DC Adventures

our big adventure/trip for the year finally arrived.

joe and alyson were getting married in the DC temple on july 26th and we couldn't pass up turning it into a vacation.

we brought nanna and hope with us.

my aunt and uncle live in vienna and were so sweet to play hosts to us for the week we were there.

monday we flew out of slc around 3:30 and didn't arrive in DC until 11.

i remember 12 years ago flying back east to spend a week with karen and jeff. 

it was the first time i flew and the first big trip i ever made.

staring out the windows of the plane for that first flight was incredible.

now after many flights i've discovered i prefer the row seat, good book and a coke to pass the time.

however, hope was just like me on my first flight, eager for a window seat and being able to see the world in a new way.

our first experience with the toll roads was one to remember

i remembered them vaguely from my trip 12 years ago...

but didn't anticipate them at midnight and always needing change...

gratefully the lane we drove through was empty at such a late hour and we..... backed-up and went to the change lane.

thank you nanna for your love of change. you saved us.

we arrived around midnight at my aunt's

each of us beyond exhausted and ready to sleep.

tuesday started our real adventures.

karen was a jewel and spent the day playing tour guide 

we quickly learned how challenging parking is and how to feed the meters.

we ventured through a few of the smithsonsians. 

the first -- natural history museum

oddly enough i found the insect exhibit rather fascinating 

and even held a giant grasshopper!!

i was opting for the roaches... but they had put those away.

the butterfly house was enchanting.

i think the girls would have spent a few hours there... except we needed to head out and feed the meter.

pretzels from a food truck

lunch at a darling cafe in the park

seeing the star spangled banner... sadly no pictures are allowed

experiencing city walking...

our poor feet experienced enough for the day..

after the aero space museum we decided to have karen give us a driving tour of the area.

we quickly realized this trip would be too short to really experience everything DC had to offer

gratefully aunt karen knew how to give us the 'highlight' tour :)