pulled over to help and there was another older couple who was calling 911. If you do not know, one of the main symptoms of someone, especially a female, having a heart attack is vomiting. I immediately checked to see if the lady was conscious and breathing, which she was, while my mom went to check the names of the streets at the closest intersection to make sure the ambulance had the right names and to wave them down if she saw it. She was able to wave down and SUV of Capitol Police and they were able to radio in the exact location. Because the police were there and we heard the ambulance the other couple there told us to go ahead and enjoy our day that they would make sure everything was ok. We hope everything turned out ok. Afterwards, when we were talking about it we were shocked that the first "helpers" there walked away because the lady was throwing up. The least you can do is call 911, offer to buy a bottle of water, or go find someone who can help. 

After that excitement, we were able to enjoy our beautiful day in DC. And it was a beautiful day. Warm, sunny, and a slight breeze. Perfect cherry blossom viewing weather. 

Thomas Jefferson Memorial at the Tidal Basin

Because Bike and Roll closes at 6 (that is my only complaint about them, they should at least wait until about sunset or a little after) we decided to see what other entertainment we could find. As a baseball fan I was very excited to see the Nationals were in town. I am a Red Sox fan so during the regular season I don't think there is a real conflict of interest pulling for a National League team, at least occasionally. 

My friend Samantha and I at the game

The Nationals were playing the White Sox in DC so we headed over to the stadium and met my friend Samantha there. We found parking about 3 blocks from the stadium for $20. Although someone told us you can find it cheaper, we opted for the safe looking, populated area for a little more money. 

Although I have only been to a few different ball parks, I really liked this one. It made me think of an updated version of the Braves Turner Field. It is also one of the easiest parks to walk up and get tickets. Unlike many other ball parks we have been to, you simply walk up to one of the ticket machines outside of the park, choose the game, ticket price range, how many tickets, swipe your credit card and you are on your way. 

The tickets were also very reasonably priced. The cheapest tickets were $13 but of course those are in the nose bleeds. After looking at the different options available we found some great seats for $22 that were in the second deck above the right field wall. One of the last Braves game we went to we paid a lot more than that for much much worse seats. These were great though-- a good view of the field and in a home run section, although none were hit to us that night. And the weather made it an absolutely perfect night for baseball! 

View from out seats. Not bad for $22!!

The stadium had great food too and not terribly expensive. They have everything from local places like Ben's Chili Bowl and the  Shake Shack to burgers, hot dogs and chicken cooked over the out door grill. 

Oh and the Nats won! All in all, a great ending to a great day! Check back later for my next post about day 2 at Mount Vernon!

I'll be linking this post to Between Naps on the Porch! Be sure to check it out!

NYC

After my parents helped move me out of my apartment we flew to New York City for a few days to see all of the Christmas festivities. I must say there is nothing quite like New York at Christmas time.  The lights, the windows, the decorations, the shopping, the shows- Christmas time is definitely the best time to visit.

Mom and I at Rockefeller Plaza. Dad was taking the picture. 

One of our favorite things to see every year is the decorated windows at stores like Macy's and Lord and Taylor. Even in years when we can't go to NYC we enjoy watching the HGTV special on how they design and put together the windows. 

Macy's Window 

Macy's Window

Macy's Window

Macy's Window

Although the weather wasn't great, not to mention I was a little under the weather, we still had a great time. We usually stay at a nice little Hampton Inn that is about two blocks from Times Square. It is nothing fancy but it is really convenient, affordable, and you always know what you are getting with a Hampton Inn.

The first day we were there I was trying to recuperate in the room and get my feet back under me while the rest of the family went shopping. That night we were able to get tickets to Radio City's Christmas Spectacular and see the Rockettes. Every year Radio City does a great job with it and it is a lot of fun.

The next day we did a little more shopping. We visited the shops at Central Park and dad and I got one of our favorite treats, a real Belgian Waffle. This is probably what my dad I look forward to the most when we go to NYC. They are delicious. 

Belgian Waffle

After that we went to FAO Schwartz. I am just a big kid when it comes to toy stores and I love FAO. Although I was a little disappointed that they didn't have their giant key board performers any more but I did love the giant lego people. 

StarWars LEGOs

FAO Guard made out of LEGOs

After some more shopping we went to see Annie on broadway. Annie has been one of my favorite musicals for my entire life and our Annie VHS tape was well used back in the day. It was excellent... duh it's Broadway!

Time's Square

All in all it was a great trip. The next day mom, dad, and I took the train from NYC to DC, picked our car up and made the 8ish hour drive home. And boy was it good to be home!

For those of you have never taken the Amtrak before, I would recommend considering it on your next trip. It is not always quicker or cheaper but sometimes it is and, unlike a plane, it has outlets to plug in your computer or phone and free wifi! Not to mention you can get up and walk around some if you feel like it. It was a fun little adventure for us!

Christmas in DC

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!

 My mom was especially excited about this because she watches the White House Christmas Special on HGTV every year and this year she got to see it all for herself! The White House Gingerbread House is always one of our favorite parts of the show. 

White House Gingerbread House

This is the best photo of us but our confirmation email said that we could not bring cameras or bags on the tour. Being the rule followers we are, we didn't bring a camera other than the ones on our phones. As it turns out it was some type of special tour day and you could bring cameras. Luckily we were able to get some photos on our phones. They may not be the best quality but at least we have them!

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. 

 We also went to see Zoolights at the National Zoo! Although I think we were the only ones there over the age of 20 without kids we still had a great time! 

 Finally we wrapped up the evening with a trip to the White House to see the National Christmas tree! 

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!!

Monuments at Night

Sorry I haven't been able to post as frequently as before, things have been a little hectic. However I did want to tell you about one of my favorite things I've done here in DC and it is definitely a must for everyone who comes here, the monuments at night tour. 

Washington Monument at Sunset

I did my tour with Bike and Roll which does bike and segway tours as well as bike rentals in DC and other big cities around the country. I did my tour with them mainly because I like to bike but there are also other companies that do monument tours and other DC sites if that is what you prefer. Or you may not even want to pay for a tour if you just want to see and take pictures of the monuments and if that is the case you can just walk (or bike) around on your own. 

Personally, I am a trivia and history junky so I (usually) like guided tours to learn interesting facts, some of which I will share with you on my blog and, although there are lots of people at the monuments and security,  I thought it would be safer to go with a group of people. However, you may think this is a waste of money for something you can find on wikipedia and I would still encourage you to at least see all the monuments at night sans the tour group.

Lincoln Memorial and the WWII Memorial at Sunset

If you are worried about the bike ride being too long, especially if you do not bike frequently, I would not worry about it too much. They have arranged the tour in a very "rider friendly" way. You bike to each of the sites, stop and listen to the tour guide give facts and other info about the monument, take pictures for a few minutes, and then finally ride to the next site. It is also a very easy riding pace. 

A few tips for your tour: 

1. When booking ask for a discount. Most tour companies give a $5-$10 discount if you say you saw their brochure or their ad in the DC visitor's guide, both of which are available at hotels. Even if you aren't staying at a local hotel you can go in and browse their brochures. Also, if it is a bike tour you can get a discount for bringing your own bike. Unfortunately they would not let me use both the bike discount and the visitor's guide discount. 

Me and my bike at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial 

2. Make sure your camera battery is charged. I thought that mine was charged from the weekend before but my camera, even if turned off, loses charge when it isn't being used. I did get some shots on it but not as many as I would have liked. Thankfully, iPhone cameras aren't half bad. Not great, but not bad either. 

One of the last photos I took before my camera completely died

3. Check your tour time and how long the tour is and if necessary make sure you eat dinner before hand. My tour was about three hours and because I am typically a late dinner eater and therefore did not eat dinner beforehand my stomach was growling so loudly by the time we got to Thomas Jefferson that even he felt bad for me. 

Below is a map of the sites we visited (the map is from google images and then I edited it with the Skitch app for iPad/iPhone which is really awesome!). 

 

We started at Bike and Roll at the Old Post Office Pavilion right by the Federal Triangle Metro station.  From there we biked on the National Mall to the following:

1. The Washington Monument

2. The White House

3. The World War II Memorial

 4. Vietnam Memorial (the wall and the names on the wall are kind of hard to photo at night/didn't show up at all)

 5. Lincoln Memorial 

6. Korean War Memorial 

7. Martin Luther King, JR Memorial

8. Franklin Roosevelt Memorial 

9. Thomas Jefferson Memorial 

After this we rode back to Bike and Roll via the Mall and saw the Capitol Building. 

Here are some more of my favorite photos from the night. I plan on writing more later about each of the monuments but that's all for now! 

WWII Memorial and Washington Monument 

Korean War Memorial