Missy in Washington D.C.!!!

After the final stop of 2008 - the Lumber Liquidators Shark Championship held in Baltimore, I spent a few days in nearby Washington D.C. before heading back home.

I had never been to the Capital before and I absolutely loved it! Although I only spent three days roaming around the city, I did manage to see A LOT!

The first day, my friend Drew and I had to walk about 8 miles with everything we did and saw. We visited the Museum of American History and saw the original Star Spangled Banner along with the Gettysburg Address.

From there we ventured to the National Archives, in which the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights are kept, along with the Magna Carta and other famous historical documents.

After that, we went quickly through the Museum of Natural History and then on to the Washington Monument. I actually didn't know you could go up in the monument and we managed to snag tickets for the same day (which apparently is hard to do) and got to see the gorgeous views from the top right at sunset. From 500 feet up, you could see great views of all of the monuments, the museums, the Capital Building, the White House and even the Pentagon.

Then it was off to the World War II Memorial, which was by far my favorite. This breathtaking memorial is one of the newest in Washington D.C. and serves as a great reminder for all of the soldiers lost in that horrific war. )See picture above taken from the top of the Washington Monument. )

From there, we walked along the reflection pool to the Lincoln Monument. You never really understand just how big this monument is until you're standing right in front of it!

As dusk was setting in, we walked to the Vietnam Memorial and then off to the White House to see the big Christmas tree that sits in front of the first family's home. The tree had to be at least 20 feet tall and was covered with lots of white lights and ornaments. Surrounding the main tree were 50 little trees representing all of the states.

Now, that was all Day 1!

Day 2 found more sightseeing but a lot less walking. We visited the Air and Space museum, which I thoroughly enjoyed! There you could see the original Wright Brothers plane along with original capsules, space suits and other gear from the first trips in Space.

Afterwards, we went to the Capital Building, which unfortunately was closed for renovation due to the upcoming inauguration.

From there we took the underground Metro (which reminded me a lot of my days studying in Barcelona, Spain) and went to Arlington Cemetery. Seeing all of the graves definitely gives you a better appreciation for what our troops have done for our Country over the years.

That summed up Day 2.

Day 3 saw lots of rain, so we scurried to and from our destinations via our rental car, instead of walking by foot. We went to the Iwo Jima Memorial, which is also another memorial that catches you off guard due to it's height. I had no idea it was as tall as it is! (See photo above.)

Then we went to the Roosevelt Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. From there we went to the Smithsonian Castle. Of course I had to go there just because it's a castle! (If you weren't aware, I'm infatuated with castles.)

Then we went to my favorite museum - the National Art Gallery. This probably wouldn't be many people's favorite museum, but I was in shear amazement at the immense talent encompassed into one museum. I saw paintings from Picasso, Van Gough, Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Seurat, Degas, Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Matisse, and Miro to name a few. (Please tell me you know who painted the picture above.)

What really amazed me most about this trip was that all of the museums, monuments and memorials are free. There is no admission cost, so for once, being a tourist didn't cost a pretty penny.

Enjoy the photos!