January Birthday Trip

Well, I am finally getting around to back-blogging the beginning of the year.  It was fun to go through the pictures and try to remember just why I had taken them!  For this entry, I go back to January - the weekend of Byron's 40th birthday party.  Byron's birthday fell on a Saturday and I really wanted to throw a huge surprise party - complete with black balloons, coffin with things he lost from his youth (i.e., his hair, size 32 pants, etc.).  However, as it got closer, Byron (who knew what I was working on, if not the actual details) begged me to just take him out of town on a get away.  We haven't gone on a couples trip for years and years and years.  So, I started researching and found that most places were completely outside my budget.  Either we had the money to get there, possibly for a decent hotel, then we couldn't do anything.  Also, being January, most of the outdoor adventures were not looking to be too fun - us not being the snow bunny types and all.  Finally, I found one of those last-minute trip deals ... to Washington D.C.  I love D.C., Byron hadn't been there since going with his family to pick up his older brother from his mission and was also interested in to going.  To make it certain, I had just read Dan Brown's Lost Symbol and was dying to go back and compare the landmarks from the book.  So, I booked the trip.  The hotel + airfare + incidentals when we got there (food, transportation, etc.) all came in under $500!
Getting ready for the trip, I realized that we didn't have the right kind of cold-weather apparel (we were expecting daytime temps in the 30s).  Our good friends the Bushlings came to the rescue (they ARE the snow bunny type and actually go snowboarding, etc.).  Here is Byron all bundled and ready to go ... with a coat that would make him hard to lose in a crowd!

The real joke was that by the time we got there, two days later, the temps were actually in the high 50s and we ended up carrying our coats and just wearing sweatshirts.  We didn't want to take any luggage because we were going to be hoofing it, so we stuffed everything we would need into two backpacks ... ouch!  Included with the necessities of life, we took Byron's textbook and notebook (homework assignments due the day we got back) - which were not fun to carry, but made the interminable wait at the airport go a bit faster.  Here is proof that Byron does actually study (in case you might have been led to believe that he does not):

Once the pesky assignment was done (or as much as could be slogged through), we decided to get a picture.  We didn't want to bother anyone, so we tried the self-portrait thing.  This is the best of the lot:

We got to DC about 6am and took the transit bus to the downtown area.  We had to wait until noon to check into the hotel, but many of the museums were already open.  We walked around the mall, listening to the Lost Symbol on my i-pod (Byron started it on the airplane).  We started in the Smithsonian Castle which, for some reason, I had never been into.  We decided that if we had lots of money that we didn't know what to do with we would build one too (ha ha).  Seriously, it is a beautiful building and I am glad to have taken the time to see it.

We spent the day following the book to various sites and looking in at museums between tours that I had arranged by writing to my Senator's office.  We got a tour of the capitol building and the libary of congress. 

The capitol building tour was amazing.  We got to go through the tunnels under the street and into various rooms.  Our tour guide wasn't very knowledgable (she was a brand new intern), but we managed to glean lots of  information which made it fun for me.

Additionally, listening to the book made it even more fun as well searched for the artwork and mason symbols that were inevitably there (although perhaps not for the reason they exist in the book). 

We opted to skip the library tour and spent lots of time poking about it on our own.  I loved the murals that were absolutely everywhere.  We even found one of Byron (this one was at least modestly dressed). 

I especially liked the sayings above the doors into various rooms.  My favorite was "They are never alone that are accompanied with noble thoughts"

When we checked into the hotel room (2 blocks from the White House) we discovered just how great a deal we had gotten.  This room was beyond fabulous - the decor was lovely and the bed was so incredibly comfortable with down comforters and real down pillows (lots and lots of pillows).  We used a Subway gift card left over from Christmas for dinner and went to the buffet for breakfast the next morning.  I have seen many hotel buffets ... this was a gourmet buffet complete with a manned omlet station, waffle station, fruits and breads with international names, etc.  We made a very very very good breakfast and headed out to sightsee some more.  This building was Byron's favorite (I think it might have been part of the IRS)

This was mine ... part of an old hotel, but we couldn't decide what it was now. 

We wanted to tour the White House, but you have to register for that tour at least 30 days in advance, so we couldn't.  However, just accross the street, a new museum dedicated to the history of the White House was open.  We spent hours there!  It was full of details of the running of the house and its history - not just the presidential families that have stayed there.  It has become one of my favorite places to visit!

We also headed to the American History museum where a concert was being held to ramp up to the Martin Luther King memorial services to be held on Monday (we couldnt get anywhere near the Lincoln Memorial).  American History has always been one of my favorite museums and this time was no exception.  I dragged Byron over all three floors of it (he was still listening to the book).  I had never remembere seeing the greek statue of George Washington, which is mentioned in the book, and it was fun finding it here. 

We also spent considerable time at the Natural History museum which had some fascinating exhibits that were in keeping with the radiology and imaging class that Byron was taking.  We wrapped up the day with the Holocaust museum. 

By this time we were very tired and more than ready to stop walking.  My backpack felt like it had rocks in it.  We took a bus back to the airport (Byron fell in love with the little shuttles that take you from terminal to terminal - he decided they were his new dream car).  We made it back to the west coast, found our car right where we had left it and drove home.  Ultimately, we had a great time, but decided that we are getting too old for that kind of no-sleep adventure.  Happy 40th birthday Byron!  Happy Birthday to me too ... and Happy anniversary, all in one!