Battlefields and Liberty Bells and Monuments, Oh My!

So, obviously I'm a bit behind in updating our blog. Things have just been super busy here with my classroom and my Masters program. Writing my thesis has been a daunting task, and it's consumed so much of my life (Anyone want to write it for me? I promise I'll pay well! :) ).

Although things have been pretty hectic for both Sam and I, we were able to go back East and visit my parents in the beginning of October. It was an awesome trip! The weather was beautiful, and the leaves were just starting to change. It was exactly what we needed!

So, the morning after we flew in (after only getting like 5 hours of sleep), we went with my parents to Gettysburg. Sam has been talking about going there ever since we visited Maryland at Christmas. So, I caved in and let Sam go. Haha! Here, Sam's showing his "manliness" by carrying a cannon. What a man!

I won't bore you with all the history, but a bunch of important things happened because of some war. Whatever. I was just excited about the views!

Ok, I'm only kidding. I know exactly what happened on this battlefield and I'm really grateful for the sacrifices that were made. It's crazy to think about Pickett's army and the thought of crossing this field. CRAZY!

Sam was enjoying every minute of Gettysburg. Mom and I enjoyed it, until about the 6th hour of driving around the battlefield. . . by then, we were a bit done! :)

The next day was pretty rainy, and so Sam and I decided to head into D.C. and go museuming. We went to the National Archives and saw the Magna Carta, the Declaration, and the Constitution. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pics inside the museum. Following, we went to the International Spy Museum. It was WAY awesome seeing the spy weapons and cars. That evening, we met up with my Dad and we saw Ford's Theater. It's pretty crazy to think about all the history in that building!

On Tuesday, Mom, Dad, Sam and I headed to Philadelphia. It was another rainy day, but it was beautiful in Philly. We first saw the Liberty Bell. Like the Mona Lisa. . . I thought it was going to be MUCH bigger. Oh well!

Next, we went to Independence Hall. They're doing some restoration on the outside of the building (your hard earned tax dollars at work people!), but the inside was pretty cool!

So we did the tour inside of Independence Hall. We had the most animated tour guide, and he made it a fun tour. As I stood in this building, I kept having horrors/flashbacks of "A More Perfect Union" (Dad's favorite movie). *shudder*

Rain soaked street in Philly. While we were there, my one request was to eat an authentic philly cheesesteak. There were plenty of street vendors, but there weren't any places to sit and eat it. With the rain, we decided to eat at a restuarant inside. I'll eat my authentic cheesesteak one day!

On Wednesday, Sam and I headed back into D.C. to see more sites. We first went to the Bureau of Engraving, where they print most of our money (they also have a site in Texas). Sam was LOVING that museum. They showed us how they print the money and the colors they use. It was pretty fascinating. Sam wanted to take home loads of souvenirs, but he was rejected! Haha!

(In this pic, Sam is looking at a case which holds $1million in $5 bills. I had to literally pry Sam off of this!)

Next, we went to the Holocaust Museum. I've visited that museum before, but I think it impacted me more this time because of all the WWII things we saw on our Paris trip.

Afterwards, Sam and I went to the Washington Monument to ride the elevator to the very top! Here's a pic looking up at the Monument.


The view from on top was amazing! It was pretty creepy to feel the whole monument swaying in the wind, but it was so worth it!


Some of the flags that surround the Washington Monument. I LOVE the dark clouds in this pic!

Following, Sam and I walked to the other end of the mall to visit the Lincoln Memorial. Here we are on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Good ol' Abe Lincoln!

Another good shot of the Washington Monument.

On Thursday, Sam and I headed to Arlington Cemetary. Here are some of the tombstones from Arlington.

We, of course, saw the changing of the guard. Perhaps it's because we went in the off season, but the changing of the guard took 30 minutes to do! They had 2 special wreaths that they put on the tomb, and so they had a special routine they had for each wreath. Sam thought it was a bit overdone, but I enjoyed it.

The view of D.C. from Arlington.

On our final day, Sam and I headed to Mount Vernon. We visited the 2 awesome visitors centers there (I'm not a huge visitor center fan, but these are WELL worth it!). And yes, we did see George Washington's dentures. . . and contrary to popular belief, he never had a pair of wooden dentures. The ones on display are actually made of hippo tusks.

One of the archways of Mount Vernon, looking out to the Potomac River. The location is just gorgeous and so it's a fun place to visit.

To finish off our day (and our trip), Sam and I took a nice, peaceful river cruise of the Potomac. It was so serene!

(Sam and I on our river cruise)

Well, we had an awesome trip! We were able to see lots of amazing sites (most of which I'd never seen before) and of course it's always good to see my parents. Now. . . if only I can get Sam a job back East! :).