Spring In The Capital

There is spring everywhere else and then there is spring in Washington D.C.! This city offers up so much to do in general; monuments, museums, history and then you cover it in a shroud of pink blossoms and it becomes even more mesmerizing. I honestly cannot think of a more perfect time to visit the Nation's Capital than during the Cherry Blossom Festival. Not to mention it brings with it the Cherry Blossom Run and with it old friends down from Brooklyn allowing us to chat while they're here in town to participate in the festivities. We caught up with the adorable Heather and her cute friend Collette while they were here getting their run on. It was so great seeing friendly faces and a preview of the scads of fun of what is to come next month while we are in New York City. 

Speaking of friends in town, towards the tail end of the blossoms in full bloom, Susy or as I like to call her "The Energizer Bunny;” seriously she is old enough to be my mother and she ran me ragged, but she popped in to town to visit with us for a week and explore the city. We had such a great time hosting her and seeing the city through the eyes of somebody that has never been here before was such a great and refreshing experience, seeing sites again through a fresh pair of eyes, it’s almost like seeing it all again for the first time.

This month has been so full of adventures and firsts for us in this city. I had planned ahead and knew we wanted to be here this time of year, so I had set up a bunch of tours through Congressman Matheson’s office and lucky for us his amazing staff were able to reserve everything we wanted to see. We toured the Capitol building and were able to stop by Congressman Matheson’s office and put in my endorsement for his run for Governor of the great state of Utah, which alone should encourage his guaranteed run! Hee, hee. On top of that we toured the Pentagon, the Library of Congress, and the Supreme Court and of course The White House; the East Wing and then a private tour through the West Wing by a friend of ours, Ryan, who works there.

 The tour of the East Wing of the White House is self-guided and one cannot take pictures once inside, which for me is hard; I had to keep telling myself if I posted them anywhere the Secret Service would be knocking on the door making an arrest, so the thought of rotting in Guantanamo and not finishing out our adventure kept me in line. We explored all the rooms, rooms we have all seen in pictures and in films, it was surreal and we learned a bit of the history and purpose of them through the staff stationed in each of the rooms, the information was very knowledgeable and we got to see the first pups out for a walk while there. The West Wing tour was fabulous and a complete surprise; our friend Ryan spoiled us by providing us a private tour with his sister and nephews; let’s just say the Oval Office, pretty awesome! Needless to say the next time I watch a movie or show that takes place in the White House, it is going to put a whole new spin on things.

Arlington is always a must when we are here, it gives us the opportunity to pay our respects to Tom’s grandparents and take a moment to remember those that have fought for our freedoms. I don’t think there will ever be a time I am not in awe the second I walk through those gates and honestly I hope there never is. Watching the Changing of the Guards is always an experience, the dedication of the soldiers to be there, performing their duty no matter the weather conditions, is admirable to say the least, and these soldiers have nothing but my utmost respect.

I meant to be so much better at writing about each experience this month, but we've been so busy, so I’m kind of throwing everything into one wrap up and I’ll try to be better next month; I feel like I have missed so much reporting on our adventures and I’m just tipping the iceberg of what we've done and felt here. We are finishing up this week with our stay in Washington D.C. and will be homeless for a few days until our place in New York is available on the 30^th of April. Don’t worry, we will be staying here: The OmniBedford Springs Resort, not too shabby if I do say so myself. I mean if we are going to be homeless, why not do it in style! In the meantime, I will try to plan a little further out so I don’t have to scramble when we don’t have places set up back to back or end up in random, but lovely spots, like Lake Norman.

Overall, we have loved our stay here; there is always something to do from walking the National Mall, shopping in Georgetown or to touring one of many museums the Smithsonian boasts. We have been here for a month and I still don’t feel like we put a dent into all there is to see and do, definitely another place we will be back to visit and in the meantime, here are some more photos!