In January our friend Daniel arrived in New York from the Netherlands. He would be our roomie for the next two months and while we were brainstorming ideas on how we would be able to do and see as much as possible with him....the answer became very clear. A Road Trip! We quickly narrowed down the fact that we would be keeping our trip to the east coast and decided that early March would be an optimal travel time for us! March is a Birthday filled month and who doesn't love a bit of leisurely travel on their Birthday :-) Next, came the hard part...narrowing down our checkpoints and places we all wanted to see. Washington, D.C. became a must (our nations capital and the fact we have mutual friends in the area were huge perks! ) Philadelphia, Pa. Virginia, The Carolinas , Savannah, Ga. and Florida were added to the list. Then came Tennessee and Kentucky. So, we decided "Whatever we can cram into 2 weeks....we will see". Our goal was to just wing it! And in the end....were so glad we left wiggle room! We departed from NYC on Sunday March 8th...right after church. Armed with bags of Shake Shack and plenty of other road trip snacks...we hit the road and arrived in Gaithersburg (a town about 35 mins outside of D.C.) in the hazy (picture below) wee hours of the morning Monday.
We went directly to bed and planned on meeting our friends for breakfast that morning.
We had a wonderful breakfast at Ted's Bulletin... and before we knew it....had talked the morning away (there were no food pics from breakfast because we were so busy chatting! Hahaha!)
After a lovely morning catching up, into D.C. we went....and straight to the National Mall. The day was gorgeous and we wanted to get as many outdoor activities in as possible.
First stop, the Washington Monument, sadly tickets inside were sold out for the day...but that didn't stop us....off to the White House!
Again, we missed out on a tour....but still enjoyed the exterior. Marching on....and stopping by the
treasury department and a few souvineer shops along the way to our next destination....
The Lincoln Memorial. Of course along the way we passed by a few other Memorial Monuments and couldn't resist these important detours.
We Made It! Before heading into the Memorial we took a moment to enjoy our surroundings.
The fellas definitely enjoyed the little bit of rest sitting on the steps.
Into the Lincoln Memorial we went.
Our little history buff caught in the headlights of our camera. Haha!
After enjoying the beauty, significance and history of this Monument we were off to the Capitol!
But not without a phone charge and shoe change along the way! Also, just a little hint....make sure you follow all parking signs....especially ones that say you must leave after a few hours....we found out the hard way leaving means not just moving up two parking spots! Hahaha...a parking ticket later....lesson learned and car parked in another area!
On our way to the Capitol we had to quickly pass the Library of Congress...we were scrambling to make the last tour....which of course.....we missed! But again, never fear because the beauty of the Capitol and grounds kept us very much mesmerized.....especially at the sight of all of the lovely surrounding flowers!
Daniel proved to be an expert photobomber :-/ Including photobombs of his thumb....hahaha!
Dan did manage a few good shots ;-)
As the sun began to wane....our tummies began to grumble with hunger...The boys took it upon themselves to find a spot for dinner....see where we wound up here:-)
Hint....on our way to dinner we had to pass by the Supreme Court.
After a gorgeous day walking around the National Mall we ended the day with a nice swim in the hotel pool! It truly was a swimmingly good first day indeed! Stay tuned for more road trip adventures to come!
X~ The Sibs + Daniel
