Fall Break!!!

 A fun getaway to Washington D.C. with my favorite sister!  First stop, Los Angeles. Because airlines. Hm.  Anyway, we had a bit of a layover, so we took some photos and had a really expensive dinner with cocktails.

Arrived early Sunday morning in D.C. First stop -- the Jefferson Memorial. This one is my favorite! And it was chilly! Don't even remember the last time I felt cold. 

Next stop: parking in D.C. (not recommended). Upon consultation with Yelp!, we settled on breakfast at Lincoln's Waffle House. It's right across the street from Ford Theater.  The line is out the door, so you know it's gonna be good. Interesting collection of Lincoln pictures and photos of Vietnam.

Here's the view of Ford Theater from our barstools...

Not much sleep on the red-eye flight, but we're excited to be here!

 Walked for miles and miles and saw most of the Memorials. The World War II Memorial is amazing.

 And of course we visited Mr. Lincoln. It was pretty crowded.

 So wise...

The view from Lincoln Memorial.

And then we visited "Taste of DC" on Pennsylvania Avenue. All kinds of foods, beer and wine, music. I guarded our cell phones on the charger at the Lyft tent and Lori found Carmine's meatballs! YES!!!

And then we found Sprinkle's Cupcakes! By then it was getting really crowded and I don't enjoy crowds, so we I needed to leave.

After checking in at the hotel in Maryland and taking naps, we headed to Target and then checked Yelp! again for dinner recommendations. Yelp! hasn't failed me yet!  This place was called Carolina Kitchen and it was SO GOOD. Fried okra, pulled pork sliders, and sangria. Yum!

Monday we took the hotel shuttle to the Metro and headed first to the Holocaust Memorial. Very depressing but worthwhile. We were there for several hours without realizing how late it was.  Went from there to Arlington National Cemetery (keeping with the theme of death, I guess). 

We did not stay for the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier because there were parents letting their children climb on the walls, which I thought was very disrespectful! and I can only bite my tongue for so long.

Lori really liked the sound of Foggy Bottom, so that was our next stop on the Metro. Consulted Yelp! again and found a the Mediterranian version of Chipotle. Delicious!  I believe it was called Roti.

Decided getting off the Metro at random stops was a good idea. We picked a random stop and looked for a bar. This one wasn't so friendly, so we had just one drink  -- a blueberry mojito -- and hopped on and off the Metro again.

Next bar: Bullfeathers!  Totally empty (we were guessing because it was Columbus Day) so we had personal service and several more drinks!

A late dinner near the hotel with mediocre service and mediocre food, but we had fun. Lori was amused by the cherries in her cannoli, so I kindly reminded her that it is October and that must be a Breast Cancer Awareness cannoli.

Tuesday morning we were at it again from the Metro.  First stop, the National Post Office Museum. I wanted to see the PostSecret exhibit, but there are so many fun things in here! We sorted mail on a train, tossed packages, viewed stamp collections, and learned about mail fraud.

The National Building Museum is conveniently located directly across from a Metro stop. The building itself is amazing. The exhibits were interesting, though many were geared toward the younger crowd.  Lori's favorite part was the "guard" who was fast asleep in the loud play room. I woke him on our way out when I said "Have a good day!" and he bolted upright and said "You too!"

Carmine's is not far from the Building Museum, so we stopped for more meatballs and a cocktail.

Met the manager, Brian, who is absolutely adorable! 

I really wanted to see the butterfly pavilion in the Museum of Natural History. We got our tickets and had some time, so we visited the Hirschorn Art Museum. Weird stuff in here.  Weird. 

 This piece of "art" is a ball of aluminum foil that pretty much fills the room. We did not understand.

This one is probably called "Nothing to Wear" or "Laundry Day."

And this one is called "Butt Prints."

Hm.

This is supposed to be art, as well. I'm just not sophisticated enough to understand it, I guess.

Picture perfect!

The butterfly pavilion!  WOW!  So many varieties of butterflies. It was very humid in there.

And then, cocktails! And bar food. 

Our last morning we headed to Baltimore. Lori is a good sport and an amazing travel companion. She is up for anything and was happy to ride the dragon paddle boats around Inner Harbor with me.  I love her.

And then, more cocktails!  We have a layover in Denver so we found the Cantina and had some tacos and margaritas.