Thanksgiving 2012

Our Thanksgiving was a little out of the ordinary this year, but since it was so much fun, we might just travel every year! We took a trip to Washington D.C. and spent Thanksgiving Day with Josh's cousins and Aunt/Uncle. They were all so nice and welcoming. We really enjoyed eating/spending time with them and getting to know them better! Thanks for everything Atkinson family!

On Thanksgiving morning, Josh and I got breakfast at IHOP (yum!) and then went to the Bull Run Battlefield and walked along the trails, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. The ground was wet in some places so we got pretty muddy, but it was worth it! I remember reading about that place in history books and wishing I could go there and see what it was like....and I got my wish! Maybe by the end of my life I will have gotten to see EVERY historical site that always intrigued me. That means I'm going to have to live a really long time!

Walking along the trail through the battlefield

Where the Battle of Bull Run took place!

The rest of the day was spent eating, laughing, and talking. One couldn't ask for a better Thanksgiving!

The next day we headed out to downtown D.C. to check into our hotel and start day 1 of touring. We purposely got a hotel right next to all the historical sites so we could walk everywhere, but even then, it was a TON of walking! I actually LOST weight this Thanksgiving! ha!

Our first stop was the Capitol Building. It honestly felt like we were in Europe, it was that gorgeous. 

The Library of Congress was AMAZING! It was so beautiful inside, and the books were incredible.

The National Botanical Garden was as gorgeous as it sounds. It would have been really relaxing walking through it if it weren't for all the people! D.C. is incredibly crowded and Josh said this is the off season!

Josh's favorite stop was the National Air and Space Museum. It was pretty dang cool with all the old planes hanging in the air and the space shuttles you could walk through. 

We also visited the National Museum of Natural History. Dinosaurs are always cool, but the mummies were my favorite!

We also stopped at the Sackler Gallery, the National Native American Museum, and a few other museums but it would take all day to post all the pictures. We knew Tour Day 1 was a success because of how bad our legs and feet hurt by the time we got back to our hotel that night.

Tour Day 2 was different because a cold front came in over night and it suddenly dropped to 30 degrees! We had only brought sweatshirts so we had to basically run from site to site in order to keep warm. By the end of Day 2, I had caught a horrible head cold and spent the night shivering in bed with a sore throat and sinus problems. It was really weird how it just hit me like that. I guess we overdid it, but it was totally worth it! I saw more American history in 3 days than I have seen in my entire life!

The Washington Monument. 

The WWII Memorial. As you can tell, IT WAS COLD!

I was so excited to see the Lincoln Memorial. He was an incredible president and the statue of him here was just as amazing!

It was really sobering to see how many American Soldiers died to keep us free at the World War Veterans Memorial. 

The White House! This was as close as we could get to it (bummer) but still cool nonetheless. 

Standing outside of Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was murdered.  We decided not to get tickets to go inside because the line was too long and it was freezing! Right across the street we saw the house where Lincoln was carried to after he was shot, and eventually died.  

Josh and his buddy at the Naval Monument

Our last stop (before I decided I was getting too sick to stand the cold any longer) was at the National Art Museum and I am so glad we went! It was beautiful and had such lovely paintings and statues. I'm not a big fan of modern art, but the old paintings always get me.

This trip was great and believe it or not, we didn't even get to see it all! This means we have another trip in the future....one that incorporates Gettysburg somehow.