July 31-August 5, 2023: Trip to Washington DC

July 31st: After a long day of traveling, first to Dallas and then to Washington DC, we took the metro train to Rockville Maryland and walked the short distance to the Hilton Hotel. 

The metro train was empty compared to the crowded subway trains in London, and clean too. Our hotel room is also a lot bigger than our hotel rooms were in Europe, and super nice too. We are spoiled in the states!

Around the corner from the hotel is a Safeway grocery store and a strip mall with decent restaurants and a barbershop. We've had great food every place we've gone so far.

Our first day we ate at Amore Eats, a hole in the wall Thai restaurant inside the small, unattractive Exxon station store. We ordered delicious shrimp fried rice and fried noodles with chicken and vegetables.

We stopped at Safeway and bought a gallon jug of drinking water and a bunch of candy for our TV treats.

August 1st: On our second day, we had lunch at Smash Burger and shared a single cheeseburger, a brisket sandwich, fries, and milkshakes. For dinner, we went back to Smash Burger and shared a bacon BBQ cheeseburger and a Cobb salad with grilled chicken and a fried egg. I also bought a couple of fancy drinks (a Mango Grapefruit Smoothie and a Peach Green Tea) at an Asian Bubble Tea place called Gong Cha. The smoothie tasted much better than the tea, and both drinks were overpriced. 

We stopped at Safeway again and bought two large bags of chips for our treats. We are NOT buying any more "treats" this week or ever again. At least we know it's a bad habit and we need to stop the insanity. We will keep getting fatter and fatter if we don't bite the bullet or stop cold turkey. You know what I mean. It's been very difficult for us because we enjoy our junk food so much. But we also hate being fat, and that daily disappointment has to outweigh our enjoyment of the bad habits we've formed over the years.

Safeway, Smash Burger, and other convenient eateries close to the Hilton Hotel--literally minutes from our room

Smash Burger, our new favorite burger joint

August 3rd: Mike attended the NATAS conference talks all day on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then on Thursday and Friday we spent both days taking the metro to the National Mall to see the famous sites starting with the Ford's Theater where Abraham Lincoln was shot, followed by the Peterson boarding house across the street where Lincoln was taken and where he died early the next morning. I have a profound appreciation for Abraham Lincoln and others who paved the way for our United States and for the abolition of slavery in America. I also admire Martin Luther King Jr. and other black leaders who spoke out against racial injustices and made a huge impact for change.

We waited well over an hour to see a Da Vinci exhibit at the MLK Library. The exhibit was so small! But those original sketches and drawings were well preserved and impressive. Da Vinci was definitely more than an artist. He was a scientist, a mathematician, an architect, a visionary man, and a genius.

Our first day out together, Mike and I also visited the WWI Monument, the WWII Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the FDR Monument, and the Martin Luther King Monument. We also saw the massive Library of Congress building. Our legs were tired and our feet were sore after hours of walking. But we were very blessed all week with beautiful, mild weather--cloudy skies and comfortable temperatures.  

A tower of books written about Abraham Lincoln over the years

Oldest church in the area, built in the late 1700's

Inside the Martin Luther King Jr. Library

Lunch break for us at Pret-A-Manger

The Washington Monument towers above everything

This tall black fence obstructed our view of the White House

The most modern hero, Martin Luther King Jr.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Amore Eats in the Exxon gas station had great authentic Thai food

August 4th: We checked out of the Hilton Hotel and took the metro to Christal City and checked into the Ritz-Carlton for our last night. It's conveniently connected to the Christal Mall!

Today we had a tour of the United States Capitol. We saw "the crypt," the "statue room," and the beautiful rotunda under the huge dome. Our tour guide was wonderful and witty, and we wanted the tour to last longer than the enjoyably fast 30 minutes.

We also took a look inside and outside the U.S. Botanic Garden. I think our Botanic Garden in Albuquerque beats it hands down.

Enormous Library of Congress building

The dome of the U.S. Capitol behind us

The impressive United States Supreme Court building

You don't realize how huge our country's Capitol is till you see it!

Inside the Capitol in the statue room

The U.S. Government commissioned this statue of Rosa Parks

In the beautiful rotunda under the Capitol's amazing dome

The massive United States Capitol building

U.S. House of Representatives

The dome of the U.S. Capitol

Different view of the Washington Monument

We suck at selfies--haha!

Entertaining ducks in the Potomac River

The United States Botanic Garden

Ooh, we loved this fuchsia color

And this orange beauty was a real eye catcher

We loved these vibrant colors

August 5th: The metro was closed early this morning, so we took a taxi to the Reagan Airport. We checked our two bags (suitcases) and got through Security pretty quickly.

It was sad to leave beautiful Washington D.C. Our connecting flight was in Kansas City Kansas where we had a long layover. I put my face on in the bathroom, and we found a delicious BBQ place for lunch. It had mini hash browns, cheesy corn, beef brisket, and some BBQ sauce, onions, and shredded cheese on top. The meal was hefty at over $17, but it was the perfect amount for the two of us to share.

Kansas is also a beautiful green state. I'm happy to return to Albuquerque but wish it were greener and less dusty. Mike and I have been fortunate to be able to travel as much as we have over the past 30 years. Working at Sandia National Labs has certainly had its perks and has been a blessing to Mike.