M&M Yenatsky: Washington DC

Misha was assigned to go to Washington DC for training at the US Department of Energy. We decided that I could go on this trip too since I had never been to the capitol before. We arrived on Monday and spent four days there. Misha had to train for Tuesday & Wednesday (but not me!!!) so I navigated my way through the bus stops, metro stations, and streets of Downtown DC all by myself! I was certainly proud. I basically just walked around, went into museums, saw monuments, and took pictures. It was so much fun! Misha and I had Thursday & Friday to ourselves - no training for Misha! We left Germantown (north of DC, where we were at for his meetings) and went to Dupont Circle to check into the Hilton Washington. What a SWEET hotel! It was in a really trendy area + the room was really nice + I got it for $79/night when their rooms sell for at least $300/night. Thank you Hilton Friends & Family discount! So basically, we spent four days in Washington for $200. Misha's work paid for most everything for him and we only paid for one hotel night at $79 + metro fairs + a few meals. We paid for my flight in SkyMiles. AWESOME!!!!

Anyway, Misha and I had SUCH a good time Thursday. We rode the metro everywhere, got to see all the sights, walked around at night (much cooler & nicer), took pictures, ate delicious food at some very hip places, found a Russian restaurant one block from our hotel, and really just enjoyed each others' company. :-) Friday we toured the Smithsonian Museums. I wish we could have gone to all of them and stayed longer, but there just wasn't enough time. There are a ton of those museums and they are all so cool. We went to the Museum of Natural History & the Air and Space Museum. Both were very interesting. Friday evening we picked up our luggage from the Hilton and began our journey to BWI airport. Walk six blocks + metro ride + switch metros + get on Amtrak commuter train + bus shuttle to airport (no we didn't have a rental car b/c it's so expensive plus it's a pain to have a car in DC). All that to get to the airport and figure out our plane had been delayed for several hours which meant that we would miss our flight in ATL which meant that we would have to spend the night in the ATL airport. YaY.

Other than the Delta mishap, our trip was so much fun and we will definitely go back. Maybe it can be a family affair. I would love to go to the Holocaust Museum, all the other Smithsonian Museums, the FBI Museum, and Colonial Williamsburg. I hear DC is beautiful in the spring time with all the cherry trees in bloom. :-)

Here are some pics from our trip:

Washington Monument

White House
(did you know that Michelle Obama started a vegetable garden on the front lawn of the White House? Pretty cool!)

World War II Monument
(lots of history - got to see some things I've heard Daddy & Granddaddy talk about)

Cool pic of the Atlantic Theater Monument

Lincoln Memorial
(this totally makes me think of Forrest Gump)

Yeah, not really sure what this one is. Just walked by and thought it was beautiful.
I should probably know what it is.

Outside the Museum of Natural History

Inside Museum of Natural History
(got to see everything from Dinosaurs to Human Origins to Mammals to Oceans)

Hehehe :-)

We got to see the Hope Diamond. They really aren't kidding when they say that thing is HUGE.

Smithsonian Castle

Mish inside the Air & Space Museum. He was loving it.

Yeeeaaah. Cute pic, but he actually KNOWS what that stuff is. Smarty.

Proud to be an American!

Also proud to be married to this guy. :-)

The sunset was BEAUTIFUL! Washington Monument is in the background.

What a great picture!!!!!

In front of the Capitol Building

Cool pic!!

This was in the Butterfly Gardens on "Smithsonian Row".
Great place to relax and to take a break from the heat by getting some shade!

MUAH!

It started getting dark, but we were still walking around and touring.
This was outside the US Botanical Gardens.

Looks like a firecracker doesn't it? It was some sort of cool dried plant.

Metro station. They were fun, but I'm sooooo glad I don't have to ride that EVERYDAY!

Ah! We were craving a smoothie and came across this place giving out free smoothie samples.

Our DELICIOUS Greek food. Hummus, pita chips, stuffed grape leaves, and calamari. OH.

Dining on the outdoor patio at Zorba's Greek Restaurant. Greek food is my absolute favorite.

We found a Russian restaurant one block from the hotel we were at! We had already eaten, but of course we wanted to go in. We had to rush back to the hotel and throw on some appropriate fancy clothes. They had pelmeni, borsch, everything (including over 120 vodkas from around the world. Geez, they are crazy about some vodka). Misha was so excited b/c he got to have a Russian beer. LOL