Our Trip to DC

D.C. was incredible. It started on Friday afternoon, with a brisk plane ride from Austin to Memphis then onto D.C. where my dearest best friend, Kelly met us close to our gate. Big hugs ensued.

Barack was busy at work, but I gave him a call to see if we could meet for drinks while we were in town. He said he was just a little busy, still adjusting to the new job...otherwise, he was game. The entire time we were there (minus a few cooperative hours) the weather looked like this:

Even though Barack was too busy to join us for drinks, that didn't mean he was going to ruin all of our fun. Saturday, Kelly took us to this quaint little pup, Porters. Cullen was getting the shakes from sports-withdrawal. We sat him in front of many TVs showing MANY games, gave him a cold one, and he was in hog-heaven. From Porters, we went to Buffalo Billiards for more chit-chatting and drinking. (yes we bar hopped...starting at two-ish.) Since drinking from 2:00 till just after 9:00 will make anyone lame, we went back to Arlington and hung out at Kel's for the night. Sunday, we got up, went to lunch and caught a movie. Gross weather = napping or a movie. We chose a movie. Good times. After the movie, we came back to Kelly's. Her nice friend Eric came over. We ate pizza; the boys drank beer and watched the "world cup" baseball games. However, vacation or not, at 10:00 sharp, games were turned off and we tuned into Brother's and Sisters.

Monday, we did a little sight seeing in the morning. Kelly went to work, and Cullen and I explored one of D.C.'s newest museums. The Newseum is completely dedicated to news. Throughout the entire facility, news is constantly updated. It is fascinating. Here are a couple pictures from inside:

This is a picture of the room dedicated to 9/11. **This gallery explores the horrendous events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the extraordinary challenges that faced the journalists trying to report the news to a shaken nation and world. The gallery includes a tribute to photojournalist William Biggart — a journalist who died covering the attacks — and some of the final photographs he took. Also featured are front pages from around the globe about the attacks and first-person accounts from reporters and photographers who covered the story.** The piece of metal in the corner of the picture, is the top of the antennae from the first tower.

This is a piece of the Berlin Wall. Along with the 9/11 exhibit, the Berlin Wall is a permanent exhibit inside the Newseum. **The Berlin Wall was strong enough to stop a tank, but it couldn't stop news from getting into East Germany by word of mouth, smuggled messages or radio and television. This gallery tells the story of how news and information helped topple a closed and oppressive society. The exhibit contains the largest display of portions of the original wall outside of Germany. It features eight 12-foot-high concrete sections of wall, each weighing about three tons. A three-story East German guard tower that loomed near Checkpoint Charlie — Berlin's best-known East-West crossing — stands nearby.**

After the trip to the Newseum, I called my baby brother to tell him HAPPY 22nd Birthday!! WOW, the big 2-2!!

We had a date at the Pentagon later Monday afternoon. Bobby, (Cullen's best friend)'s dad is a General stationed at the Pentagon. He, General Durbin, arranged for a tour of the Pentagon guided by his Aide. His Aide was a fantastic tour guide ( if you are wondering...that is not in his job description. Poor Aide...he had to put up with my 100 questions I had stored up in my head. and, if you know at all...if you have even met me, you know my questions can be off the wall.) The tour started at the 9/11 - Pentagon Memorial. I cannot possibly write the bittersweet feelings that resonated with me; I can, however, share what Wikipedia has to offer. "To honor the 184 victims, 184 illuminated benches, have been arranged according to the victim's ages, from 3 to 71, in a landscaped 1.93-acre (7,800 m2) plot. Each bench is engraved with the name of a victim. The benches representing the victims that were inside the Pentagon are arranged so those reading the names will face the Pentagon's south facade, where the plane hit; benches dedicated to victims aboard the plane are arranged so that those reading the engraved name will be facing skyward along the path the plane traveled.About 85 maple trees are planted on the memorial grounds. "

Tuesday, we did more sightseeing. We were as touristy as possible on Tuesday. It was sad to go...but, we managed to snap one more picture in the parking garage to end the trip:
It was a trip full of laughter, singing/rapping, memories, surrounded by two of my MOST favorite people in the whole world.

** denotes descriptions from the newseum, not my mind.