TWENTY-NINE

Last week, Matt and I went to Washington, D.C., just the two of us. We walked 45 miles in 5 days and saw as much as we absolutely could. Enjoy a curated fraction of our trip.

2025 week twenty-nine

Day 1: Arlington Cemetery, Museum of American History, Union Station, Sunset Bus Tour

In the American History Museum we got to see Julia Child's kitchen. It was so fun. She had way too many copper pots and knives. 

The real droids. 

The egg from Alien. 

Beautiful stairs in Union Station.

Day 2: National Cathedral, Georgetown, Lincoln Memorial, National Mall, China Town.

The National Cathedral.

The scale and glory of this building was overwhelming. It was under construction for over 90 years because it had to be built to 14th century mason standards. If something needs repairs, it is rather an ordeal to get it fixed. 

The moon rock stained glass window. Astronaut Michael Collins attended St. Alban's school at the Cathedral. When he returned from the moon voyage, he brought the rock and the church had it made into a stained glass window. 

We attended a service at the cathedral and it was live streamed. Matt told his friends and they watched it and spotted us. 

In the Bishop's Garden. 

By the time we got to Georgetown it was raining pretty steadily. A scarf can really come in handy.

Lincoln Memorial.

View of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial.

China Town.

Day 3: Capitol tour, Capitol garden, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Old Ebbitts Grill. 

Outside the Capitol Building.

The real Apotheosis of Washington.

A mimic we saw in a Walgreens. 

Our tour guide was an intern for our representative's office. She went to Plano High School.

She was pretty knowledgeable and gave us a good tour. It was fun to be able to walk in the underground tunnels between the representatives' office building and the Capitol.

Apparently we had to get a chili dog? It was good, but it was also a street car chili dog. 

National History Museum.

Every time we see huge rocks we have to take photos of them for Theo. 

Old Ebbitts Grill for lunch. It was very atmospheric and everything was just delicious. 

I'm glad we went, but we ended up having a second dinner because the portions were not intended for people who had just walked 10 miles. 

Day 4: Old Town Alexandria, Christ Church, Old Post Office tower, Library of Congress, A perfect hamburger for lunch, National Air and Space Museum, Jefferson Memorial.

Inside Christ Church. George Washington was a patron here for a few decades. The pews were each purchased and rented by a family. Guests to the church can sit in the Washington family pew on Sundays. 

Plaque donated by President Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor. On that day he, Eleanor Roosevelt and Winston Churchill sat in George Washington's pew for a service. Apparently the priest took them to task reminding them of their duty to maintain order and peace in the world. 

The docent was very generous and spent a long hour with us just chatting and answering questions and giving us as much detail as we could want. 

Outside Christ Church. 

View of the White House from the Old Post Office Tower. 

We almost didn't go to the Library of Congress. It wasn't high on our list, but we had an opening and decided to get a ticket. It ended up being our favorite building. 

It was a breathtaking temple to knowledge and wisdom. 

It was so ornate and thoughtfully designed, I feel I ought to get a book on it and read about all the symbolism and quotes. 

The Magna Carta. 

National Air and Space Museum. It was cool but it also smelled a lot like a huge group of men (not clean and fresh either...). 

Jefferson Memorial.

Day 5: White House tour, Gadsby's Tavern, National Archives. 

The White House. 

It was so incredible to see and go inside. We were surprised that the portions of the house in the tour were actual working rooms. They just partition them off for certain times for tours. 

Gadsby's Tavern for lunch. George Washington celebrated a few birthdays in this tavern and Thomas Jefferson ate dinner here after his second Inauguration. 

The National Archives Rotunda where we saw the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 

The Declaration of Independence. 

Back home again. 

One of the coolest souvenirs we found at the National Cathedral: MLK Jr.'s mug shot painted as a Saint Icon. We hung the frame below my letter from Saint Teresa of Calcutta. 

Trying to recreate the perfect hamburger at home.