Washington DC Part 1

Matt and I have been so lucky to have our spring breaks line up two years in a row! Last year we went on an awesome road trip; this year we decided to splurge a bit and go to Washington DC for the week. Since this was our last big trip without a carseat in tow, we decided to go all out and make the most of it. We ran around like crazy and saw as much as we possibly could! It was a little tiring but still relaxing enough to feel like vacation.

The trip kind of fell into four parts I'll be breaking it up into multiple posts so I have room to give a little more detail and avoid overloading you with pictures . . . 

Part 1 would be our first two days in DC. We started out early each morning and made very good use of our metro cards to see the tourist sights but still find the good local places to eat and explore (You'll notice through these posts that the food was a highlight for me--all of my "food pictures" have turned into a running joke at our house).

Natural History Museum--our first Smithsonian of the trip! Man, this place was impressive. They had everything here, from mummies to aquariums to dinosaur bones. I imagine it gets pretty packed here in the summer, there were lots of kids and families, but I would say its worth it.

National Museum of American History. You guys. I was so excited for this one. (Nerd alert) Julia Child's kitchen is on display here!! We also saw some other cool stuff like the flag Francis Scott Keys saw as he composed our national anthem, a great exhibit on the presidents and first ladies, Dorothy's ruby slippers, an original bar from a Civil Rights sit in, the original Sesame Street puppets, and the first Apple computer. Pretty random, huh? We loved this museum just for that reason.

After the museums we hopped on the metro and made our way to Eastern Market. I had read about this place online and was excited to go on a Saturday when all of the vendors and stands were set up. We found an amazing El Salvadorian restaurant here--Tortilla Cafe.

We finished up the afternoon walking around the National Mall to see the monuments and memorials: Jefferson, Washington, WWII, Lincoln, Korea, and Vietnam. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and loved watching the sunset on the Potomac. Those memorials are so beautiful all lit up at night!