Washington DC!

WARNING!

this post contains an exorbitant amount of photographs!

the best way i knew to document my trip to the Nation's capital was with my camera!

and i did :)

Hello Washington DC! It's me, Jesika! the girl who has never been west of Yellowstone National Park- this is my biggest adventure to date! and you showed me a great time! i don't know if i want to live with you, but visiting was a blast!!

My "I'm in DC" picture!

First order of business- graduate school interview at George Washington University! this is an excellent school, and i was quite impressed with the interview, the students and the faculty. the interview went really well and i really loved being on a campus again! i'm excited to be a student again. Although i loved this school, there are two drawbacks- 1) it's RIDICULOUSLY expensive and 2) it's really really far away from home! other than that, i loved the school and really enjoyed my time there!

As a side note, I just received a letter of acceptance today from George Washington University! this school is so prestigious i didn't even think i'd get an interview, but i not only got an interview but i was given a spot in their school counseling program! i am so proud of myself! even if i don't attend, the fact that i got in is HUGE!

Beginning of my sightseeing tour of the District of Columbia!
After my interview on Friday afternoon, i got to spend the rest of my time in DC just being a tourist and seeing all of the sites!
First stop- the Washington Monument!
I got there right before sunset so it looked beautiful! i love this picture! besides the beauty of the sunset, this monument is gigantic and the utter size of it is remarkable! it's a beautiful momument you can see almost everywhere you go in DC!

These are my walking shoes...i'm not big on the practical footwear, and i walked a bagillion miles that weekend in these shoes! what can i say, i love my flats!
I was so lucky to get to stay with Heather Hughes, my dear old roommate, while i was in DC. she's lived there for about 2 years and was nice enough to let me stay and show me some of the sites! i love Heather! i haven't seen her in a year and a half, and i've missed her dearly. She hasn't had the easiest year of her life, so it was good to see her and to remember and relive some of the better times in our lives.
Here we are at the Lincoln Memorial!
Can i just say how much i loved the Lincoln Memorial? It is enchanting at night, so i was so glad we got to see it at night! Lincoln is a very imposing figure at this memorial, and you can just feel the granduer of the things he did and accomplished with his life and during his terms as president! i was so impressed! i loved loved loved this place! I grew kind of fond of Abraham Lincoln on my trip!


The view from the Lincoln Memorial that night was also incredible! The Lincoln Memorial is at one end of the National Mall, so from its steps you can look out on the mall and see the Washington Monument in the middle and the US Capitol on the other end. That night was especially cool because there was a full moon and we looked out and saw this...

This picture DOES NOT do the scene justice, but just know it was incredible!

We met up with Heather's friend Brad and those two crazy kids decided that they wanted to walk home that night. It was a beautiful night, it was windy but it wasn't cold, so we thought it would be a pleasant walk. It was but it was LONG! it was a 3+ miles walk! whew!

but we did see some cool things along the way!

we walked by the Pentagon and stopped to see the Pentagon Memorial. it's a memorial dedicated to all those who died on September 11th either in the Pentagon or the plane that hit it. It was beautiful, but it's incredible how close you can get to the Pentagon! we were about 20 yards from the Pentagon! so close!

The next day was tourist day!

It was a windy day, so most of my pictures of me from that day look like this!

I started off my day on the East side of the Mall! Here's a pic of the US Capitol, wish i could have gone inside, but i only got to see the outside. no doubt there were exciting things going on in this building!

I first went to the place i was most excited to see! i just couldn't wait!

The Library of Congress!

This building has more books than any other library...i didn't see any of them but still the thought is daunting! I would have loved to spend all day at this place. i love books, so i guess i just loved this library! besides being the house of a million books, it is a beautiful building!! just stunning!

I WANT TO GO HERE SOMEDAY! this is the Main Reading Room and it's only for researchers! i only got to look inside. someday i'm going to go inside and read and read for hours!

The Thomas Jefferson Library Exhibit!

Someday i'm going to have a library as coveted as this ones :) ha ha, i can dream can't i?

Next stop on my windy walk...

THE SMITHSONIAN!

The Smithsonian is actually 16 buildings so there is no way that any one person could visit all of them in one day, in one week even. So I had to pick and choose which ones i would tackle in my day on the National Mall.

First stop- The Air and Space Museum

Amelia Earhart's plane!

when i was little i did a report on Amelia Earhart, and i've been fascinated with her ever since.

Wilbur and Orville's bicycle!

The Wright Brothers- Wilbur and Orville- two of the coolest guys on the National Mall!

Next stop- the Museum of Natural History!

This is the elephant in the rotunda of the museum...i guess i just assumed it would be a T-Rex, Night at the Museum can be quite misleading.

This is a coral reef, made exclusively out of yarn. Of all of the cool things to see in this museum, i still think it's odd that this is the thing i found to be the most fascinating!

Last stop on my Smithsonian adventure- The Museum of American History

This is Michelle Obama's dress she wore to the Presidential Inauguration.

These are Dorothy's ruby red slippers!

And who could visit Washington DC without seeing the White House!? You can't get very close to it, for obvious reasons, but i wish i could have taken a tour inside. i saw pictures of the inside but it's not the same. Wonder what Obama is doing right this minute?

Me at the White House!

(some very nice lady took my picture, going on vacation by yourself has the drawback of very few pictures of yourself, because there's no one around to take your picture)

Sunday was my last day in DC! I was planning on going to church and going to see the temple, because we all know the temple is GORGEOUS! but getting there would mean taking the metro on the red line, and that weekend the red line was all sorts of messed up. i didn't want to get stranded somewhere so i opted to spend my Sabbath a different way.

At Arlington National Cemetery

I chose the right!

Tomb of the Unknown Solider! Really cool experience, very neat ceremony, very somber spirit here! it was a great thing to see, full of respect and admiration for those who have sacrificed their life for our country.

Changing of the GuardMe on a beautiful Sunday! the sun was shining, the wind was minimal, it was a gorgeous day to be out walking around the city. although i would not recommend carrying a duffel bag with you as you walk around Arlington National Cemetery. that cemetery has hills and you will be huffing and puffing by the time you get to the top ;)

this is the Metro, just wanted to throw in a picture of my transportation around the District, i think since i mastered the metro i can consider myself a city girl!

The National Archives!!

i could not leave DC without visiting the National Archives

this building houses the Charters of Freedom- the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights!

Most amazing three documents i've seen in my life!

On Sunday, i took the train to Virginia for another graduate school interview and to spend some time with the Tibbitts! here i am on the train, eating my pizza for dinner. i have been avoiding eating carbs and sugars, so i couldn't eat the crust from the pizza, so i ate the toppings off and this is what was left! scrumptous!

My interview at James Madison in Harrisonburg was an hour away from Kayla and Tayler in Charlottesville! They were so kind to put me up for the night and drive me to Harrisonburg for the interview from HECK! i hated the interview, but loved my time with Kayla!! i missed you so much Kay! it was so good to see Tayler again and get to talk with him and Kay! I loved seeing Luke again, he's gotten so big, and although it looks like he doesn't like me he really did! okay, so it took him a while to warm up to me, but i think he finally came around!

and i got to meet baby Eli Wayne Tibbitts!!

I can't believe my friend and old roommate is a mother of two! but she is and she's a wonderful mother! Kay, you've always been a wonderful example to me and now you're teaching me even more! i am so glad that i got to see Kayla! can't wait for you to come to Boise :)

After my time in Virginia, i headed back to DC to say my goodbyes to Heather, who was gracious enough to take me to the airport at 4am! at 6am i was on a plane and on my way home!! i was so excited to go back to Idaho! i loved my time on the East coast, but i have to admit, i'm pretty fond of my West coast!

if you made it through all of that, you're a trooper!

now the only question is,

where to visit next??!!