10 Years Married!

We weren't sure how to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, and as is sometimes the case with us, it was about to pass us by without much of a plan at all. Thankfully, opportunities collided and we found ourselves heading to Washington D.C. for a couple of nights over my spring break from school.

We checked in to the Normandy Hotel in DuPont Circle, quickly unpacked, and then walked through sunshine to the National Zoo. (The sun was really bright--I swear we were smiling!)

We saw all kinds of fish,

pretty squawking flamingos,

all kinds of birds in this outdoor flight cage,

 pandas, elephants, lions, and climb-able statues.

Then it was back to the hotel with our tired kiddo. The next day John and Oscar woke up feeling different kinds of sick, and I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but after meds and a little extra rest, both were ready to get out and see some of this new-to-us city.

 We met up with Kimberly, John's cousin, who is about to graduate from school next month and lives in the city.

Not only was she a wonderful tour guide, but she and Oscar became fast friends.

We visited most of the important local landmarks, including

 the Washington Monument,

the Lincoln Memorial,

 and the new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial.

 Kimberly used her position with the Smithsonian to get us in without waiting in line at the National Museum of Natural History. (See that whale? It's not real, but it is to scale--and it is HUGE.)

Oscar and the elephant (it IS real).

 And then again, with a worn-out kiddo, we hopped back on the Metro for a short ride to the hotel. (No offense, Philly's SEPTA, but D.C.'s Metro stops sure are pretty.)

 We only ate out ONCE (not counting John picking up Five Guys the night before) the entire trip, and this was it: dinner at Scion in Dupont Circle. Good stuff!

This was the steepest escalator I've ever been on, but apparently not the steepest or longest in town. I had no problem going down, but going up I had to hold the rail for irrationally fearing a fall backward down all of those moving steps.

 On our last morning, we had to go at least look at the White House with our own eyes. (John's crushing it, see?)

 After that we headed for the National Air and Space Museum where we spent a good chunk of time looking up.

 We stopped to eat some lunch at the National Sculpture Garden before we began a happily uneventful ride back to Philly.  Though a bit spontaneous, we couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate our last ten years together.