Thanksgiving at our Nation's Capitol

This Thanksgiving the fam was invited to a home in D.C for dinner. So, after only knowing this lady for 2 hours I said " Yes, of course we will come". We had a fabulous time ! We left Tuesday night for Greensboro, North Carolina at the Holiday Inn Express.

 Can I just say it was probably the BEST HIE I have stayed at in the US. Why ? I liked the decor, the breakfast was good, the rooms were clean, and it's what all Holiday Inn Express Hotels should be like ! Will I write a letter to them ? No, because quite frankly everyone should be reading my blog anyway.

So, BRILLIANT me decides that we should go to Mt. Vernon on the way up to D.C. I don't know what I was thinking. Mt. Vernon closes at 4:00 for tours of the mansion. I schedule my tour for 3:30 and we get there at 3:45. So, we only got to see the mansion. We got tours for the next day and I rather enjoyed it. I always get a little disappointed when the tour guide says " Some of the items in this room belonged to George Washington".  The tour guide simply doesn't point out what items are his. His house was small, but in many ways grand. The view of the Potomac was lovely, and he had fabulous gardens.

Washington was buried on the property, so we were able to see his tomb.

This is Liberty

Pictures of Aladdin the Camel are provided on request

 Mt. Vernon also has the privilege of having the turkey that is pardoned by the US President, who happens to be Obama. We all know my feels about Obama :) Washington also has a Christmas Camel.
Thanksgiving with the R Family  and the Smith Family itwas fun. Everyone at the table was very well educated, but me of course. They all attended prestigious schools except for me. I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but it's what I do best I AM MY WORST ENEMY. Anyway, we had soup, oysters, turkey, gravy, stuffing,mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, beets, rolls, two different cranberry dishes, carrots,  and then of course like 8 different types of dessert.  It was nice to meet some very nice people. Grandpa R was hysterical, and his accent reminded me so much of Andy Rooney.

Did I mention what happened to E ? 

The next day we got up and went back to DC for the official sightseeing tour. We unfortunately had lower seats and could not see all the sites too well. We saw all the tourist sites and then took another bus to Arlington Cemetery so I could see my beloved Jack and Jackie.

My favorite quote

Jackie

John

Bobby

Teddy 

 I was quite emotional until I realized how far up it was to the Kennedy graves. By the the time I got up there I was breathless. Some lady left crying, and I had such sympathy for her. They were both too young to die. Most of the Kennedy Clan were too young. We also visited the tomb of the unknown soldier. That was really impressive too, except the soldier has walk back and forth on this rubber thing.....when was the rubber thing installed.

We then saw the Iwo Jima statue which was very large and very surreal. We returned back to Herndon, VA for a nites sleep and then got up early the next day. The Smith Family was kind enough to watch the twins so we could take S and enjoy the capitol tour....

The tour of the Capitol Building...not so impressive. Okay, yes its really nice to go inside, the statues are lovely, the art is lovely, but you really have to be controlled. You don't get to see all the statues close up. I had a lot of questions, but there were so many people in there. T and I were really disappointed. I want to go back on a week day and get the FULL tour. They however did show a really REALLY cool movie. It was very touching, and made one proud to be an American. Nothing has ever inspired me as much as that movie.

Wizard of Oz Red Ruby Slippers

It's time to put on Make Up ! It's time to light the lights !!

Hat O Michael Jackson

I know nothing about Lion King

Cat Lady Costume

Farrah Fawcett's swimsuit and Van Halen guitar

American Flag

We toured the United States National Archives, The Smithsonian United States History Museum and then we visited

 The Lincoln Memorial and the

Jefferson Booty

 Jefferson Memorial. We then drove home, had dinner, and then woke up the next morning and drove back to Georgia. The drive was long, but not too long. Now , it's time to break out the Christmas Crap...let the Holidays/Birthdays begin !!