Shenanigans in the Nation's Capitol

Friday afternoon BT surprised me with spontaneous plans for a weekend in DC.  I, of course, was on board!

We left bright and early on Saturday morning and arrived by noon.

One of the first stops was the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

I got to see Julia Child's kitchen!

Another item crossed off the Life List!

We did A LOT of walking.

And A LOT of people watching.

Took A LOT of selfies.

And...well...boys will be boys...

And...Laura will act like a child...

The Cherry Blossom Festival was going on.  Sadly, the trees down by the water at the Jefferson Memorial weren't blooming, but we did happen upon some random, pretty trees where we convinced a nice lady to take our picture.

After a day filled with walking and sight seeing, we were ready for a beer.  Leave it to BT to find a place perfect for him us, The Iron Horse Tap Room!

Milk Stout Nitro for him.  Doggie Style for me.

Flower Power for him.  Dawn Patrol for me.

For dinner, I convinced him to walk to Union Station so I could try to find a Caribbean restaurant I had eaten at last June when I was traveling back from Chicago.

We found it!  I could tell he was hesitant at first to try the food, but he gave it a shot!  It was just as delicious as I remember and I think he enjoyed his as well.

One last stop for a nightcap at Kelly's Irish Times before crashing out at our AirBnB find.  What a long day!
We started Sunday morning off with a light jog (emphasis on "light" and "jog") downtown.  There was nobody around!

White House selfie!

Next up was the Iwo Jima Memorial.  It's way bigger in person than I imagined it to be.

Followed by Arlington National Cemetery.

The Eternal Flame.

And my favorite, The Tomb of the Unknowns, where we saw the changing of the guard.

They also happened to be doing a wreath dedication at that time.  It was very special to see.  (Cue the water works for me.)

We didn't know what the story was behind it at the time, but I was able to find it online the next day. From the New Jersey Herald:  "Jefferson family to lay wreath for Marine son killed in Iraq"

The view from up on the hill was incredible.

After that, it was down to Quantico to visit the National Museum of the Marine Corps.  I was fascinated with the architecture.

It's a fairly new museum (built in '06) with a ton of interesting and interactive exhibits.  Starting with boot camp!

BT was really in his element.  He loves talking about his life the Marine Corps.  ;)

This was one of my favorite artifacts.  An actual morning report from Vietnam (I think).  Too funny.  

We couldn't leave without having a beer at the Tun Tavern, birthplace of the Marines.  

There was a beautiful walkway outside with lots more to explore.  

We bid good bye to Chesty Puller and were on our way!  

Having lived in Hampton Roads almost my entire life, I'm slightly embarrassed that I'd never been to many of the monuments/memorials/museums that we visited!   It was a super fun, day and a half getaway.