Spring Break: Thursday in Philly & DC

Thursday morning, we left New York City around 4:45 in the morning. Yes, we're crazy like that. But we were driving, and we wanted to avoid the craziness of NYC rush hour traffic! It was a great decision, as the streets were empty - which really helped when the GPS wasn't being especially helpful and we had to loop around a couple of streets a few extra times to find the correct turn!

The boys slept for a while. Once the sun started coming up, we stopped for breakfast. And before long, we were in Philadelphia.

We stopped to see the Rocky statue, and run the famous steps (http://youtu.be/NubH5BDOaD8)...

Then we drove to see the Liberty Bell and visit Independence Hall.

The bell, while large, was smaller than I had envisioned in my mind. But still impressive to see a bit of American history right before our eyes!

We really enjoyed the tour of Independence Hall.



George Washington once sat in the big chair in the center/back



Then it was on to Washington, D.C. We were going to be staying with one of Zack's childhood friends & his wife. They live in Arlington. So we parked at the Metro station closest to their home, and rode in to the Smithsonian station.

We walked. A LOT. The weather was beautiful and we wanted to take advantage of it. We probably walked 5 miles that afternoon. Everyone seemed to have fun. The cherry blossoms were fading but we still saw some. And we enjoyed visiting the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, WWII Memorial, FDR Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial.


Washington Monument



Lincoln Memorial

Outside the Lincoln Memorial

A waterfall at the FDR Memorial

Cherry Blossoms & Washington Monument



Jefferson Memorial

After a long day of riding and walking, we met Zack's friend Tim for dinner back at the metro station (which is also right at the mall & lots of great restaurants). We went back to his house and got the boys ready for bed. We were looking forward to seeing his wife Lisa that night. But Lisa works at the Pentagon, and with the possibility of a government shut-down the following evening, she was a bit busy!