My DC Trip (3 months later…) Day 1

I flew out of Salt Lake on Sunday, February 26th.  I ended up sitting next to someone else who was going to the conference, although I managed to look like an excited, silly traveler before finding that out.  She was by the window, and I kept peeking over her to look out (the entire time) because I love to travel and fly so much!  For anyone who has ever flown into DC, the first thing you can see is the Washington DC temple.  I thought I got a picture of it, but I guess I can’t find it.  The lady next to me took another picture and then texted it to me.  It is so neat to fly in and be so close to everything.  The planes fly right by the monuments and you get to see everything at once.  I was already loving DC, and I was still in the air!

Carlos’ cousin, Damaris, lives in the area and picked me up from the airport.  She took me around to several of the monuments and sights, most of them pictured below.  She was such an awesome guide and so great to take her time to show me around.  Thanks Damaris!!!

I loved the details in the architecture and that you could see the Capitol Building straight down many different streets.  I loved the feel and energy of the city.  I loved the history and the monuments.  It was great!

                                                       

           

         

After a while, we found a bite to eat and then Damaris took me to my hotel.  She also left me with a yummy treat so that I could have something to eat in my room.  I got to be on the tenth floor with a view of the airport and the Capitol.  The conference was at the Marriot Renaissance Arlington Capital View and was a fun hotel.  The details were great and so was the service.  The bed was very comfortable and I LOVED my view!  Following are some pictures of the details in the hotel.  In the elevator picture, look at the side panels – not the buttons.  And that cool faucet was in the main lobby/restaurant bathroom.  The cool walls were on the second floor conference area.

And here are some night pictures of the view from my room:

I called home and Skyped with my family for a little while.  My mom was so awesome to come out and help all week.  Thanks Mom!  She wasn’t there that first night, so I talked to Carlos and the boys.  They were really excited to see me.  It was fun.  Zach had started to cough really bad the night before I left and when Carlos took him to the doctor on Monday, he ended up having pneumonia.  I was really sad to not be there to help him, but Carlos and Mom did a great job.  My awesome neighbor also called to see how it was going.  I then just tried to rest and relax for a while but I was nervous about the next day and had a hard time getting to sleep.  I think it was after 1:00 am by the time I finally fell asleep.   Because I was so high with a clear view, I left the main curtains open and just closed the sheer curtains so I could still enjoy the lights.  Little did I know that when there aren’t any mountains, the sun would start to rise at about 4:23 the next morning!  Pictures from that to come in the next post. 

I know this is long with a lot of pictures, but I need to get this down before I forget it all.  I’ve already forgotten so many little details!