Celebrating our city being re-opened!

 Today we decided (very last minute) to go out and re-visit some of the open air memorials in our city to celebrate the end of the government shut down that lasted 16 days this October. One of our favorite things to do is pretend we are tourists and take tons of wacky photos throughout Washington, DC. We have lived here for just over a year and a half, while Dillon has been stationed at 8th & I Marine Barracks Washington, DC. He serves in the Marine Corps and works alongside some pretty great people.. including the Commandant of the Corps. (I will have to write a post later on sharing some of his rad moments here at 8th & I.)
Two memorials I wanted to revisit especially were the WWII & Vietnam Veterans. Coming from a long line of family members who have served in the US Navy, these two mean a lot! They've traced our family being men of the sea, all the way back to the viking days! But- most recently, my great grandfather served as a Navy Corpsman during WWII; & my grandpa was a mechanic during Vietnam. I have a cousin serving now, and even I had planned to enlist!
The Vietnam Veteran's wall is really special to my Papa, so we called him and got two of his war buddies names and found them for him! Both of his buddies were MIA.

 

 The Vietnam Veteran's Wall

Life in DC has definitely been something to remember for the both of us... and will most certainly be something we talk about and share for the rest of our lives. Last year we spent many months without a car and had to rely soly on public transit.. (WAY different than back home for either of us..) If you don't know what the public transit here is, here you go:
  • Metro system: basically a subway system that can take you all over the DMV (DC, Maryland, &Virginia) area
  • Capitol Bike Share: Rental bikes that are on a lot of corners. You just swipe your card and drop the bike off at any check point when you're done.
  • Taxis: a bunch of smelly guys who drive you anywhere you're willing to pay to go... If you take a taxi here... GOOD LUCK. Most of these people shouldn't have licenses, don't use turn signals, drive 50 mph in a 25, and are crazy weird!
  • Public Bus: The first (and only) time we rode a bus here we got lost for 6 hours and ended up somewhere far in Maryland looking for a furniture store. We never rode a bus again.
While using the metro we walked everywhere! For the first month I was in tons of pain from my feet and legs being shocked by the amount of walking I did. (This is coming from the girl who had a door to door job before moving across the US!!!!!) And by everywhere I mean everywhere. The grocery store was a mile away from where we lived, so I had to pull a cart (the kind you take to flea markets) all the way there & back. We finally got a car in September... that by November died and we had to suck it up and purchase a newer car. That's how we ended up with our cute Mazda 3. Nobody will ever be able to tell us that we didn't struggle! (ha-ha!)

We have experienced so many neat things while living here. My husband has met President Obama and has visited the White House.. He also worked the Inauguration! We try to go to as many events as possible, because were living where history is made! How thrilling is that? There is so much to do here, I definitely recommend to whoever is considering visiting the Capitol to do so! This year we went from living on Capitol Hill in a tiny one bedroom studio apartment, to a larger home 5 minutes away from the Nationals Stadium on an AFB. We found out we were pregnant only a couple weeks after moving! It excites me that my daughter will be able to tell people that she was born here. She will never have to worry that her life isn't interesting! I hope to bring her and (her future siblings) back one day and show them where mommy and daddy spent their first years of marriage.


The Reflection Pool 




 At the WWII Memorial
 (Obviously had to take a photo of the California wreath in honor of my great grandpa)