Zac and Lori's Epic Trip to Washington D.C.

Recently Zac had a work conference in Washington DC and he and his colleague were able to take the wives this time!!  I can't tell you how happy this made my heart.  Thanks to the generosity of both Zac's mom and my mom, we had a solid week to spend in Washington DC, a place I have ALWAYS wanted to go and explore.  A week wasn't even close to enough and we packed in every day to the absolute fullest.  We're talking up at 5:30 or 6 a.m. and to bed by almost midnight every day trying to see and do everything.  It was magical and wonderful and just a place brimming with the wonderment of history. 

Here are a few of my trip suggestions if you are going to visit Washington DC: I learned before going to Washington DC is that first if you know you are going two months in advance, contact your State Senator through their website to arrange tours while you are there.  This enabled us to go on a tour THROUGH the White House!  To the Pentagon, a private tour of the US Capital, private tour of the Supreme Court, and tour of the US Mint.  All VERY awesome and worth touring.  Second, I learned that almost EVERYTHING to see and do in Washington DC is FREE!  FREE!  So plan time to do everything!  Third, it is good to note that almost everything is only open from 10-5, so use your time wisely.  Fourth, all of the security personnel in all of the buildings are SO friendly and knowledgeable about where they work.  We asked them hundreds of questions, which they so kindly and patiently answered.  So ask lots of questions.

Whenever I go on an airplane trip, I always have to take pictures out the window of the airplane, because I don't know if I will ever get over the miracle of flight.  These were pictures of Washington DC and we prepared to land.

Our first night arriving in DC, we took a stroll 1/2 mile down from our hotel room and checked out the White House.  It was incredible how well guarded everything is.  I have never been in a place that crawled with security guards carrying rifles.  It didn't really make me want to try and jump the fence.

This is the Supreme Court building:

And this is one of the many Smithsonian museums that housed Air and Space exhibits:

These machines have actually been in outer space!

One of the first hot air balloons before airplane flight.

One of Orville and Wilbur Wright's first airplanes!

This is a view inside the Pentagon and the only place you can actually take pictures inside the Pentagon before you have to shut off your phone.  If they hear or see a phone after this point, you will never see your phone again.

This was a beautiful memorial to the victims that died when a plane crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.  Each victim has their own bench with their names inscribed on it and reflecting pool underneath.  They ordered the benches from the youngest victims to the oldest victims.  It was very moving.

The US Capital:

The Rotunda with the Apotheosis of George Washington mural!

We also decided to drive up to the Washington DC temple and visit the visitor's center.  Beautiful!

Mount Vernon: George Washington's home/ plantation.  So incredible!

Kind of a random shot, but it shows that the home wasn't actually made of brick, but stucco/mortar on top of wood and molded to look like brick.  Who knew?

George Washington's carriage and farm machinery:

The tomb of George Washington:

George and Martha Washington's actual coffins!

George Washington's tools

One of my favorite events!  We got a private tour of the Library of Congress and a fancy pants catered party through the work conference.

There are one million things to look at just on the architecture alone at the Library of Congress.  It is so unbelievably ornate, we just both walked around with our jaws dropped.

Murals and tile mosaics on every square inch of that building!

Thomas Jefferson's personal collection of books donated to the Library of Congress... SQUEE!

Zac's favorite part of the trip... Visiting the Space Shuttle Discovery at the Smithsonian.

He probably spent an hour just looking at every square inch of that shuttle.

Arlington National Cemetery 

JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy's graves.

A special meeting place at Arlington Cemetery that Zac was able to visit as a 13 year old scout.  It was so fun for him to relieve some of his Scout Jamboree memories.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

We were able to watch the changing of the guard which is a very unique and sacred custom.

Washington Monument: 

Inside the Jefferson Memorial:

Outside the Jefferson Memorial:

The Lincoln Memorial:

National Archives:  This is where we got to see the original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the Magna Carta and So. Much. More.  We couldn't take pictures, as the documents have been so damaged over the years by light exposure.  You can hardly read the Declaration of Independence anymore.

Our Private Tour of the White House:

Zac has a special place in his heart for the artist Charlie Russell

First Ladies' china collection

An old Methodist church that we attended a service at on Sunday so that I could soak in those beautiful stained glass windows.

The National Portrait Museum 

A familiar friendly face; Joseph Smith

The contemporary art was pretty cool to walk through too.

The Ford Theater: 

The actual gun that shot Abraham Lincoln

This is the view from close to the Presidential Box 

President Lincoln's chair: 

A view of the Presidential Box

The Peterson House, where Lincoln was taken after he was shot. 

The bed that Lincoln died in... (kind of, the real actual bed is in a museum in Chicago, but the Ford's theater has the pillow with his blood on it.)

All of the books in this 3-story tower are about Abraham Lincoln. 

It really was such a wonderful week.