Washington DC March 09

My lastest trip to Washington DC in March, was with Leesa, Erica Quissell, and Nicole Stengle. Leesa flew into Charlottesville, VA so I picked her up, and we started on our way to DC. Erica flew into Reagan so she was next to pick up and then Nicole flew into Dulles. Here we are at the only bar before security at Dulles Airport waiting for her to arrive. 

On Friday morning we were scheduled for a capitol tour with Senator Thune's office from SD. Here we are right before we started our tour. 

They let us sit at his desk since he was not in the office. 

The rotunda of the capitol building. 

We stopped to take some pictures after the tour inside. Here is Leesa and I outside the capitol.

Our tour guide took a picture of the four of us outside the capitol. 

Back in Thune's office with our tour guide Jon Kotilnek, also from Pierre, SD. 

We stopped at the white house and posed for a picture. It was so cold that morning. 

Since the Washington monument was right there we also snapped a picture there. 

Time for some drinks after all that sightseeing. We met up with a couple of other friends. Michael Clegg, also from Pierre, and George Deering, one of Nicole's friends that went to SDSM&T who now lives in the area. 

Here we are taking a cab to the next destination. Our legs were just so tired after all the walking we did that morning. 

Next day of sightseeing started at the WWII monument and we walked the national mall. I love this background with the Lincoln behind us. 

The Lincoln is one of my favorite monuments. We tried to get Abe in the background of the picture. People kept walking right in front of him, but we finally got him. 

We went to the Museum of Natural history and we found a 3M sign for Nicole to stand with. 

Got to love the big whale. I had to take a picture. 

After a lot of sightseeing on day 2 we decided to stop for a drink in Old Town Alexandria at O'Connolls. We were lucky enough to get a booth when we arrived. 

Leesa's altered ego, Lymphoma Leesa, came out at the bar. She was having way to much fun with her scarf. 

Next day we were up and ready for more touring around the city. On our way to the FDR and Thomas Jefferson monuments we found some cherry blossums so we stopped for a quick picture.

I had to sit and snap a picture with George Washington. 

On a nice day, I love to get the reflection of the Washington monument off the water. 

We were trying to get a great picture in front of Thomas Jefferson, but there was a guy who wanted to be in everyone else's pictures too, so we opted for the close up with his feet. 

Leesa standing with FDR and his dog. Did you know that all the granite in this monument came from South Dakota? 

Next stop we headed to Mount Vernon. It was so cold outside, especially in the shade. 

This guy was all dressed up and in character. When I took a picture with him, he said "She touches me like she knows me," when I put my arm around him.

The view from the backyard at Mount Vernon, looking out at the Potomac River. 

We stopped at Ford's Theatre and got to take a tour. 

This is the balcony that Abraham Lincoln was sitting in when he was shot. 

After we dropped Erica off at the airport, Leesa and I went to the Pentagon Memorial.

Next we headed to Arlingon National Cemetary and stopped at JFK's grave site.

We also watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. 

We were lucky to stay with Jeff and Cindy Beringer for the last 2 nights of our trip. Cindy's mom Donna was in town so we got to spend time with her too. On our last night we headed to Chadwicks for happy hour.

We snapped pictures with Jeff. 

We also snapped with Cindy. 

And we found out that Donna's birthday was the next day so the staff brought her out a dessert and we all sang happy birthday to her. It was a great ending to the trip. 

A great time was had as always in DC. I'm now living in Stafford, VA, which is only 45 miles south of DC, so I'm hoping to go back and visit soon.