The Fourth Weekend

Not only was this the 4th of July weekend, it was also our 4th weekend in Princeton. In honor of the 4th, and in honor of the extra day, and in honor of the fact that Nele's family was in town, we decided to go to Washington DC on Sunday, the 4th, and we figured we might as well see Philly on our way there and and on our way back.

Svenja, Andy, Nele, and Tara waiting in line to see the Liberty Bell.

Independence Hall - we didn't get to go into the building (we were there at 11 and the next time stamp was after 4) but the outside was pretty :)

Tara and Nele at the bell

Svenja and I at the bell

The other side of Independence Hall

The Duck Tour Boat

Tara, Nele, and Svenja cooling off and resting near the fountain

Statue in the park

After walking around the old town part of Philly (i.e. Independence Hall), we got in our car and drove to Fairmount part of Philly - free parking in this area (and it wasn't all parallel!). The first stop was Eastern State Penitentiary - I believe it was the first penitentiary. This was something Andy wanted to do and I honestly wasn't sure about it, but I'm glad we all did it! It was very interesting to see and I loved that everyone got a free audio tour because it meant everyone on the tour was quiet and everyone followed the same path so it was easy to walk through.

Outside the walls.

The walls are 30 feet tall

Svenja peeking through one of the doors.

This is how the halls used to look - the entrances are on the other side and this is how they got food, etc.

Toilet

Bed area. And that arched metal "doorway" is the only entrance and exit into the room - this is how they used to get in and out.

This hallway had two stories.

Old guard tower.

Newer outdoor field - a baseball field - this wasn't here originally but was added in the later years.

Al Capone's cell

The outside of his cell.

After visiting the penitentiary, we walked to a delicious italian restaurant, watched some World Cup Soccer, and then headed out to see a little more of the town.

Statue of Joan of Arc

The Thinker. Sadly the rest of the museum was closed.

Shakespeare statue

After walking around the penitentiary and then walking around Philly for about an hour, we were hot! So Svenja, Tara, and Nele put their feet in the water to cool off (don't worry, there were lots of people playing in this fountain - not sure if you normally can play or if they were just allowing it due to the heat).

The view of City Hall from where we were - sadly, due to the heat (and the 4 hour parking limit), we were pretty much done for the day so this is as close as we got.

This is the museum with the steps that Rocky ran up. Nele's mentor's wife later told us that more people run up the stairs and do the Rocky cheer than actually go into the museum.

The Rocky statue outside the museum - and the line of people waiting to take a picture with it.

After spending enough time in the heat, we headed out of Philly and drove to the DC area. We stayed in a hotel in Silver Spring, MD and despite some issues with the hotel (hotels.com only reserved one of the rooms we paid for, not both, so this caused problems all weekend), it was a nice place to stay. We walked into the main part of the town where the streets were closed to cars and there were people EVERYWHERE! We decided to eat some yummy food at Macaroni Grill and although the waiter was awful, it was a good evening!

On Sunday we woke up early and headed to DC. We had a long day ahead of us and we wanted to make sure we fit everything into our one day in the city.

Tara and Svenja on the red line metro.

Andy and Nele - aren't they cute?!

First stop - Capitol South.

In case you're wondering, yes, they do clean the escalators - the guy put the mop up top and rode the escalator down.

The Capitol!

The other side

The botanical garden

The Washington Monument (from the Capitol reflecting pool) and the vendors that were starting to set up

The Capitol and the reflecting pool with the stage getting ready for the concert that evening.

The Treasury Building

Tara, Andy, and Nele at the White House

Svenja and I at the White House

The other side of the White House

The Einstein monument

The Vietnam memorial - the statue was being repaired so it was covered (with boards missing so you could still see it).

Tara and Nele at the Lincoln Memorial

The Washington Monument in the Lincoln reflecting pool

The view on the backside of the Lincoln

Arlington Cemetary from Lincoln

The back of Lincoln

Taking some time to rest while Nele and Andy went to look at the Korean Memorial

Enjoying one of the waterfalls at FDR while standing in the shade - did I mention it was hot??

Washington from FDR

Jefferson from FDR

Closer look at Jefferson

Police helicopter flying by (I'm on the steps of the Jefferson)

Jefferson himself

Bureau of Engraving - we walked by it after the Jefferson on our way to Union Station (aka lunch!)

Carina and Nele in front of The Smithsonian castle (Carina joined us at the Jefferson)

Inside the castle

Did I mention it was hot and we were tired? And at this point we were also hungry! (Well, maybe not Carina since she slept in and had just joined us, but the rest of us were definitely struggling to get through the day!)

Union Station

Water! and Food!!

The Senate

The Supreme Court Building

Another picture of the Capitol

We tried to see the Library of Congress but it was closed, so Nele, Tara, Andy and I headed to the National Geographic museum (they had a nice Da Vinci display) and then we headed to Starbucks to cool off while Svenja and Carina headed to a museum. After we met up at Starbucks, we tried to decide on where we would sit for the fireworks. Originally we thought perhaps Jefferson or Lincoln, but then, based on the fact that we were tired and some were getting blisters, we chose to just sit near the Washington Monument.

There was a Navy concert near the Washington Monument - we didn't sit near it, but Carina and I walked around for a little while and passed it and enjoyed the music

In case you're wondering, this is what the steps of Lincoln look like a few hours before the fireworks begin (the fireworks are done over the reflecting pool at Lincoln)

World War II memorial - we couldn't get any closer due to the fireworks display setup

Hanging out and waiting for the show to start

Fireworks!!

A fun group picture after the fireworks.

After the fireworks we made the trek back to the metro station and headed back to the hotel (on the crowded metro). At the hotel, I realized what happens when you walk around DC in flip flops on the sidewalk and on the gravel paths....

... you get very very very dirty feet!

Monday morning we decided to go back to DC to see the Library of Congress and the Cemetary. Since it was supposed to be another hot hot day, we chose to go to Arlington Cemetary first and then cool off in the Library.

The view of Lincoln (Washington's behind the trees on the right) from the Kennedy gravesite (it's hazy due to the humidity!)

Kennedy burial site

And the other two Kennedy burial sites

Tomb of the Unknown soldiers

Changing of the guard ceremony

Ceiling at the Library of Congress

After the Library, we headed back to our hotel to pick up Svenja (due to her blister she was unable to join us in the morning) and then we headed off to Philly to see Svenja and Nele's mentor Rich and his family. They took us to a yummy American Fusion restaurant and his wife showed us around a little park area in their part of Philly. We didn't leave until around ten (and then tried to find a drive-through restaurant to get a drink for the ride home - unsuccessful - and had to get gas - successful) so I didn't get home until Midnight, but it was a great weekend!

Smile: Yay for getting to see my family this weekend at Karen's wedding.

Frown: Boo for Facebook not letting me put up all of my Philly and DC pics (i.e. the pic of Lincoln - don't worry, I did take one, I just don't have it with me at work today so hopefully it will be on Facebook tonight).

Frown: An extra Boo for me overdoing it this weekend and walking sooooo much in the heat that I'm now dealing with swollen ankles and knees. Hopefully I'll be better in time for Karen's wedding, otherwise the photographer and I will talk about how I just need to be in close-ups :) But yay for having a job where I have room to put my feet up at my desk all day!

Smile: An extra yay for getting to listen to 99.5 The Wolf while at work! Pandora doesn't work but Texas Country does!! :) (Although hearing the weather reports and commercials, etc. that pertain to Dallas makes me miss Texas!)