My Washington D.C. Trip!

I know I haven't updated in a while, but that is mainly because I've been busy traveling. :)

In early June I traveled with a group of friends to Washington, D.C.-I had never been there before so I was excited to finally go. We left EARLY on that Friday morning (our flight was at 6 a.m.). A friend picked me up so we stopped for breakfast on our way to the airport. Three guesses where we had breakfast at 3:30 a.m.

I know, I look a mess. Again, it was 3:30am. Lol.

Most of us had the same early flight (a few members of the group were flying in later that day). We were mainly going to D.C. that specific weekend because the Rangers were playing the Nationals. Our plane had a lot of Rangers fans on it.

So, I won't go into the gory details, but I found out after landing in D.C. that my flight back to Dallas was somehow booked for THAT day, and not that Sunday. After going round and round with Hotwire and American Airlines, I was finally able to book a flight for that Sunday on Virgin America (because by then I was done with American Airlines). I'm also done using Hotwire. I'll stick to Orbitz and Expedia from now on. Virgin America was great- best flight ever. I am specifically looking to take vacations wherever they fly just so I can use them.

Anyway, so after the whole airline debacle, we made our way to our Airbnb/hotel. My friends Michelle, Ashley, and I were staying at an Airbnb while the rest of our group had reserved rooms at a nearby hotel. After dropping off our luggage, we had lunch at Good Stuff Eatery and then walked around for a few hours trying to hit the "main tourist spots". I quickly learned that I'm going to have to go back and spend about two weeks in D.C. just to see half of what I want to see. BUT we did the best we could with the little amount of time we had available.

The Airbnb was cute. I thought it was funny how the owner arranged her books by color. I'm lucky if my books make it to a bookshelf (because I have so many, some are stacked on the floor). :)

For those of you who remember the show Schoolhouse Rock, we felt we needed to do our best "I'm Just a Bill" impression on Capitol Hill. Yes we are nerds, we are aware. Lol.

I feel I need to share the video for those of you who have never seen it. It's greatness. Lol.

We were fortunate enough to all get tours of the White House that Saturday morning. If you are going to D.C. and want a White House tour, you need to go to your congressperson's website and find a link for White House tours. I recommend doing this a few months before your trip. We submitted our requests in March for our June trip.

I was kind of excited because the White House is a place I've always wanted to visit. In fact, it was one of the TWO places I just HAD to see while I was there (well, besides the ballpark). The other place was the Lincoln Memorial (spoiler alert- I saw that too).

Our tour was at 8:30 a.m. so we had to get there about 15 minutes early to get in line. There is some tight security there (obviously), we went through about five security checkpoints. I recommend wearing comfortable shoes because not only are you walking, you are also standing for a good while. Oh, and you can't take a purse or handbag. It's a self guided tour, you just walk through the East Wing at your own pace and see different rooms. One of my friends had a list of questions to ask in each room (her friend used to work at the White House and knew fun little trivia facts). That caused us to take longer, but the rest of our group went ahead and were done in about 45 minutes. She and I took a little over an hour.

According to the security guard, the painting of George Washington (center photo) is the only item that was in the original White House that survived the fire of 1814

Two of my friends were there on vacation with their kids- they are crazy but wonderful kiddos! I loved spending time with them during the tour!

We had tickets to the Rangers/Nationals game that Friday night and a few of us had tickets to the Saturday afternoon game (so these photos are a mix of both days). I can cross another ballpark off my list with this trip! We got there early on Friday, so we were able to see warm-ups and batting practice. I went on this trip with a group of friends that I originally met on Twitter (we started following each other because we all loved the Rangers) but I don't call them Twitter friends anymore because we are "real life" friends now. :)

I loved Nationals Park- it was beautiful. I loved that they had a special line at the concession stands for season ticket holders (Rangers- take note). Also their souvenir soda cups were $9 and evidently you get FREE refills ALL SEASON with it (Rangers- again, take note). Everyone who worked there was super friendly and kind to fans of the opposing team (well, except the stupid bald eagle mascot that stomped on one of our homemade Rangers fan- jerk). We sat down the third baseline on Friday night and on Saturday we were on the row behind the Rangers dugout, so we had great views for both games. I would say Nationals Park is in my top three ballparks that I've been to.

Screech- the jerk mascot that stomped on Beltre's face (on a fan, not his ACTUAL face)

Getting a photo with one of the presidents from the Presidents Race

My friend Lisa made us all fans with photos of the players on either side. I had Matt Bush on one side and Adrian Beltre on the other. Actually, I think we all had Beltre on at least one side

On Friday night I sat in front of this nice man named Dave. He was a Washington Senators fan back in the day and when the Senators moved to Texas and became the Rangers, he continued being a fan of them. He was so nice, we talked on and off throughout the game. He was impressed with my baseball knowledge. :)

Saturday's game was awesome. We were right behind the dugout, a place I had never sat at ANY ballpark. Pitcher Matt Bush came out of the dugout before the game to walk to the bullpen and saw my fan with his picture on it. He smiled, pointed at me, and threw me a ball from batting practice.

Photo of me and Matt Bush from a Rangers game earlier this season

Saturday's game was QUITE WARM- and we were very thankful for Lisa and her fans. They came in handy. I used mine for the whole 4.5 hours we were there (thanks to extra innings, the game took longer than we had planned).

The Rangers were down 3-1 in the top of the ninth, so I did what any fan would do (well, any fan except the fans sitting around me), I put on my rally cap. I'm pretty sure I got laughed at, but you know what, it worked, the Rangers came back to tie it and sent the game into extra innings. They eventually won the game after 11 innings (you are WELCOME Rangers for helping with that come back win). Lol.

That Saturday night a group of us took a Monuments by Moonlight tour. I highly recommend it, especially if you are short on time, like we were. It takes you by a lot of the monuments/memorials, and they make stops at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, FDR Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. Our tour guide was name Adam and was amazing. He was funny and knew so many interesting facts.

We were lucky and had a beautiful night for a trolley tour. I love this photo of the sunset

I had waited my whole life to go here, I was not disappointed at all

The tour took just over three hours (insert Gilligan's Island joke here). We didn't have time to eat before the tour, so we stopped at an Irish pub afterward. Mainly because it was the only place still open. Lol.

The Fab Five (as we called ourselves)

Three of us had flights on Sunday evening, so we were able to go to Ford's Theater before we headed home later that day.

So the guy in the top right was part of the assassination plot. The whole time I kept thinking he looked like a male model or something. The pillow pictured above is the pillow that was on the bed when Lincoln died. Yes, that's his blood. Yes, I'm morbid and took a picture of a bloody pillow 

Across the street from Ford's Theater is the Peterson House. You got to go in the room where he died. I saw the bed he died in last summer when I was in Chicago (I don't know why it's not at the house, I meant to ask someone and forgot). Update: I Googled it and found out this about the bed.

After a late lunch, we went back to the Airbnb to pack and head to the airport. It was a quick weekend trip but so much fun! And even though I was only there three days (well, two and a half), I feel I saw a lot. I'm good at cramming a lot of sightseeing into a short amount of time. I can't wait to go back to D.C. and see so much more (including the Smithsonian). I think I'll need two weeks alone just for that!

I went to Minneapolis last weekend so I'll post my recap of that trip soon! :)

40 by 40 update:
-See a game at four different ballparks on my MLB Ballparks To Visit list (1)
-Visit three states on my States To Visit list- (1) The Iwo Jima Memorial is in Virginia. We also landed at Reagan Airport, which is in Virginia as well.
-Visit Washington D.C.

XOXO!

A Mini Epic Road Trip 2016: Springfield (IL)

Day 3- Springfield (IL): Our mini epic road trip continued on day 3 as we left St. Louis and crossed over the Mississippi River into Illinois. The state sign welcoming us to Illinois was up high in the middle of the highway, so we couldn't stop to take a picture. That's just rude Illinois.

Speaking of state signs, I totally forgot to most my state sign last time for Missouri, so here it is! :)

We were on our way to Springfield (IL), which is where Abraham Lincoln's home and presidential library and museum are all located. Fun fact. The Lincoln library isn't listed on the National Archives Presidential Libraries and Museums website because that site only list presidents from the 20th century and beyond. A little rude if you ask me, pre-20th century presidents are just as important, but whatever. The Lincoln museum was my eighth presidential museum, I have twelve more to go.

Anyway, on our way to Springfield, we saw a sign about the historic Route 66, so we took a quick detour. Yes, we took a 10 minute detour just for a picture, that is how we roll. :) 

Just a girl along Route 66

Our first stop in Springfield was at the Lincoln Home National Site. This was the only house that Abraham Lincoln ever owned. He and his wife moved into it in 1844 and lived there until their move to Washington, DC when he became president in 1860. They had intentions of moving back there after his presidency, but, of course, that sadly didn't happen.

Lincoln's son Robert donated the home to the state of Illinois in 1887 under the condition that it would be forever well maintained and open to the public free of charge. It is free to see the home (but you do have to pay for parking. I think it was $2 per hour). We spent about two hours there. In order to see the inside of the home, you have to get a "ticket" from the front office and a park ranger will give you a guided tour of the home. Tours leave about every 10-15 minutes. Our ranger was Ranger Rosie and she was great!

Lincoln's house

A lot of the furniture wasn't original to the home, but it was authentic furniture from that time period. The mirror in the bottom left corner was original to the house though. It's kinda cool to think that Abraham Lincoln once looked in that very mirror.

Going up the staircase of Lincoln's home (yes I took a picture of my hand on it, stop judging me). This is the original banister. The history nerd in me thought of all the times Lincoln used that very banister to go up and down the stairs of his home. He walked down that same staircase when he left for Washington DC, unaware that he would never return to his beloved home.

Just chilling on Lincoln's back porch

This was a step used when people got in and out of carriages back in the 1800's. Ignore my pale leg.

Funny story. Well, it was funny to me. At one point during our tour, Ranger Rosie looked at me and said, "Don't worry, Dean and Sam have already been here and there are no ghosts." That's a reference to the show Supernatural (which is what my shirt is in reference to). It made me laugh. Supernatural fans unite. Lol.

This is a reproduction life casting of Lincoln's head and hands, based on a plaster casting made in 1860. So here I am giving Lincoln a fist bump.

After our tour of the home, we went to pay our respects at Lincoln's grave site. It's about a 15-20 minute drive from his house.

Don't ask me why, but evidently you are supposed to rub the nose on this statue for good luck. So I did. I can use all the good luck I can get right now.

We finally made our way to the museum by late afternoon. It closes at 5pm and we got there a little before three, so it gave us roughly about two hours. We still saw the whole museum, but I could have easily stayed another hour or so reading every part of the exhibits. There was a short film when you first enter the exhibit area that is a must see. Here is a YouTube video I found about it (but seeing it in person is so much better).

This museum was amazing. When I first walked in, I didn't think it looked that big, but it went further back than I realized. If you are ever in Springfield, IL, this is a MUST SEE. Even if you aren't that much of a history nerd, you will enjoy it. I can't embed the video, but click here for a little bit more about the museum.

My 8th presidential museum and library

Lincoln's shaving mirror

Lincoln was known for his stovepipe top hats. There are only three of his hats still in existence today. This hat is one of those three. This was in an area of the museum that said no photography. I was possibly holding my phone and accidentally hit the side button that takes a photo. It was an accident. You have no proof it wasn't.

They have life size statues to take pictures with!

We walked around downtown Springfield after the museum closed. We saw the building where Lincoln's law office was located (the sign is still there). Evidently you can usually tour the inside of it, but it was closed for renovations. We also went by the train station where Lincoln said farewell to the city of Springfield as he left for Washington, DC. Oh, we even ran into Lincoln himself!! Okay, we ran into a local actor who portrays Lincoln at all their historical events. He also plays Lincoln in the video we watched at the Lincoln Home National Site. Super cute town. Wish we had more time to explore. I'm sure there are many places we missed. 

A group selfie with Lincoln 

Honest Abe himself!

Yes I touched the door. Quit judging me for wanting to touch history. Lol.

Before we left, we went by the Illinois state capitol. When we were in Little Rock, we went by the state capitol there, so we decided to see the state capitol in each state we visited this trip (see first part of my recap here). Day 2 of our trip can be found here.

It was closed so we couldn't go inside. It was pretty outside though!

We left Springfield to drive to Hannibal (where we would spend day 4). As we were leaving Illinois, we saw a welcome side on the other side of the highway, so we turned around to get a picture by the Illinois sign. Yes, we are nerds. Although I'm sure Aaron would like me to say that Mel and I were the nerds and he was just along for the ride. Lol.

Taken as I was leaving Illinois, but oh well, still got my state sign picture. :)

I promise to get day 4 posted soon! I've been working a lot of overtime. Sorry I missed my What I'm Loving Wednesday yesterday! Thanks to my faithful participants who had WILW posts anyway!! :) XOXO!