Washington D.C.

About a month ago, Joel and I took a trip to Washington D.C. We had a vacation overseas planned for this summer, but once we found out I'm pregnant we decided to save it for later. Instead, we'll be exploring the east coast over the summer--much easier on a pregnant lady who's afraid of flying. We take a lot more pit stops than usual road trips, but that is to be expected when you have a baby sitting on your bladder. 

We stayed in Old Town Alexandria and spent 2 1/2 days in D.C. If you're looking for a hotel outside of D.C. stay in Old Town Alexandria! It is so charming, full of shops and restaurants and has a lively dock area next to the river. 

To save you (and myself) from endless commentary, we were able to see the following sites:

Arlington Nation Cemetery

Jefferson Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

MLK Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

WWII Memorial

Washington Monument (hard to miss)

Holocaust Museum

U.S. Capitol

Union Station

Museum of American History

Museum of Natural History

The White House

Ford's Theatre

Georgetown

Library of Congress

Washington D.C. LDS Temple

We ate at Tortilla Cafe (best tamales on the planet) and Good Stuff Eatery (Joel ate the entire Toasted Marshmallow Shake and that's saying a lot because he is not a fan of sweets) in Capitol Hill.

On the way to D.C. we made a quick stop in Baltimore to see my beloved Charm City Cakes. I was so happy to have finally made it there! 

Joel was less than thrilled about Baltimore. The greatest city in America? Please.

Old Town Alexandria

The gun that killed Lincoln

Ford's Theatre - the booth where Lincoln was shot

The White House

We took The Red Bus Tour and I still feel like I walked myself to death. D.C. is a walking city, there's no way around it.

U.S. Capitol

Joel needed some empathy therapy for what it feels like to tour hot & humid D.C. when you're 6 months pregnant. The water bottle simulated the weight of the amniotic fluid. And he's wearing my sunglasses? To be honest, all of the walking really tired me out. My feet were pretty swollen, my tailbone felt broken and I waddled by the end of the day. But I was in good spirits because I had plenty of water and food and Joel helped out as much as he could--carrying our stuff, wheeling me around in a wheelchair during some tours, and hailing trams meant for Senior Citizens. I still enjoyed the weekend but next time we visit I will not be pregnant.

The Library of Congress -- we saw the Gutenberg Bible!

Eating Italian Ice on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial

The Washington Monument

The Lincoln Memorial

Sandstone from the LDS Nauvoo temple in the Museum of American History

Joel's nickname "Caco" is also Kermit's name in Brazil

Julia Child's kitchen!

Museum of Natural History

Rotunda - U.S. Capitol

Brigham Young is in the U.S. Capitol. Hidden in the corner...but there!

Wheelchair bound

Georgetown - I am so in love

Arlington National Cemetery

JFK Eternal Flame

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Washington D.C. Temple

6 months pregnant

View of the temple from the highway

Joel and I both loved Washington D.C. We were amazed at how beautiful and CLEAN it is! We can't wait to go back and see everything that we missed. There is so much to do there and we feel like we barely scratched the surface. Until next time--with our baby in tow! :)