A weekend in DC

Did I forget to mention we were traveling to Washington DC last week?  We left on Thursday and returned late Sunday afternoon.  We flew into the Reagan National Airport and stayed at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center.  We chose this hotel because it was so close to the subway system and we didn’t plan on renting a car.  The location was perfect and the metro was just steps away from the hotel.  After checking in we rushed to pick up our White House Tour tickets from our Representative Paul Mitchell.  The only way to get tickets for events and tours in Washington is usually through your Representative.  Next we visited the National Air and Space Museum.  All the Museums are within walking distance from each other so to plan a day or two visiting the museums is easy to do.  Thursday night we headed out the a Holiday Market!   Lots of police and guard dogs around.  Security is super tight around the White House.  Entrance into White House Pinch me!  A few pics at the entrance of the current first lady from her trip to Africa.   Giddy with excitement! When you walk into the White House through the East door you are greeted with red trees galore. I loved them, some say they are gaudy, but I didn’t think so.  Here is a map of our tour.  We were able to see all of the brown areas.   Christmas cards sent by each President when they were in office.  Beautiful paintings everywhere  Every room has a different tree with a coordinating mantel.  Grand State dining room, this is where all state dinners happen and it is very grand indeed.  Cross Hall  Green Room Gingerbread house 2018 was just magnificent! I want to live in the White House! Just up those stairs is where the President resides.   Looking out from the front steps of the White House.   Hard to imagine the dignitaries that will grace these steps throughout the holiday season.  From floor to ceiling the walls were vibrant and bright. A beautiful floor One of the reading rooms at the Library.  As long as you have a library card you can check out any book or material you desire. We were itching to get in there and sit at one of the tables to read, just to be in that room would be wonderful.  If we had time we would have, next time we are in Washington it will be on our list of things to do. The library has many collections but the one on display and talked about the most was the Gutenberg Bible- the first printed bible from a printing press.  The history behind this printing was very interesting.  In fact, the entire discussion concerning the Library of Congress was interesting.  If ever you find yourself visiting, you really need to include the guided tour of the library. This is the only picture we could take of the court, the chairs upfront is where the Justices sit. The Capital building houses the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Washington subway was safe and very clean.  No need to feel fearful if you use it.  That was our only form of transportation and even in the late evening we felt very safe. Each Friday night at 6 pm the Kennedy Center has free performances.  We chose to attend the free concert while we were there.  The performer was the winner of the Rupaul Show – Chad Michaels.  All he/she did was lip sink to Cher, but he/she had the moves and mannerism down!   We headed to Georgetown after that for some good beer!   Dave studying the beer list. 🙂 After that we headed to the National Mall to see the Christmas tree lit up. That’s the White House behind Dave. Next day we ran through out DC and logged in 5 miles.  We decided to include some museum stops along the way.     You don’t have to be someone special to stay in the hotel you just need at least $330.00 per night.  We were mainly interested in seeing the hotel lobby, which was beautiful. Once you are in the hotel, you can take the elevator all the way up to the roof top and get a nice view of Washington DC.