Runaway Trip to DC

During fall, my oldest sister called to share with us that my brother-in-law was being promoted in the Air Force to Major. When she called, I knew an airline we usually revert to was having an extra good sale. I checked prices and then decided to test the waters with my husband with the idea of me traveling across the country (again) with his son.

The text went as follows:

Me: So Javier is getting promoted. There's a big ceremony I guess at The Pentagon in January.

Mark: Oh really? That's cool.

A few minute break where I think "okay he didn't pick up on the hint". Then:

Mark: You should totally go...if other people are going and that's cool.

See why again I love my husband so much? No obligation of "if you take the baby you can go" or "if you can be there and back in a day sure". 

Although it was quite a debate and I felt guilty up until the trip, I didn't take Jack with me. As much fun as I thought it would be to let him meet his cousins, I decided that with no one to fly with me (I picked different flights than my parents and sister), and the icy cold weather and the touring we wanted to do, it was not a good idea to bring him. He'd meet his cousins this summer and he could still have his own environment to revert back to for sleeping, napping etc. So it really did feel like I had run away from my life for a few days. 

Thursday evening was a flurry of getting things ready for the ceremony and post celebration. Though not planned, I ended up staying at my sister's house that night and helping into the wee hours of the morning getting things ready from food trays to making sure the bag with all my nieces' clothes, hair elastics, straightener etc were ready to go for the next morning. 

Sadly, I do not have much in the way of pictures to document the day. No surprise The Pentagon is a high security building. We were not allowed to take any pictures, nor was there any cell phone reception. An entire day without technology! We were all surprised to be still standing by the end of the day!

 The weather was kind and not as chilly as we were prepared for. Still, though dark, this is how I layered in my dress: tights with ankle socks and then black socks over the ankle socks. It looked pretty strange but my feet were nice and toasty until we got to the Pentagon and I changed into my heels.

 Escort required was not a joke. Once through security, we were either closely in tow with my brother-in-law or escorted by other Air Force members who he works with. They walked us to the bathroom, escorted us to the ceremony room, and even escorted us around the food court at each restaurant we picked.

They had this set up at the visitor check in desk. We weren't sure if we could take pictures at the podium but we figured we were in an area where they do tours, and other people were taking pictures. So why not go with the crowd right? I look pretty official if I do say so myself!

Again, no pictures but after the ceremony and lunch, my brother-in-law took us around The Pentagon to see different parts. One of the neatest parts was the 9/11 memorial and the area of the building that the plane crashed into. In the memorial chapel, there is a visitors book where you can write messages of comfort to victims families. When the books are filled, they make copies and send them to each family. 

Being in The Pentagon was more impressive than I imagined. Not that I didn't think it would be, but we were walking past doors labeled "Air Force Chief of Staff" and "Navy Head Secretary" and other "uppity up" titles that let you know you're walking the hallways where some seriously important leaders work. 

Saturday was full of touring. In case you live under a rock (somewhat like me), DC is huge. There is way too much stuff to do in just 1-2 days of being there. But here's what we managed to hit up in just 1 day's time:

• Washington Monument (There's actually a tour inside of it!)
• National Museum of American History (1 of 19 museums included in the Smithsonian grouping)
• White House Tour (cool, especially if you know your White House design/history but for 1 day of touring, you'd be better off just getting a picture in front of it on Pennsylvania avenue. We didn't even get that!)
• United States Holocaust Museum
• Saw the Lincoln Memorial from across the Reflecting Pool
• Walked by the US Agriculture Building- HUGE!
• Saw the Lincoln Memorial lit up at night when I failed as navigator, we missed a turn and ended up behind the memorial. If you have the option to walk or drive in DC, walking is much less stressful. It can be cold, but the roads there are insane! 

Obviously, I'm not a photographer, and some things aren't that cool in pictures. But here's a slew of photos from that day. Obviously you can tell it was cold and I was more focused on staying warm than looking glamorous in the photos. A little bit of hat hair never hurt anyone right?

Washington Monument

Checking out the Lincoln Memorial while we made my brother-in-law Eric run back down the hill and get tickets for the Monument tour. 

Trying to take goofy pictures. 

One of the 12 views from the top of the Washington Monument. They have pictures below of what it looked like 100 years ago. 

Smithsonian museums

US Capitol Building. We didn't even get close to it. 

How the Washington Monument compares. 

American History Museum: these were chairs and the bar from the first sit-in during the Civil Rights movement which took place in Greensboro, NC. 

I joked with my sister that my life was now complete. Well a huge item was off my bucket list anyway. 

Up close these shoes looked super uncomfortable. I'm sure Judy Garland would have much preferred the ruby slippers you can now buy online. 

They had a transportation section at the museum. We had a good chuckle when we saw a van in the museum that our neighbor and many other families had for quite some time until the 4 door style came out. 

After a day of seeing the city, we went back to spend the last evening with my nieces- and thaw out. As you can see my cheeks were pretty chapped from the bitter dry wind. It was great to hang out with extended family more. My two nieces just keep getting older and older. Kaylie on the right just turned 12 and is nearly as tall as me. Brandy still has a bit to go. Their baby brother who is just 7 months older than Jack was just a bit too active and too apprehensive to get in a photo with us.  

My grandparents also came out for the promotion ceremony. It had been about 6 months since I had seen them and it will be another 7 until they come out for our family reunion. I sure love them! Growing up a mile from them, it was a hard adjustment to move away so far, especially now that they've moved away from my hometown. I even got to try and help my grandma learn to use facebook better on her mobile device. That provided a few good laughs!

With minimal sleep and very tired feet, I was happy to be boarding a plane 3 days later. It was wonderful to get a break and celebrate my brother-in-law's advancement in his career. Truly it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I'm so grateful my husband who always does his best to let me go on these crazy adventures. I always wish he could come along but since he doesn't care for touristy type things, it saves us money in the long run anyways! :)