Adventures in DC: Cherry Blossoms + Monuments with a Few of our Tourist Friends

Weekend Anniversary Getaway:  April 4-7, 2019

Some people snicker when they read the name of this blog.  And I have a great retort.  After 22 years of wedded bliss, we get to call each other whatever we want.

And to celebrate those 22 years of wedded bliss and to get away for a short adventure, we headed up to Washington DC to see the lovely cherry blossoms and putz about the National Mall.  Because shopping!  Oh wait, I mean walking!  And hey... more walking!

But you know what's beautiful?  Cherry blossoms.  They are just so dang pretty.

Springtime in DC is delightful.

We flew in on Thursday night, so we had a full Friday and Saturday to explore.  Friday was a rainy day, but that was a-ok.  The grays, pastel pinks and bright yellows were a great combo for a backdrop of exploring the museums.  And it kept the hordes at bay.

We slept in, then ventured out to a coffee shop in Chinatown for a cuppa + carrot cake cupcake (as all mornings should begin).  Then, onwards to the Library of Congress.

Library of Congress

I love the Library of Congress, even though it's more of a museum than a library... at least the part they let the non-researchers in.  Did you know the Library of Congress is the world's largest library with more than 38 million books?  38 MILLION!  That would be heaven if we could get a looksee at them and maybe roll around in them for just a few minutes.  Apart from the viewing balcony overlooking the actual library, I saw a total of one book, and that one was behind glass.


The sculpture adorning the entrances were lovely, depicting ladies in flowing, revealing dresses.  Because that's how we ladies roll with the research... in our revealing nightgowns holding vases of flowers or an artist's palette while we pontificate on the vastness of knowledge available in 37 MILLION books.

Everything was gilded, designed in mosaic tiles or ornately carved from marble.  Fabulous.  Among the aluminum-leaf decor and stained glass on the ceiling above The Great Hall, the names of the world's leading writers and thinkers were painted in gold leaf.  Amaze-balls.  The building was decorated in 1892 by more than 40 American artists with a classical theme.

A delightfully snarky docent who was herding teenagers, commented that the Library of Congress was America's attempt to compete on the world stage for architecture.  That gave us a chuckle.  While not the winner, it's still beautiful and we had fun exploring.

I appreciated the encouragement and admonishments to seek knowledge that were worked into the overall design.  Like this one:

And in mosaic tile, no less.

Gutenberg Bible

An original Gutenberg Bible, People.  My heart was happy not just because I'm grateful to see the beginning of Bible distribution, but because it also represents the spread of the written word.  Books are such an important part of self-development, growth and social good.

This Bible in particular was produced in Germany in the mid-1540s.

Then up to the mezzanine to check out the main reading room from a glassed in balcony.

It's so lovely, I'm not sure I could study here.  I'd be staring up at the stained glass windows and decorative ceiling, using up library time drooling all over the marble-inlaid floor.  #classy


Naturally, a stop at the gift shop to score Jayme a coat plus a few other tidbits, and then we're off.


Oh, and a new favorite quote:  "I cannot live without books."  - Thomas Jefferson

A stroll by the Capitol, a chat with Ulysses S. Grant, then on by the Capitol Reflecting Pool to the US Botanic Garden.

We tend to enjoy botanical gardens, and the US conservatory did not disappoint.  We also enjoyed exploring the Sculpture Garden.

 #wedigselfies <--had you noticed?

After a healthy lunch at Protein Bar, we strolled the National Museum of Natural History where they still display real animals, stuffed.  /ugh.  Jayme's like, "It's ok, they lived a long life and then were filled with stuffing." Yeah, sure.  A quick turn about the museum full of teens + chaperons.  Then we decided to check out the cool-lookin' Smithsonian Castle.  We learned all about how the Smithsonian got started.

It was a grant from an English scientist, James Smithson, whose family line produced no heirs, so he bequeathed funds to the US to invest in learning and development.   Lucky US.  And then of course, Congress had to bicker about how they spent the funds.  Nonetheless, there are 11 Smithsonian museums and galleries along the National Mall, and that's neat.  The Smithsonian Castle was designed by James Renwick in Romanesque and Gothic architecture style and constructed of red sandstone.

The inside of the castle was old fashioned, and housed groups of artifacts from each of the museums... like an advert for each of the museums.  It was neat to get a taste of each of them.

And then we were tired.  We headed back to the hotel for a rest before getting dinner at Busboys & Poets, then heading up to Dupont Circle to check out Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe.

 A hot toddy, my honey and goober pie (that is a thing).  #winningcombo

And then we sleep, and sleep in... again. We're allowed; it's an anniversary trip.

National Mall, Monuments & Tourists

Saturday is just beautiful.  The weather is perfect and the blossoms are out in all their righteous beauty.

We're headed to the monument circle with thousands of our closest tourist friends.  I mean literally, you can't part these folks with a knife.  We are packed in and all jostling for the best pic.  Then, finally you give up trying to get a good pic and include e'erbody in the picture.

This is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.  It houses a majestic bronze statue of this important founding father and an excerpt of the Declaration of Independence.

John Russell Pope was the architect and used the Pantheon for inspiration.  Yep, similarity noted.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We ... solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states ... And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

 On to the FDR Memorial:

The layout of this memorial was a neat nod to how the country overcame the Great Depression, and I especially appreciated the memorial to Eleanor Roosevelt:

The MLK Memorial was powerful as, well.  It's a new addition to the Tidal Basin monument walk, completed in 2011.  It's based on a quote from his "I Have a Dream" speech:  "out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."

Another powerful memorial -- the Korean War Veterans Memorial.  An authentic representation of a soldiers' march.  Heart-wrenching.

My favorite?  The Lincoln Memorial.

It was hard to get a good pic, due to the hordes, but no matter.  He's an inspirational dude, carved in 19' of white marble.  I mean, just look at all those smiling people.

Architect & sculpture team, Henry Bacon, Daniel Chester French and Piccirilli Brothers, well done.  The Greek Revival shrine (I guess you call it that) housing Lincoln's statue is majestic.  The outside showcases the names of the 36 states that were part of the US at the time of Lincoln's presidency.  And the statue itself is just grand.  It's inspiring, and I can see why rousing speeches where spoken here.

I mean just check out the size of his boot tip-->  huge!  Grand in life and grand as a statue.

At this point, we are more than pooped.






We walked down the reflecting pool to the World War II Memorial, which is very well done.

And then on by the Washington Monument...

See, what a gorgeous day.  But, I feel like my legs are going to fall off, and a rest is in order.  But first... there's always time for a restorative cupcake.  A delish pizza joint for dinner, called &Pizza, oh and then moar gelato @ Pitango.  We know a good thing when we taste it, so don't judge if we ate gelato both days.

Oh and vegan friends, great food choices in DC.  You'll have more than two things to choose from on most menus.  Overwhelmingly good!

Dinner, dessert and we are ready to relax.  We caught the 6:00am flight home Sunday morning, and that 3:00am alarm comes around way too quickly.  It was a full two days and it was great.

DC, until next time.  We had a blast!  #peaceout