back in september pat surprised me with a day trip to d.c. we flew out of rdu and arrived in d.c. around 9am. he had tons of things planned and i was so excited when i discovered our destination. while in d.c. we discussed other places that we would like to visit together. interestingly at one point during the trip, he doubted my abilities to keep a big surprise from him (you see where this is going). i am bad at keeping secrets from him, so he wasn’t far off. i decided to run with that though. i saw it as a challenge. but also as a way to thank him for the trip to d.c.
anyway, i started planning a trip as soon as we got back. i purchased plane tickets in october (might i remind you that the trip was in january – long time to keep a secret). i made other purchases and reservations sporadically during that time period as well. i wish i could’ve kept all of that a secret, but i did tell pat when i made different purchases. he didn’t know specifics, just that things were being planned and arranged. the calendar was marked and the waiting game began. that was the hardest part for me. the waiting.
right around the time of the trip, the huge cold snap hit the whole south and east coast. this played into my hand. but i was hoping for some warm weather. our destination was new orleans and wouldn’t you know, the two days we were there were two of the coldest days they’ve seen in years. like i said, this played into my hand. pat had no idea where we were going because the whole united states was freezing. packing hats and gloves and heavy coats didn’t mean we were going one place over another.
the morning of the trip was rainy and cold in raleigh. i arrived at pat’s house a little after 4am to pick him up. he was ready, but he was definitely tired. his eyes were heavy, but excited. i did early check-in, so when we got to the airport we didn’t have a ton to do. we flew through security and were to our gate a little after 5am. this is when things got interesting. pat told me we didn’t need to get to the airport so early, but i was adamant because i didn’t want to be that couple running through the airport to catch our flight. he was right though. we were a bit early. sorry…i was excited!
our flight departed rdu at 6am and we were atlanta bound. pat still had no idea where we were going at this point. he didn’t want to know. i tried to get him to look at the boards in the airport. i tried to get him to look at the tickets. he wouldn’t do it. when we landed in atlanta, even the lady yelling out gates didn’t phase him. he was still clueless. i was pretty thrilled. we headed to our gate to wait for the next flight and the board wasn’t updated. there was a flight leaving atlanta for rdu before our flight, so he was stil clueless. at this point it was killing me. i really wanted him to know. the board finally updated and he looked over and discovered where we were headed. the screen flashed new orleans and listed the current temperature – 28 degrees. he got the biggest smile on his face and said “well done, babe.” that’s when i knew he was truly surprised. he told me he thought we were new york bound. like i said, the weather definitely played into my hand.
after he discovered where we were headed, i gave him the folder with all of the information about the trip. the hotel, restaurants, itineraries of places to visit, etc. he was excited about that too. i’m starting to master excel, which thrills him. the little things. anyway, we boarded our flight and were headed to new orleans. we arrived in new orleans at 11am (we had a delay out of atlanta because of a light bulb) and shuttled to the hotel. i guess the drive was about 20 minutes.
when we got to the hotel we checked in early, which was amazing, and dropped off our bags. by this point we were starving, so we didn’t sit around long. this is a picture from inside the elevator when we were headed up to our room. pretty neat.
w hotel french quarter, new orleans.
our first stop was pierre maspero’s. the building is actually one of the oldest in the french quarter. andrew jackson met the lafitte brothers on the site to plan the defense for the Battles of New Orleans. this is when the british surrendered to american troops under jackson’s control. here are a few pictures from our visit at pierre maspero’s.
pierre maspero's
excited about food in new orleans.
patrick was excited too.
po-boys and fries. delicious.
blackened catfish. amazing.
after we ate lunch, we headed toward jackson square. cashiers were changing over, so we couldn’t get right into the historical buildings. instead, we went for a walk around the square and visited jackson’s statue. these pictures are of the square. the mississippi river is just beyond the square.
andrew jackson
fountain in jackson square
stated on the base of the andrew jackson statue
patrick and i at jackson square - i have tired eyes
after we walked around jackson square, we headed back to the ticket office. we visited the presbytere first. i wasn’t really sure what to expect, but as soon as we walked in i figured out where we were. the presbytere is a museum set up to document the ever changing mardi gras celebration. i shoul’ve studied a little more about mardi gras before going. i think i would’ve had a greater appreciation for this museum. pat’s phone broke right before we left for new orleans, so we didn’t have the advantage of wikipedia like we did in d.c.
patrick inside the presbytere giving a thumbs up.
domino costume
port-a-john? nope, just a regular bathroom in disguise.
after the presbytere, we made a quick stop at st. louis cathedral, which stands in between the cabildo and the presbytere. it was beautiful. see for yourself.
st. louis cathedral
st. louis cathedral from jackson square
inside the cathedral
inside st. louis cathedral
confession booth at st. louis cathedral
after walking around st. louis cathedral, we headed to the cabildo. the cabildo is where the louisiana purchase was signed. it is now a museum full of awesome historical things. we didn’t spend as much time in the cabildo as would’ve been necessary to read/see everything. i think we could’ve stayed there for 3-4 hours. it was insane. patrick will attest, fatigue was starting to set in for me. i think he was getting tired too – he started to call the place the cabilbo.anyway, i had been up since 2:50am. i was allowed to get tired. i did feel really bad that i was woosing out. i just needed a nap. then i would be ready to pound the sidewalks for more site seeing. and eating.
the cabildo
weapons in the cabildo
slave poster in the cabildo
i don’t think we were allowed to take pictures inside the cabildo, so this is all we got. these are some shots back outside in the jackson square area. oh and i forgot to mention that it was freezing! when we got to new orleans i think it was still in the 20’s. the high on friday was low 30’s. the warmest temperatures we saw while we were there were low 40’s. yikes!
being a tourist
french quarter streets
jackson square area
more jackson square
after the cabildo, we headed back to the hotel to take naps. dinner was planned for 7pm, so we wanted to be rested for dinner and other festivities that would follow. i was out for a good hour when we got back. after naps, we changed and got ready for dinner. our reservation was at NOLA, Emeril’s restaurant. it wasn’t a far walk from our hotel. but it was cold! and now it was dark, so it felt even colder. once we got walking, i didn’t really notice. here are pictures from dinner.
dinner at NOLA
ready to eat
pat was ready too
after dinner at NOLA, we hit the streets. we walked down bourbon street. which was slightly overwhelming. at least for me. the walk on bourbon didn’t last long. we walked it because you have to when you visit new orleans. anyway, we didn’t eat dessert at NOLA, so that we could eat beignets at cafe du monde. we took the long walk from NOLA so that we could make room . these pictures are from the walk. some were taken on the mississippi river.
bourbon street madness
these next few were taken down on the mississippi. pretty awesome.
the bridge
the goal of the walk was cafe du monde. it was definitely worth the walk and the wait. we got 2 coffees and an order of beignets. so amazing! the visit to cafe du monde made the night. ( :
speaks for itself
it seemed like an ordinary day until i had coffee with jesus at the cafe du monde..
2 coffees and an order of beignets - yum
we couldn't wait to dig in!
cafe du monde
after we finished up at cafe du monde, it was back out in the cold. i discovered a few weeks before our trip that jessie was going to be in new orleans at the same time. we headed over to the crescent city brewhouse to see her, kate, and company. it was so fun to see them. we hung out for a bit and then met up with them again on frenchmen street in a jazz bar.
inside crescent city brewhouse
after hanging out at crescent city brewhouse pat and i decided to start walking to frenchmen street. it was quite a hike. we walked back down bourbon street. definitely got our fill of bourbon street. it was a good 10 blocks to frenchmen street. we stopped thinking about being cold though. there was a lot to see. and lots to talk about. once we got to frenchmen street we walked around and tried to figure out what bar we wanted to go to. there was live music at some of them. we ended up going to mason’s. there was an older jazz group playing. it was a lot of fun. not totally packed, which made it enjoyable. we were both getting tired, so once jessie, kate, and company arrived and we chatted for a bit, pat and i headed out. this time we took a cab back to the hotel. being tired is one thing. being tired and cold is an entirely different beast we didn’t want to deal with. the drive back didn’t take long. once we were back at the room, we went to sleep. it had been a long day and saturday promised to be another long, but fun day too. sleep was necessary.
i will post day 2 info soon…this should tide you over for a while. by the way, i did not proof read. hopefully it all makes sense.
here are a few other pictures from day 1 in no order at all.
cafe du monde
in the courtyard at the hotel - love this
this makes me smile
day 2 fun coming up soon…
i haven’t blogged in over a month. which is terrible. i’ve been out of school for most of that time, but i’ve been busy. i did some traveling and didn’t really feel like blogging. although at times i did have the desire to write about something, i just couldn’t think of anything interesting to say…
with all of that, i am posting to say i will be blogging about the surprise trip to new orleans soon. i am excited to say that the surprise was a success. it was huge! patrick had no idea where we were going, which is amazing. he thought we were going to new york. the fact that it was cold in new orleans helped me keep the secret! i’m not good at keeping secrets like that. big, exciting ones. anyone that knows me knows that. i want to post a blog when i can post pictures to go along with the words. the pictures tell a lot of the story. and there are videos too. so, stay tuned. expect the post in the next couple of days. it will definitely be worth the wait! and keep an eye on pat’s blog too. i’m hopeful he will have a thing or two to say about the trip too.
here’s a little proof that we were there…
new orleans from the sky
french quarter
st. louis cathedral
view of the city from the french quarter
leading up to the mississippi river
just a little tease. more coming soon.
today i discovered a way to make it snow. it’s a pretty amazing way to have snow because it’s not cold and there’s nothing to deal with. no snow plows. or closings and delays. just the beauty of snow. sort of. i love snow. having lived here in raleigh my whole life, i haven’t seen the type of snow that people hate. and i would like to keep it that way. once i did see that much snow, but that was back in 2000 and i loved it because i was out of school for a week. anyway, this is probably the only snow i’ll see until january or even february. we may not see snow at all (you can thank me later for this simple, free gift).
this snowfall ends january 4th, so enjoy it while it lasts. i will try to keep my blog updated so you can visit a lot and get your fill of winter and snow right here. and don’t fret if it annoys you. it will only be around for 28 more days. ( :
(picture i found on google images – not one i actually took in raleigh. darn. it’s a beautiful sight.)
i wrote this blog a couple of sundays ago. it’s a little intense, but it’s what i was feeling after service at visio dei. when i have strong feelings about something or need to think things through, i write. that’s always been a positive outlet for me. so, i’m sharing my thoughts with you about sin. it’s a tough topic to talk about and not one i fully understand. but this is where i am with it right now…
my walk with Christ is new. relatively speaking. and different. and i’m learning new things about him everyday. and as i dig deeper into the Bible and understand the sacrifice that Christ made for me, it makes it harder to look at myself. i’m broken. and if you look back at the post, the small things, you’ll see that i often forget to appreciate the small things in life. the simple things that mean the most in life. i forget to look at the beauty in everyday. i forget that Jesus paved the way so that i could live the life i’m living. free. i know what he did for me, yet i seem to brush it off every day of my life. why is that?
sin is huge. in jeff’s sermon today at visio dei he talked about the consequences of our sin. he said that sin takes away life. and it demands life. when he said these two lines, it hit me like a ton of bricks. right in the face. i never think of sin in that way. i know that sin is bad. bad isn’t even a strong enough word. i know that sin encompasses all of our lives. every single day. but i never think of it as taking away life. but when we sin and don’t confess those sins to God, when we don’t ask for help with our problems and our sin, we’re basically dead. that’s huge. God saved the israelites from egypt through moses and Jesus saves us from ourselves because he sacrificed himself for us. yet, all of us walk back to egypt everyday without thinking about it. or looking back. do you get that? when we sin, we’re telling Jesus that we want to be in slavery. i’m guilty of it. everyone is. my sin affects those people that are closest to me. it hurts the one’s that i love the most. and that hurts me more than anything. i hate to know that i let people down because of my actions and because of the things that i say. and the things that i do. because of the sin that surrounds me. but Jesus is the only one that can help me with that.
this post isn’t me preaching because i’m not good at any of this myself. i just want to share what i’m learning through my journey. i’m starting to surround myself with people that can help me lead a better life through Christ. and those people are amazing. but we still all mess up. because we’re broken. and we aren’t meant to live this life on our own. we’re meant to put our trust and our lives in someone else’s hands. the one that controls everything. that’s even harder to grasp.
i’m starting to see and understand that when i’m in control of my life nothing good comes out of it. i mess things up. i fail. and fail miserably. but when i look to God and ask him for help, everything changes. small things are great. they’re huge. that’s what life is supposed to be like. that’s what God wants for us. i forget that he loves us no matter what. look around you and appreciate what you see. and know that everything you have is from God. everything. that’s so hard to fathom. and so hard to grasp because we’re human and we don’t understand everything. although we think we do. we think we’re in control because that’s what our society and culture leads us to believe. we don’t live in a world that supports the basis of our faith. bigger isn’t better. and money doesn’t mean happiness. and stuff doesn’t amount to anything. i’m learning that serving others is the ultimate gift…and it’s free. look to God for happiness. and look to God for understanding. look to Him for forgiveness. and know in all of this that you aren’t the only one struggling with sin.
- I had to make a newsletter for class the other day. This is what I came up with. I’m really proud of it, so I thought I’d share it with you!
i love books. i haven’t always loved books. and because of that, i haven’t always loved reading. but reading to students is changing that for me. i’m so intrigued by the fact that so many students are below their reading level. i think that’s because my experiences at home with books when i was a kid were so different. they seem abnormal compared to students today. my parents put a huge emphasis on reading. a lot of you know my dad – he has so many books. there are bookcases all over our house. they greet you at the front door. in the hallway. in all of the bedrooms. books are everywhere. and i’m beginning to fill similar shoes. but with children’s book. i’ve been working in a 2nd grade classroom at smith elementary school for most of this semester. i’ve learned a lot about the importance of reading. and giving students the chance to read at school. because a lot of students don’t get that at home. i’ve decided that when i start teaching, i want my classroom to be book-rich. i want students to want to read. and i want them to understand how to use a dictionary. and i want them to understand how to use the words they look up in the dictionary to write sentences and paragraphs. because all of that connects. i want students to come to school and get excited about reading. many students dread that part of school because they can’t read. but i want to make that part of school fun. i want students to have the hands-on experiences with words that they need in order to become better readers. and better learners. because reading and writing are the building blocks. if students can’t do one or both of those well, they won’t succeed in school.
one of my favorite things about school when i was growing up was story time. funny thing, that’s still my favorite part of school. i love doing read-alouds with kids. the interaction that the teacher has with the students when he/she is reading a story to them is exciting. the student gets a chance to connect with the story in a different way than when he/she reads the book to him/herself. this experience also gives the student a chance to connect his/her experiences to those the characters in the book also have. students need these types of interactions with books. not only is the individual student’s learning environment enhanced, but other students can also relate to the experience if it’s shared in discussion.
i’m so looking forward to teaching. every day i wake up one step closer to being a teacher. and that’s so exciting! i’m taking advantage of every experience that i have and trying to make it connect to the classroom. i’m starting to think like a teacher. i constantly have ideas for my classroom running through my head. and lesson plan ideas. and unit ideas. in less than 1 year i will be student teaching! until then, i look forward to planning like crazy for my future as an elementary school teacher.
i don’t have a lot of extra time in my life right now. but this week, and through conversations i’ve had with different people, i realized i needed to take some time to think. not thinking about school work. but about life. and reflecting. and understanding where my life is going. and what i’m doing. in saying that, the blog is on the serious side this week. i hope you still enjoy the reading…
from time to time, i get tired of my desktop background. on friday, i was searching through the random pictures the computer offers the user, and i came across this one. i wasn’t blown away at first glance. i honestly couldn’t even tell what the picture was when first looking at it. i just liked the fact that it was black and white. and also the fact that there were mountains. as i started to look closer at the picture (once it was blown up on my desktop), i began to realize that there was a lot more to it than i first thought. i actually started to imagine myself there. in the photograph. in the moment. taking in the sights. the sounds. the smells. and experiencing the moment. it is an unbelievable picture. take a closer look…
Winter Sunrise - Ansel Adams
if you look really closely, along the bottom of the picture, you can see a horse. the horse sits just about in the middle of the picture. when i saw the horse, i started to imagine what it would be like to feel so small and insignificant next to something so great and breathtaking. keep in mind, horses are large animals. far bigger than humans. and this photograph makes that horse look like an ant next to those mountains. this picture has spawned a lot of deep thinking for me over the last few days. and it’s really made me re-evaluate my life. and what i think about on a daily basis. my schedule is hard. and demanding. and i don’t get to do everything i want to do all the time. but after looking at this photograph and thinking about it’s meaning for me personally, none of that seemed to matter anymore. i honestly realized that i had been taking so much for granted. i want to feel insignificant. i want to know that the small things in life are what matter the most. there are some moments in life, like the one in that photograph, that are meant to make you feel that way. that are meant to take your mind away from everything else. that’s when your focus shifts to God. i had that this week. my efforts haven’t been focused on God. but this picture did that for me. i didn’t have to go anywhere. i just had to see it. and think it. it amazes me that there are places in this world that are as beautiful as the one in this picture. i get so caught up in the day to day that i don’t even realize the beauty around me. i don’t even take a second to look around me and appreciate the leaves that have fallen on the ground. or to listen to the geese squawking as they fly overhead. or to even appreciate the fact that it’s cold. and it’s starting to settle in.
i say all of this because my life is messy. and broken. and sometimes i’m so wrapped up in myself that i lose sight of the real meaning of life. and the things in life that matter the most. take a second and reflect on your life. and think about what matters. a picture. a moment. a thought. the small things. they can change your life.
fall is my favorite time of the year. i love when it starts to get cold. here in north carolina it’s back and forth for a while. warm. cold. warm. cold. cool. hot. you get the picture. and i love the fact that i have to wear a jacket in the morning. i absolutely love dressing in layers. sometimes. i also love that the leaves are starting to change. they are beautiful right now. look outside! if i had a free day (yeah right), i would drive to the mountains. and take it all in. and then of course, the leaves eventually fall. they get dry and crunchy. and the sound they make when you walk on them. that is the sound of fall. it’s amazing. crunch. crunch. crunch. can you hear it?
fall is also the time that a lot of fun things start happening! the fair comes to raleigh in the fall. which is awesome. this year, i went on what seemed like the busiest day of all. pat and i walked around and ate food. we had pizza, a funnel cake, and a staple of the fair for me, a red candy apple! i’m not big into rides, so we didn’t hang around long. it was really chilly and i honestly wasn’t in the mood to wait in line. but i do feel bad that i wouldn’t even try one ride. i was all for the ferris wheel, but we weren’t all about riding with a random couple, so we passed on that. pat did try to persuade me to ride the swings, but i have a rapid heart beat as it is, so i wasn’t crazy about standing in line, anxiously waiting for my turn. he also asked me to ride the swings right after we had scarfed down pizza. no. i will not ride the swings and spin in circles after eating. the pizza might’ve made a return appearance. sorry pat! maybe next year…
the fall is also fun because of halloween. and pumpkins. people have parties. and carve pumpkins. and eat fun food relating to pumpkins. but i also love halloween because i love dressing up. funny thing, i have yet to figure out what i’m going to be for halloween this year. someone was supposed to be helping me come up with costume ideas, but that hasn’t really worked out. i guess i could always fall back on being some kind of an athlete. maybe a football player?! i have a few jerseys to choose from. we’ll see. well actually, you’ll see, on halloween.
after halloween of course, comes thanksgiving. i love thanksgiving because it usually means i’m going to florida. and florida in november is awesome. it’s still in the 70s and low 80s and sunny. the sun is lacking around here lately, so i’m looking forward to florida more so this year. i also love spending time with my family. and just relaxing. it’s usually a nice break from classes too. it’s also a great time to eat lots of food. and football is always on. that is an amazing part of the fall. football and food. can’t get much better!
and following thanksgiving (i’m sure you see where i’m going) is christmas! my absolute favorite holiday. i love listening to christmas music. and decorating the christmas tree. also decorating our house for christmas. and watching people prepare to spend time with their families is pretty awesome to see too. sometimes we get so busy and forget to slow down to really look at what’s important in our lives. i’m a big giver, so i enjoy shopping for other people too. and of course, christmas church services are always great. christmas is a great reminder for everyone to understand why we’re all here and what we’re really doing. we owe everything we have to God. and He deserves all the glory which is given to Him at christmas! don’t forget that!
and also, don’t take the fall for granted. enjoy every minute of it. look around. take in all the sights. and sounds. and smells. and the beauty that God shows us in this season (fall, not christmas yet). it’s an amazing time of year. so take it ALL in!
many of you that know me, know that i don’t test well. i hate tests. especially multiple choice, true false, and matching type tests. I can handle short answer and essay tests if i understand what the question is asking. i had a test on monday that threw me for a loop. i studied. made flash cards. re-read the material. but none of that seemed to matter. when i opened the test (it was online), i knew after reading the first question that things weren’t going to go well. or end well. i had an understanding of the material, but i couldn’t shape my understanding into the answer format that the professor wanted. and i couldn’t understand what the questions were asking. that’s never a good combination. needless to say, the test did not end well. my predictions were correct. i bombed the thing. i set high standards for myself. so, when i don’t succeed, i dwell on the matter. probably for a little too long. the test was monday. i was stressed saturday through tuesday. the test was still on my mind last night when i went to bed. i actually shed some tears. not just once. but four times. today i did discover that the test didn’t weigh as heavily on my grade as i thought. so i’m feeling relieved. and i also am feeling like i can redeem myself with the other assignments for the class. my grades thus far: 100, 80, 53. that’s quite a spread. i think getting a low grade has motivated me to do better for the remainder of the year. until december. i emailed my professor the minute i submitted the test because i had a bad feeling. and i have been in correspondence with her ever since. i think that shows my motivation to succeed in this program. i’ll keep you posted. i have a meeting on monday afternoon to discuss “what went wrong.”
exactly
the purpose of telling you all of that — i was back in the classroom today. not learning. but teaching. and helping a classroom full of 2nd graders learn. when i look at the impact i can have on a classroom full of students, grades don’t matter. tests don’t matter (i know grades and tests matter, but work with me. thinking about my grade and my test didn’t matter to me today. i will grade and test my students when i teach school). what matters is that i’m there providing support for the kids in my class. right now it’s not my classroom. but i do have a responsibility to help the teacher i’m assigned to. i have a responsibility to her students as well. i will continue to do my best in my classes because i obviously need that knowledge to teach at a higher level. and i need the grades to get my diploma at the end. but i also know that i’m already equipped with many of the necessary tools to support and help the students i’ve been assigned to this semester. sometimes i just have to take a step back…and look at the bigger picture. a hug from a child or their asking for help means so much more than an F on a test. i am looking forward to the rest of the challenges that will come my way in the next 1.5 years…bring ‘em on.
back in july i went to annapolis, maryland with diana and jason to watch the twins. diana was in a wedding. so i tagged along to hang out with the babies. they were still a little young to be out partying all night (now they’re party animals – just kidding). anyway, when i was in annapolis, patrick, brent, and john (also known as silver), had a show in d.c. at iota. i thought i would have time to go to the show, but things didn’t work out. not a big deal at all. long story short, i had never been to d.c. and made it known to pat that weekend that i really wanted to go. we drove through d.c. on the way home from annapolis and i caught a glimpse of the washington monument. i wanted to stop right there and go. that didn’t happen either. again, not a big deal. once we got home, i didn’t really talk about it that much. but it was still in the back of my mind.
(my timeline may be off…don’t hold it against me). a few months later, i was over at pat’s and he asked me if i would be ok with flying somewhere with him. back then, i had only been on a plane twice – once to minnesota. and then the return flight home to raleigh. i told him i would be ok with that, but i might be a little nervous. well he ran with that. later that month i was over at his place and he told me he purchased tickets. and then the next time i was there he told me he made another purchase. he’s good at keeping secrets. and i’m good at playing along.
he marked the calendar and told me to keep my schedule clear for september 27th. i did my best, but one day while at work, i was told a recruit would be in town that weekend. coming into town on friday and leaving on sunday. i texted pat immediately and told him the news. he said the trip could be rescheduled, but i refused. i went in and talked to the coach’s and again, cleared my schedule. i was going to be working non-stop that weekend. and i’d be free all day sunday. i wouldn’t settle for anything less. well, things worked out for the best. the recruit decided not to come because of the threat of swine flu. and i spent the weekend preparing myself for the “day o’ fun.”
saturday night was a busy night. i tried to get in bed early, but sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to. the important thing – i was in bed before pat (i only know this because he texted me people – he was working). i was up at 6am on sunday. ready to go. well, sort of. he got to my house at 6:35 and i wasn’t ready. i threw on clothes, grabbed my stuff, and got out of the house in 2 minutes. because we had a plane to catch. we got to the airport pretty fast. i was dazed walking into the airport. i’m not much of a morning person. he checked us in because he didn’t want me to discover where we were headed until the last possible minute. so, we went through security and all of that before he handed over the tickets. with a smile he said “you can look now.” when i pulled the ticket out i got a huge smile on my face too – we were d.c. bound!
we hung out in the airport for a little bit. and took some pictures. i think this is also when he gave me the rundown of the day. either that, or he told me what we were doing on the plane. our flight took off at 8:09 from rdu. and we were headed to d.c. i was so giddy and excited. and kind of nervous about getting off the ground. it was really cloudy/rainy that morning, so we couldn’t see anything from the air. just clouds. it was a beautiful morning in the sky though. watching the sunrise was awesome. pat slept for the most part.
we landed in d.c. and headed straight for the metro. i have to say, we were pretty bad at working the metro. by the end of the day, we were both frustrated. anyway, we hit the metro and headed for the national mall right away. here we are on the metro – blue line.
Pat & Jess on the metro
like i said, this metro ride took us to the national mall. it was pretty nasty weather early on. windy, cool, and cloudy. there were a lot of puddles on the ground too. so pat and i both pulled a huck fin and rolled our jeans. we had the clothes on our backs. nothing else. so we didn’t want to be soaked for the entire day.
moving on from our clothing choices, we visited the washington monument first. (well actually, we went to the bathroom first. that was priority). we took a lot of pictures here. visited wikipedia for some facts on the monument. the first tour wasn’t until 11am – we didn’t have time to wait around, so pat was the tour guide. he did a fantastic job.
here’s a picture of us at the washington monument. thanks to some other tourists who took this. we were struggling to take the picture ourselves.
us and the washington monument
after visiting the washington monument, we walked down the mall to the wwii memorial. this is a relatively new memorial. president bush gets credit for this memorial. each state is represented in a semi-circle. there are fountains and “wishing well” type water features. it was beautiful and humbling. we also visited wikipedia when we were walking through the memorial. there is a wall with stars at the back of the memorial – in the middle of the 50 states. the stars represent those people who died serving the united states in the war (we used wiki for this part).
continuing our tour, we went from here to the lincoln memorial. anyone that has done this walk knows it’s pretty long. the side by the reflecting pool was so muddy and wet, so we walked along the edge of the pool. there was so much goose poop. i was jumping and dodging just about every step. i thought i was going to fall in. let me remind you, we only had the clothes on our backs. soaking and stinking wet clothes would’ve made for a long day. or we would’ve been visiting a different mall.
another lovely couple took our picture in front of the reflecting pool. i think the picture is great. as we made our way down to the lincoln memorial, the weather started to break. you can see that in the picture. blue sky was coming. (check out our wardrobe choices – awesome)
awesome
here are some pictures of our trek down to the lincoln memorial. i’m a fan of these. and the photographer.
looking at lincoln
cheese
walking to lincoln
once we saw lincoln, we hiked over to the vietnam memorial. we also made a quick stop at the white house (see below). then we revisited our map and decided to head to the archives building (home of the declaration of independence, magna carta, etc.). let me tell you, this walk took longer than it needed to. someone didn’t know how to read the map. we did stop and get some candy on the way. that was a plus. when we landed in d.c. we ate a cereal bar and pat got some m&m’s while i ate some sour skittles. we didn’t want to waste time eating. there was too much to do and see. we eventually got to the archives building…after walking around in a few circles. it was worth it. seeing documents that are that old is amazing. it makes you totally rethink history. and helps you understand the basis of our rights as a country. d.c. is an awesome place!
at the white house
that's us and the capital building
around 1, we started our hike back to the metro station. we had big plans. pat bought tickets to the nationals/braves game! he told me earlier that morning that we didn’t have to stay the whole time and that we didn’t even have to go to the game if i didn’t want to. who was he kidding?! baseball is one of my favorite things in life. we were going to the game. we hopped on the metro (which was much needed – we had been standing and walking for a good while) and headed to the ballpark. as soon as we got off and rode up the escalator, there it was – nationals stadium. the sun had come out. there was a breeze. a few clouds. it was perfect baseball weather.
what we saw when we got off the metro
so ready for baseball
pat's ready for baseball too - peace
the first order of business when we got to the baseball stadium was food. remember, we hadn’t really eaten much. we got fries, chili dogs, and beers for $20 bucks. we cut a deal. think about it – major league park. all that food for $20 bucks. yeah, doesn’t add up. we hit the jackpot. we got to our seats, with our food, in time to see the first pitch. our seats were right along the third baseline. they were amazing. it was a great game. we got rained on a little bit. but we were prepared. we both had rain jackets and our umbrellas. as everybody else was retreating, we settled in. the braves beat the nationals in extra innings. that made for an even happier patrick.
our seats
3rd baseline ( :
after the game, we headed to the metro yet again, with what seemed like a million people at the time. like i said before, we were pretty bad at the metro. we ended up sitting by the wrong train for a good 15 minutes. once we figured out where we were going, we got on the met and headed toward georgetown. pat had scheduled a reservation for dinner at an italian place. but even with the help of google maps, we couldn’t find it. we settled for an italian cafe. he had tortellini and i had fettuccine. amazingly good food. we were so full after dinner. we walked down to the water after dinner. sadly, we didn’t have a lot of time to hangout in georgetown. i would’ve loved to shop. there were so many stores. i didn’t say a word though. we walked and let our food settle before we trekked back to the metro station. probably around 7:30. our flight was supposed to leave d.c. at 8:55. the ride didn’t take long back to the airport. so we had some time to kill. well, some time to rest. it was much needed. our flight was delayed because we had to ride buses out to the plane. it wasn’t bad. pretty interesting experience. it delayed us by about 10 minutes. maybe more.
once we took off, i could see everything. lights. and more lights. everywhere. it was a big difference from the flight into d.c. the sky was so clear. the lights and the city looked amazing. we saw all of the monuments and memorials that we had visited earlier in the day. saw parts of georgetown. and then i was out. we both knocked out on the plane on the way back to raleigh. it had been a long and busy day. but such an awesome day none-the-less. our flight home was 50 minutes. we were on the ground before we knew it.
thanks pat. the day o’ fun was amazing. can’t wait to travel with you again! ( :
it’s on me next time though…i will pull off the surprise. it’s already in the works…
