The DC adventures Continue

Lauren and I have been planning a long weekend away for a few months now. Originally, we were going to go to a Flogging Molly concert but then we discovered some other plans that changed this. On June 30th Lauren and I hopped in my car and started the drive down to DC. We jammed out to the radio and chatted the whole way down. This time driving to DC was much easier and felt shorter than when I drove down to DC by myself. 

Our first stop was Great Falls National Park. I have never been to this national park before. It was so pretty to explore. I would come back here again in different seasons. I really liked seeing the falls. We also watched people kayak over the falls and through the rapids which I hope to try some day. The park was large and beautiful and there was a lot to explore. Once it got late, we decided to head to our hotel on the outskirts of DC. We stayed at a very nice hotel. 

The next morning, we got up and we went to the Library of Congress and explored this area of DC. We could walk by Congress and see some of the other national buildings while walking. I have not been inside the Library of Congress since I was a teenager, so it was pretty cool to go back. I appreciate more of it now that I have studied more history and am older. I would love to spend days exploring the different books in the library and being able to do research in the Library. The Library also has a lot more artwork then I realized so we spent lots of time going through the different murals on the walls and ceilings, and the other artwork. I also saw the Guttenberg Bible. 

That night we got ready for a ball. This ball was the entire reason we started to plan our trip to DC. We went to the Queen Ball, part of the Bridgerton experience. Lauren got me into the TV show and then once I was hooked I knew we had to go to the ball. Besides, who doesn't like a reason to pull out a gown from their prom days and get all dressed up and dance the night away. There was lots of dancing and different performances at the ball. It was very cool experience. After the ball we drove into downtown DC and ran up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in our gowns. We also wandered the park in our gowns in the dark. We had a lot of fun and got some great comments from passing strangers. 

The next morning we got up and headed back into downtown. We spent the day walking around the National Mall. Our first stop was to the National Botanical Garden. I had never been inside this building before. I really enjoy going to different botanical gardens. Some of the cool parts of this garden are that there is a two-story rain forest you can go up into, the medical plants section, and all the rare and endangered plants that are inside. I would definitely recommend going here to people who enjoy plants and enjoy botanical gardens.

We walked back and forth over various ends of the National Mall. There were many activities to check out and the architecture of this area is so interesting.  It was hot out and I admit I got tired after a while. Lauren and I went into the Smithsonian of American History that holds some of the medical information and checked out where different devices that we both use every day were created. We also explored other areas of the Smithsonian as well.

After cooling off inside the Smithsonian for a while we headed back out into the heat.  We again walked along the National Mall. This time we stopped in the Folklife Festival. We got lunch inside one of their tents. I don't know what the food was but it was delicious and spicy. I would have eaten several bowls of the food if I could have. After lunch we continued to explore and walk along the National Mall before heading back to the hotel. 

Back at the hotel it was time to get ready for the Disco. I had packed a red dress that I was super excited to wear. Again, we had another excuse to get dressed up, put on makeup, and go dancing. We drove down to the 9:30 Club in DC. The rain was horrible, and it was hard to see the roads. We finally got to the club. The theme of the night was Abba, 70's and Mamma Mia. All of our favorite things. We headed inside and scored a spot on the dance floor in the balcony. The nice part about being up here was that we could watch everything, dance, get drinks, and have a little extra room to enjoy the night. We danced for hours. The DJ even joined us on the balcony at one point. There were lots of great people to dance with. The disco was a blast. 

Yesterday we got to sleep in. We didn't have much planned for the day. We headed to brunch with my cousin Kristen who suggested a fabulous place near Arlington. The food was great, and we could watch people from where we were on the side of the street, sitting at our table and enjoying the beautiful weather. After brunch it was time to head home. DC is hot in the summer but there are some fun activities to do. I am glad Lauren and I got to do all the different things we did, especially all the dancing.