Happy New Year!

We brought in the new year by driving to Washington DC on New Year's Eve. Asleep in our hotel before midnight it wasn't much of a party, but we needed our rest since we had a big day ahead of us. New Years Day we left our hotel in the historic Foggy Bottom district of DC and boarded the metro to go do some sight seeing. Gabe was a fan of the metro and quickly learned the sign for train. It was a beautiful day to be outside so we decided to tour the monuments on the mall. We saw the Washington Monument, the new WWII monument, Korean and Vietnam memorials, as well as the Lincoln Monument and White House. From there we headed over to Arlington to see the Changing of the Guard. Exhausted and hungry after a long day of walking and being out in the cold we headed back to our hotel, but not before stopping to have dinner at the George Washington University Hospital Cafeteria. I know what you're all thinking . . . "yuck, hospital food." But, it was really good! And affordable! After paying $5 for a hot dog in all of the touristy places it was great to have a meal we could afford to eat . . . and actually get full!
Wednesday was cold and windy so we hit the museums. I drug John to the Natural History museum to go see the Hope Diamond and he loved the museum and could have spent all day there. But, with so much to see we headed off to the Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Gabe loved the sound of his voice echoing in this building . . . enough said? We then went over to the Air and Space Museum which after being in so many awesome Air Force museums this one was kind of disappointing. However, the one cool thing we really liked was seeing the original Wright Flyer. (Gabe and I also enjoyed Boston Market in the food court!)
Thursday we visited the Holocaust Museum. This was a first for both of us so we took our time there. After grabbing some lunch it was back on the metro and over to Arlington to see the statue of the marines raising the flag at Iwoa Jima.
Friday was our last day in DC so we sent on a tour of the Capitol building. Wow, I actually got to see more of the capitol than just the basement and Brigham Young's back this time!!!
We really had a great trip and made some good memories. What a great birthday present, thanks John!!! Oh, and thanks to Dad and Cheryl for your Christmas gift - I think the GPS may have saved our marriage while driving in DC!