Lund Rover

Friday morning we made our way to the National Zoo. We had enjoyed really awesome weather the majority of the week, but this day was by for the hottest and most humid. At 8 am we were already sweaty! The website said the zoo opened at 8 am, but none of the animals were let out until 9. Very annoying. It was an OK zoo, but not the best. They focus on endangered animals, and so don't have a lot of the "cool" ones. The Tigers, Pandas, Gorillas, Orangutans, and Elephants were all awesome though. The biggest problem was probably just that the week was finally catching up with us. We were dragging for sure. From the zoo we took the metro to Union Station, a cool huge station with a beautiful and massive main room. Lots of shops and restaurants too. Almost like a mall. We grabbed a bite to eat before moving on to the Museum of Natural History. The big thing we wanted to see in the museum were the dino bones. But, once we got in and looked at a map we found out t...

Thursday morning we were able to get into a tour of the Capital Building at 9 am. We were up on Capital Hill early before anyone and it was cool having it to ourselves. Got some good pics. The tour was also very cool. We had a great guide! They give you headsets w/the guide miked in so it stays fairly quiet. It's still kinda a zoo in there with all the different tours, security guards, and workers. They're very strict about where you stand so we stay out of people's way and keep things moving. Don't even try to wander off either. One guy in our group tried to (I think just to get a picture) and got yelled at haha. We also lucked out in that this was the first week they were letting people back into the Rotunda (dome) after being closed for a long time for repairs. Did you know the dome is made of Cast Iron?!? Best material of the times... crazy. Awesome building though. They really knew how to build em back then. From the tour we took a nifty little...

Wednesday was another early morning (OK most mornings were early) because we needed to rent a car again to drive up to Gettysburg for the day. Getting out of the city was a nightmare! We definitely missed some turns and had to flip a few U's. I felt bad for John (he was driving). Eventually we got out of the bad traffic though and it was a nice drive from there... so I'm told. I dozed off for a bit haha. Took about 2 hours. They've built what looks like a giant new visitors center there. You have to pay $12 to get into the museum (lame because it's a National Park), but the Ranger Programs (FREE!) make up for it. We decided to start off with an hour long ranger program explaining the defense of Little Round Top held on site. It was awesome! The hill is so pretty and gives you a great view of almost all the events/battles that took place at Gettysburg. The Ranger is what really made it though. He was so knowledgeable and just fun to listen to. We loved it. Aft...

Tuesday we had another early-ish morning to get to Ford's Theater (where Lincoln was shot). Again, another great museum (located in the basement of the theater) all about Lincoln's life, presidency, and the day leading up to the assassination. The theater itself is very well preserved and still puts on shows! Pretty cool. Across the street they've turned the house Lincoln was taken to and eventually died in, into a museum of sorts as well. They've restored it and included an additional museum all about the aftermath of his death. Like I keep saying, it's all vey well done. We probably spent another 2-3 hours there. After Ford's theater we took a walk around the White House. It's weird, on the South Lawn (the cool side of the house) you can't get close at all! On the suckier North side you can get really close. Kind of a bummer for pictures. Security is insane too! So many guards with BIG guns, motion sensors and cameras and stuff. Honestly though, it...

Monday morning we found out how amazing our hotel was. The continental breakfast they provide = phenomenal! Like for real. So good. Probably John's fave part of the whole trip haha, jk. We got going pretty early that morning so we could rent a car and drive down to Mt. Vernon. (about 20 min drive) Man, it's pretty down there! Doesn't surprise me at all that his family chose that spot. We got to the Plantation right as the gates opened and were in the first tour of the day. They took us all through the main house (which has been meticulously and fantastically restored into what they think/hope is the exact way it looked during Washington's time). I think my favorite part was the back porch, aka the Piazza. The porch runs the whole length of the house with giant pillars up to the 2nd story roof and has a gorgeous view of the Potomac river.   View from the Piazza After the tour we walked all around the grounds where they have preserved various outbuildings (st...