Day 1 - Washington DC

We have absolutely fallen in love with Washington, with it's amazing history,  beautiful buildings and gorgeous green spaces, we can't get enough of it. So many amazing experiences had on our first day exploring so will try to keep it short and share some of our highlights. 

Firstly, Dave works at our hotel, absolute legend. He's so friendly, well most people are here as they want a tip, but he is really out there and made us laugh. He organised our hop on - hop off bus tour and then walked us down to the pick up stop just a few blocks away. He's a DJ and was telling us about the great places he's played at, Australia is not yet one of them, but he is keen to get there as brazil freaks him out?! Before he headed back to the hotel and told us to call the, if we got stuck and they'd come and get us...legend! 

We then got on our bus, yellow loop, and met a very charismatic (Ryan gosling look-a-like) tour guide by the name of Tommy G. We loved his sense of humour, not sure about the others on the tour, but we gave him heaps. 

Lincoln Memorial

Wow! Words can't describe how this place made me feel. I was in complete awe of the the architectural design of the building, then once inside I was overwhelmed with the history and beauty of it all. To stand where Martin Luther King Jr once stood when he delivered his famous 'I have a dream' speech at the Washington March was an experience ill never forget. 

World War II Memorial 

This was a beautiful and very peaceful memorial where we could have sat for hours. It was stunning. We also visited the Vietnam War Memorial which was quite overwhelming. 

 

National History Museum 

Loved this place! Wade, being the massive geek that he is, nearly had an aneurysm due to the sheer magnitude of historical content in one place. Everything was great, I learnt so much about American history, so much to take in. Highlights we both enjoyed would have to be the exhibit on Edison, the Civil War and the Washington March exhibit.

Natural History Museum 

Another great museum. I kept thinking about my kids and how much they would love it. I know, I have to stop thinking about school, but its tough when soaking up so much history. Our favourite part would have to have been the dinosaur exhibit - amazing! 

National Portrait Museum 

This place seemed less strict going in as there was no bag search or scanner, however security guards were everywhere and watched the visitors like hawks...pretty full on, hard to relax when someone is watching your every move. I so wanted to take photos but was way too scared. Loved the portraits, so life-like. Our favourite part was the presidents section, which included a portraits of all presidents up until George Bush. 

Art Gallery 

Some amazing pieces, some we loved and some we hated. Wade couldn't get over some of the 'pointless' pieces.  

Madame Wax Museum 

We received free entry from our bus tour and enjoyed walking around. Took some silly photos and continued on our way. These things freaked me out a bit, way too life-like.

Some other things we saw.... 

The White House

After a much needed rest stop at Starbucks, we wandered through a Turkish Festival taking place in the streets, then checked out the Treasury Building, a cool statue (forgot the name....it was a big day!) and the White House - want to visit the north side today to see it a little more close up. 

After a big day exploring we were ready to head back to the hotel. We caught the bus, and were one stop from our destination when the bus broke down. All good, as it stopped outside the coolest little book/cafe/bar place. We wandered around and purchased some lovely books. We then walked up to a little Italian restaurant for dinner. I loved it! I fell in love with our little old Italian waiter. Wade wasn't impressed as he had to ask for his second beer after his glass had been empty for 10 mins, needless to say they got the standard tip from us. He has high standards, the kid. 

We walked the rest of the way home to burn off our carb overload and planned our adventures for day two. 

Xo

We made it!

Well we finally made it to Washington DC...after about 27 hours from departing little old Adelaide. The flights were generally pretty good. I surprised myself how calm I was, I think I was just so exhausted I just wanted to get on the plane and finally relax. 

We landed in Sydney with a very turbulent entry that even made Wade feel queasy. Then it was time for the big one, 15 hours from Sydney to Dallas. The flight wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but did get fairly boring. However I don't think I got through 1 movie from start to finish. I'd put one on and then I'd be out like a light. We slept a bit but it was a weird sleep with crazy dreams. Wade had some guy behind him who thought you had to punch the touch screen in order for it to work. So everytime old mate couldn't make up his mind on what to watch and scrolled the the choices, Wade would be flung forward. He was too polite to say anything, bless him. 

I got really excited when I saw that we were only an hour or so from Dallas, where we were to get our connecting flight to Washington DC, when an announcement came over the loud speaker from our captain informing us that Dallas airport was closed due to bad weather. We had to turn back to El Paso airport (everyone here laughs when we tell them...'oh texas') to refuel and wait for clearance. We had to stay on the plane and we waited for an hour or so before continuing our journey. 

When we arrived at Dallas American Airlines staff were very efficient and had in hand our new connecting flight boarding passes. They were calling out surnames (which was hilarious for some when champion was read out) and rushed through to customs and immigration. We were soon on our way, albeit a few hours behind schedule. We were just happy to be heading to DC. We experienced an amazing sunset on our AA flight and the big day took its toll on Wade. 

We arrived at Washington airport to find that our luggage had been put on another flight and would be delivered to our hotel in the morning. I was so thankful that I packed a change of clothes in my carry on....and wade thought I was crazy! We had the funniest cab driver who took us to our hotel. Firstly, I nearly sat in the drivers seat, still trying to get my head around that, then he couldn't understand us due to our strong Aussie accents. I mumble at the best of times, so it's making it tough for the yanks to understand a word I say. He loves his city and was proud to tell us all about it. He wasn't happy that we were only starting 3 nights...too much to see and do! 

After a 12.30am check-in we were feeling a little worn out and quite hungry, so we went for a walk a few blocks to get pizza. To say I was scared was an understatement, but wade was so hungry that a potential mugger didn't seem so scary after all. Streets were fairly quiet til we hit one strip that was full of clubs and eateries, a bit like Hindley St just a little cleaner and more cops. We got a couple of slices of your standard pepperoni and cheese pizza and headed home. Wade smashed his mega slice and amongst the chewing I managed to hear ... 'I love America!' ... Gotta live him. 

We were asleep by 2.30 am local time and excited about the day ahead. 

Walshy xo 

A month of milestones!

Well, it has been a busy few weeks with many family celebrations. It all started when I turned 30. I had a lovely dinner with my gorgeous family and then celebrated with my closest friends and family with a 'literal band names' party. It was such a fun night with everyone going to so much effort with their costumes. There were a couple of special people missing, but they were there in spirit. My beautiful brother and his gorgeous girlfriend composed a speech from their home of the past 18 months, London, which led to many laughs and a few tears. 

This milestone was then followed by my dad's 60th birthday. We had a quiet celebration which included dinner and drinks at his favourite restaurant. We had a lovely time and shared many stories and laughs throughout the night. Dad didn't want a fuss made, so that's exactly what we did! We waited until a few weeks passed (including yet another milestone....I'll get to that in a minute...) and then threw him a surprise party with his nearest and dearest there to celebrate him making 60...it was a huge accomplishment considering everything he's been through. He had such a great time and couldn't wipe the smile from his face. Utterly surprised, overwhelmed and appreciative of such a wonderful night. 

Now the other milestone.... A week after my dad turned 60, my beautiful Yai Yai turned 90!! Words cannot express how much this amazing woman means to me. She is everything I aspire to, she's generous, loving, caring, patient and forgiving. She has been through so many tough times, never complained and always had a smile on her face. I love her more than anything and I was honoured to celebrate her birthday with a high tea organised by her daughters. It was a wonderful afternoon full of sunshine, much love and many laughs. 

Now that I'm completely partied out, I am madly trying to organise finishing touches to my very first overseas trip with my boy, Wade. It's the last week of school, and as I'm taking the first week off of term 4, I'm making sure my children have plenty of work to go on with in my absence...... Kids, if you're reading this, make sure you work hard and listen to Ms Whitelum!

Wade and I leave next Saturday, AFL Grand Final Day, which is a little disappointing, as I never miss this Aussie occasion. However, we will be embarking on a fairly amazing holiday to the US, so I suppose it's all good. 

We fly to Washington and after a few days will train it to New York to see my bro Mark and his girl Terri, which is so exciting as I haven't seen them in 18 months and miss them terribly! We will have a week in NY with them and get to finally meet their gorgeous friends Tim and Shelley, who feel like part of the family already. Them we head to LA where we will hire a car and travel up the California coast to San Francisco. We will then travel through Yosemite National Park towards Las Vegas. After a few days there we will then visit the Grand Canyon and drive back to LA to fly home via Sydney. All of this in 3 weeks...can't wait!!! So many amazing things to see and do and look forward to sharing them with you very soon. 

Walshy xo