Washington DC - Day 3!

By the third day of DC, my feet were toast. There was no hope of doing anything major because my feet just couldn't take it anymore. I think I might be dabbling with a little bit of plantar fasciitis on my left foot and let's just say that it was super pissed. Jess and I decided to just take it somewhat easy and rest so that we could be refreshed for the next day. Good plan.

So how did we spend day three? We went to the The Dulles Air and Space Museum, officially named the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, right by the Dulles Airport.  It is HUGE!  It is made to house all the big planes that the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum at the National Mall can't hold.  It does a good job, but they certainly have the place packed!

Dulles Air and Space Museum

We picked a good day to go--it was nice and rainy so we couldn't be outside much anyway.

This particular museum has a bigger focus on the "air" part rather than the space.  They definitely had an excellent pick of airplanes to view.  I wish I knew just how many they had hanging out there, but it was definitely in the hundreds!  I was a particular fan of the SR71.  Sexy, sexy plane.  I didn't know planes could be sexy, but this one proved they could.

X-men, anyone?

Turns out that bad boy finished setting an air speed record by flying from California to DC in something ridiculous like an hour and 30 minutes.  Coincidentally, that was the last flight it made. It was on its way to this museum to be retired.  Talk about going out with a bang!

I know I said that the museum focused more on the "air" portion, but it definitely did have some pretty awesome "space" parts as well.  My favorite?  The Enterprise space shuttle.  Even though this thing never actually went out to space (it only flew test missions), it led to the awesome space program that we know and love.

Enterprise

In a few months, it will actually be replaced with the Space Shuttle Discovery which has been on MANY missions.  That's super cool.

The most impressive part of the museum?  Definitely the Enola Gay.  For those of you that don't know, the Enola Gay is the plane what dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.  It was by far the deadliest plane in the entire exhibit.  Seeing it in real life and realizing the impact this plane had during World War II was just incredible.  I can't imagine being the pilot for that mission.  What a burden to bear.

Enola Gay

It's a really big plane

You know how I mentioned that they really had the space cram packed full of planes?  Here's proof:

Count 'em!

There is a Boeing 707 and a full-size Concorde jet in there.  This museum is HUGE.  Definitely don't miss it.

After we saw everything there was to see in the Air and Space Museum, we headed back to Jill's place.  Jess left to go drive to Harper's Ferry to be with her family who was also randomly in the area, and Jill and I just hung out.  We went and saw a model home in the area, and all I have to say is they have really really nice homes out in Virginia.  Dang!  We also had delicious Fro-Yo.  I wish I would've gotten a picture.  Yum!

Washington DC - Day 2!

Day two was probably the busiest of the days in Washington, D.C..   We had to make up for the lost time from day one.  We started out at the Air & Space Smithsonian Museum at the National Mall.  It was pretty awesome!  They had a lot of really incredible planes to see, including the Spirit of St. Louis.

(this is not the Spirit of St. Louis)

They also had some cool exhibits from space, including a lunar lander.

It looks fake with all the gold foil stuff!

Jess, Jill, and I were all amused/horrified by the 1950s Flight Stewardess exhibit.  They showed the standards that stewardesses were required to meet, and suffice it to say, none of us would've been able to fly the friendly skies!

Could you be a flight stewardess?

For example, the following requirements had to be met:

• Height: Between 5'2 and 5'6
• Weight: No more than 135 lbs
• Age: Between 21 & 26
• Education: 2 years college or nursing degree
• Looks: "Just below Hollywood standards"

Wow!  It definitely wouldn't "fly" in today's world! (Ha--forgive the pun!)

Next we headed to the Holocaust Museum.  I don't have any photos of this as photography wasn't allowed inside, but it was well worth the visit.  It was absolutely horrifying, but so necessary to see and to realize how much evil humans are capable of when they get into a position of power.  The videos they played were especially sobering.

More cherry blossoms!

After that, we headed to the Library of Congress.  Most people don't visit the Library of Congress when they come to DC, but they are missing out!  It was my favorite building that we went to!  The architecture inside was gorgeous!

Library of Congress

LOVED the architecture

Reminded me a bit of Italy

They have a Gutenberg Bible on exhibit there, which was incredible to see.  It was also pretty empty, which I appreciated since I like to avoid the crowds.

Next (told you we did a lot!), we headed to the botanical gardens.  By this time, my feet were starting to kill me but I was determined to see as much as we could possibly see!

Miss Jess!

Shorts!

The gardens were well done, and they had a lovely orchid exhibit.  I'm a sucker for pretty flowers!

Purple!

After that, we headed to the White House but unfortunately the President was having a news conference regarding the Trayvon shooting so they had most of the walkways closed down to tourists.  You could see all the snipers on the room of the building which was pretty crazy!  

After the White House, we went to the National Archives to see the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution.  I was surprised to find that most of these incredibly important documents have faded into being nearly illegible.  I'm glad that we have some great methods of preservation currently in place to prevent any further destruction.  Again, no photos (one of the prevention methods!).

Finally, we headed down to get to the Lincoln Memorial.  We had tried to get there the day before, but missed it because we wanted to be by the cherry blossoms before the sun set.  It was a good decision.  On the way to the Lincoln Memorial, we passed the Vietnam Memorial.  So many names...

Too many to count

I think that all the war memorials in DC are so poignant and done really well.  It is crazy how many people have been affected by all the wars.

Eventually we made it to our last destination of the evening.

Lincoln Memorial!

It was perfect timing as the sun was nearly set and my feet were SO ready to be done walking.  We sat on the steps and read the words of Abraham Lincoln engraved on the walls.  It was a perfect spot to end the day.

Mr. Lincoln

My feet had had enough so we vowed that the next day would be much nicer to our poor feetsies!   Luckily, we had gotten most of my "must-sees" out of the way and so now we could enjoy the bonus sites of the city.

Have any of you been to DC?  What was your favorite spot?  Did you go to the Holocaust Museum?

Washington DC Day One

First off, let me just say that I loved Washington, D.C.   It was clean, warm, and beautiful.  I'm sure a lot of my love for it had to do with the fact that it was full-on spring there, but there were many other things I loved as well!

My flight landed at around 4 and I had a few hours to spare before picking Jess up at the airport, so I headed to the Washington DC temple to kill some time.  This temple is kind of tucked away and sneaks up on you outta nowhere!  The thick trees really help to conceal it.  As always, the temple grounds and the temple itself were beautiful!

DC Temple

After leaving the temple, I headed back towards Reagan airport to get Jess.  Her flight landed around 10 so it was definitely the end of the day for us.  We drove to Gainesville to Jill's house and promptly went to bed.

The next morning we woke up early and got ready to head back into DC.  We had intended to get most of the stuff at the National Mall done in one day, but as anyone knows who has ever been to DC that is pretty much impossible.  So we actually only got a few things done!  

We started at Ford's Theatre where President Lincoln was assassinated.  It was a bit surreal to be at a place where such an important moment in American history occurred.  They had a nice museum in the basement and then they put on a short 30-minute play in the theater itself.  At first I wasn't very thrilled at the idea of the play, but I actually really enjoyed it.  I wouldn't miss the play if you go there to visit.

The gun that killed Lincoln

This is the gun that killed Lincoln and it was TINY.  You could seriously conceal it in your hand and no one would be able to tell you had anything.  Small, but quite deadly.  

After touring the museum and theater, we headed across the stress to the home where Lincoln actually died.  They have done a good job of replicating things as they were during that time.

After Ford's theater, we headed to the Capitol for a tour with Senator Hatch's interns.  We had scheduled the tour several weeks in advance and it was significantly better than the tours you get by simply walking up to the Capitol.  We even got to go on an underground train that connected all the buildings.  Fun, and efficient.

Surprisingly, I was kind of disappointed with the interior of the Capitol.  I think that Italy spoiled me rotten; I just wasn't all that impressed with the dome itself.  The rooms felt small and compared to the actual size of the building I was expecting more from it.  However, our tour guide was excellent and I'm glad that we went and saw all the historical rooms within the Capitol.  

Next, we headed down to the Washington Monument and the Tidal Basin.  Guess what I was most excited for?

Cherry blossoms!

I love flowering trees!

Capitol

Spring!

HUGE building

The walk from the Capitol to the monuments was looooong but pretty.  We walked past all the Smithsonians (so many of those!) and both Jess and I commented that Washington DC is definitely a runners' city.  SO MANY RUNNERS.  Seriously.  We saw hundreds and hundreds of runners over the course of the trip.  They have many walking paths to choose from.  We were surprised that with so many places to run they were running where the tourists walk, but I suppose it was probably the easiest location for them to get to.  In either case, I thought it was pretty cool that it is such an active city.

Washington Monument

Right next to the Washington Monument is the World War II Memorial.  It is really pretty!  Each marker signifies a state.  It is really well done.

WWII Monument

Finally, we made it to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms.  We wanted to make sure we hit these at full bloom (and before weather had a chance to destroy them!) and we nailed the timing.  They were PERFECT.  Soooo pretty and they smelled so good.  I seriously took hundreds of photos of them.  I couldn't help myself!

Tidal Basin

Pretty!

Jefferson Monument

Happy, happy girl

By the time we reached the Jefferson Monument the sunlight was fading fast and we had finished all we could in one day.  The sunset was gorgeous and the views from the stairs were amazing.  It was an excellent first day, even though we didn't get to do all we had planned to do.  That's okay, because we made up for lost time the next day...

Griffin's Birthday Weekend

Griffin's birthday weekend was a bittersweet event.  It was sad to go up there for Granddaddy's funeral, but it was nice to see the family and to celebrate two(!) years of Griffin's life.  I can't believe how fast time flies!

All of the Crossan cousins were in town for the funeral, so they finally got to meet all the new members of our family (Allie, Gracie, and Griffin).  It was fun to see them all interact with each other.  I think that Uncle Tom might be a wee bit grandbaby hungry, but he'll never admit to it!

Griffin loved all his presents!  He was so happy just to play with the one he opened that he didn't even want to open the next one!  Too cute!

Jason got some quality time with all the nieces and nephews!

Long lost cousins!  It was SO good to see Tori and Marlaina!

I love this photo of Jason photo-bombing Aunt Joni and Tori!

Gracie was quite popular with everyone and was always being passed around--she's a good sport!

Told you Uncle Tom might be grandbaby hungry!

Zach was practically attached to Tori--he wouldn't let her out of his sight!

I'm standing on my tip toes and Gabby is hunching down--she's just a bit tall!

Little Allie is too funny--she LOVES her photo taken!

 Granddaddy's funeral was beautiful.  It was perfect--the best blend of tears for a loved one who has passed and joy for him being reunited with the love of his life.  The military service at the graveside was especially touching.

The Crossan kids!

All the Crossan grandkids together!  Such a small family!

And the great grandbabies of the Crossan family!

I am glad that the next time I see the Crossan family, it will (hopefully) be celebrating Marlaina's new marriage rather than a passing of a family member.  I love seeing that side of the family, but not under sad situations.  It could be another 20 years before I go to my next funeral and that would still be too soon for me!

Crossfit Games

So Jason is an animal. Seriously.

As some of you may know, last month marked the start of the Crossfit Games. The games are open to anyone who wants to compete as long as they pay the entrance fee. Workouts can be done at home and videoed, or done at a Crossfit affiliated gym. Jason signed up (for fun--not to compete) and his WOD (workout of the day) was scheduled for Friday at 5:30.

The first workout of the games? Seven minutes of burpee hell--as many burpees as you can. For those of you that have never done a burpee, seven minutes sounds simple enough. However, for those of you that have done a burpee, well, you know just how miserable this workout really is. It looked MISERABLE. I was so thankful that I wasn't having to do them!

Burpee Love!

Had to jump 6" or it didn't count!

And....done!

Sufficiently worn out!

It was funny to watch everyone as soon as the 7-minute countdown stopped--instantly everyone was laid out on the floor trying to catch their breath, not pass out, and not throw up. That's the sign of a good workout!!

I'm so proud of him!

Also, I have to admit that there was some serious body motivation at his gym. Most of the girls there were completely ripped!! I don't think I've ever seen so many fit people in one location; it was seriously intimidating. For example:

Her abs are ridiculous.

She could crush me.

It was almost enough to convince me to do the WOD right then and there! I'm still tempted to see how many I could do. The current leader did 161!! That is insane! For comparison, most of the people in these photos got somewhere around 100. I think anything above 70 is seriously impressive.

Jason has been doing Crossfit since the fall, and I started doing Crossfit-type workouts in December after a Groupon came up for a local gym.  The workouts are super intense, but typically nice and short.  I haven't really lost weight with the program, but I've gained a lot of muscle mass.  I almost have tough arms!  So close!  Haha.  If any of you are thinking of trying it, I definitely recommend it!