As I watch the Inauguration coverage on TV, it brings back memories of my trip to Washington DC in April 2011.
April 13, 2011 - We arrived in Manassas, VA around 5. My brother was working late so we decided to go into the city to see him. He told us to drive to the
Vienna Fairfax station to catch the
Metro and to get off at
Foggy Bottom where he would meet us at the top of the escalators. We were right on the
George Washington University campus and right next to
George Washington University Hospital. I texted my brother to let him know we had arrived. He said he didn't expect us to get there at fast and he would be right over.
After he got there he asked if we were hungry and said that we could walk to this place around the corner. We went to
Tonic at Quigley’s Pharmacy at 2036 G Street NW Foggy Bottom, DC 20036. I had spaghetti with meatballs. My dad had a salad. My brother had a burger.
My brother drove us past the
White House. The street we were on had the
Washington Monument behind the White House. We saw a car leaving the White House grounds. There are these pillars that move down when a car leaves the driveway. We drove past the
National Mall. We also drove past Department of Defense, Department of Treasury, and the
U.S. Capital. The National Mall and the
U.S. Capital were beautiful lit up at night.
We went back to
Foggy Bottom to catch the Metro to
Vienna Fairfax. It was very crowded at 10pm. I had to stand for a while. As we got further away from the city, the train got less crowded. I was able to sit. We made it back to our hotel at 11pm.
April 14, 2011 - We caught the Metro and got off at the
Smithsonian station. We rode the escalators up and by the exit was a lady handing out Washington DC maps. We came out of the station onto the National Mall and there was the most amazing sight. If you looked to your left - you saw the Washington Monument and if you looked to the right - you saw the U.S. Capital. I could have spent all day there. We spent a lot of time on the National Mall. It was a very warm day. There were people hanging out blankets on the grass at the National Mall.
We walked down to the White House. The White House is amazing. I stood there for a long time just looking at it and taking pictures. Three tourists asked me if I would take their photo in front of the White House. I had my Dad take my photo in front of it as well. I could have stayed there forever.
After we left The White House we went to find a rest room . It was hard to find a public one. We finally found one at a Macys in Downtown Washington DC. After we ate lunch we walked back to the National Mall. I was tired from walking all that way so I sat on a bench on the National Mall. After that, we went to the
National Museum of American History and the
National Air and Space Museum.
April 17, 2011 - We got to see the
Lincoln Memorial. I enjoyed taking photos. I had my picture taken in front of it as well. I also took photos of the Washington Monument with the U.S. Capital in the background. We also got to see the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
If you are ever in DC and you don’t have much time, go to the National Mall. It will be even more impressive if you do what we did. Take the Metro and get off at the Smithsonian station so when you come up the escalators you will have a view like I did. It was amazing.
