DC Adventures...

Well friends, I have returned from my adventure back east. And what a crazy adventure it was! I took a million pictures and I haven't yet had time to go through them all, but when I do, I will try to post a few of them here for you to see. In the meantime, I'll just give a quick recap about everything I did.

Tuesday I flew in to DC. My friend picked me up at the airport and we headed straight to Cosi for dinner. Then we changed our clothes and headed to the DC Temple. That temple is huge and gorgeous! Around 9pm, we finally pulled into her driveway.

Wednesday we packed up early and headed out to Pennsylvania. We started with Gettysburg, then drove clear up to Harmony (near the NY border) to check out the Susquehanna River/Aaronic Priesthood Restoration site. From there we went to Scranton and then spent the night in a town about 20 minutes outside of Philly. In all, we were in the car about 11 hours that day.

Thursday we spent the entire day in Philadelphia. My favorite part was standing in the same room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were drafted and signed. George Washington's actual chair still sits there. The feeling was unbelievable. I loved it! We also saw the Liberty Bell.

Friday we went to Valley Forge and spent a good four hours there. It's hard to believe that that battered, sick and dying army could come back from that winter and win a battle in the spring! Only two things kept them there: their love and respect for their General (George Washington) and the idea of freedom. If only I had their courage. Did you know that of the 12,000 soldiers that camped at Valley Forge that winter only 6,000 survived?

Saturday we did a tour of the US Capitol and then headed to Mt. Vernon and Arlington Cemetery. All those stops were amazing. I never realized how gigantic Arlington is. The headstones go on and on forever! The weather this day was 90 degrees with about 80% humidity. Never bothered to try and stay dry.

Sunday we toured the National Cathedral. Holy toledo that place is massive! And so incredibly beautiful! The architecture was stunning. I have to say though, that it is quite interesting to walk into a church/cathedral and not feel anything. I felt more in Independence Hall than I did here. Weird. After that tour we spent the rest of the day walking around the mall and taking photos of the memorials (Lincoln, Jefferson, Korea, Vietnam, etc). Too much walking! By this point my body was starting to feel it.

Monday we toured Ford's Theatre then we took an elevator ride 500 feet to the top of the Washington Monument. That was an amazing view of DC! We also went through the Holocaust Museum. They told us we could easily spend three hours there but I only made it about an hour. I left feeling many different emotions, mostly heartache for those who went through it but also a lot of anger toward those who caused it. I know we are required to forgive all, but I'm not sure I have it in me to forgive that evil man (Hitler). After the Holocaust Museum we also took a look around the National History Museum (Smithsonian) and the American History Museum (Smithsonian).

Tuesday we ended our week long trip with breakfast at the Eastern Market (apparently known for their french toast which they were out of by the time we arrived) and a trip to the National Archives where we saw the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States. That was amazing! The Declaration is so old and faded that you can barely see words on it anymore! There were guards on both sides on the Constitution at all times. After that we walked around and took a few more pictures and then it was off to the airport where I caught my flight home!

It was busy and utterly exhausting but such an amazing experience! I learned so much about the founding of America and even though I've always been grateful, I now feel a different sense of respect and reverence for the men who sacrificed so much for the cause of freedom. They literally changed the world and many of them died doing it.

That was my trip in a nutshell. I'll try and post pictures soon!