Peartree Purveyor: D.C. in an Hour

On our last day of our Christmas vacation, we spent part of the morning packing & getting ready to go. But we didn't have to leave for the airport until mid-afternoon, so we went into Washington, D.C. one more time. The wind was much less than it had been the whole week, so we thought there was a good chance that the Washington Monument would be open.

We were right -- it was open! Unfortunately, the tickets are on a first-come, first-serve basis and by the time we got there they were gone for the entire day. We decided to just drive around the city for an hour and see what we could see. It was much cheaper and warmer than parking and walking around!

I wonder why the flags weren't up and yet the monument was open

It was amazing to see all of the history of our nation's capital in person. (It almost felt like we were in the National Treasure movies -- almost!) Ryan and I are definitely anxious to go back sometime when we can take the tours and see the inside of the buildings and learn more about their history! Too bad the kids weren't that excited about it . . . they ended up reading and playing with toys from their backpacks for the majority of our "tour."

The back side of the Lincoln Memorial -- this is the first thing you see coming from the bridge into the city.

Hello President Obama -- this was as close as we could get to the White House

Not very exciting for a 16-month-old

Joshua got out his slinky and played with Grandpa

The National Archives Building

The Capitol

closer shot with Christmas Tree -- this is the side that you can see from the Washington Monument; I'm not sure if it is considered the front or the back

This is the other side of the Capitol. The family in the picture is not us . . . we were driving by in the car and just happened to get this shot!

The Capitol Dome

Can you tell that I think this is a beautiful building?!

Supreme Court Building

Library of Congress (right across the street from the Capitol and right next to the Supreme Court)

"Old Post Office": This reminded me of when I studied in Madrid, Spain for 2 months -- their post office in the city was so old and gorgeous

The airport was busy and very slow at issuing our tickets, but we made our flight and got home safely. We had a wonderful trip with family, Christmas, and sight-seeing. But it sure is nice to be home . . . to sleep in our own beds and to lounge around the house (while doing some organizing and cleaning) as a family for the last few days of Christmas break!

In the tunnel on the drive from my parents' to the airport/D.C. area; the kids learned on this trip all about holding your breath in a tunnel