DC

We returned from our trip to DC on Friday and it has taken me this long to recover.
The Man of the House goes to this same conference every year and this is the first time we have taken advantage of its location.
We have been on trips to DC before, but it has been a long ago and we have never had this amount of time to spend.

We had six full days of sight seeing, walking, eating and going to receptions in the evening.

Since this was a working trip for the Man of the House, he was up early and off to meetings 

with senators, congressman and other legislative folks.

#2,  #3 and I headed out of our hotel most mornings with plans that filled the entire day.

(#1 had to stay back in NC because she is in summer school. She stayed at home and took care of things and commuted back and forth from Raleigh to Chapel Hill everyday. Lola and Charlie (and Bubbles) were glad about that!!)

Our hotel was just two blocks from the white house and so must mornings we walked right by it.

We had our priorities in the right order and our first stop was to head
over to the Smithsonian to take a look at all 45.5 carats of the Hope Diamond
and the rest of the gem stone collection.  

We are such a fan of the movie Julie & Julia and Food Network
and
so we were excited to see Julia Child's kitchen. 

We lucked out on the weather, it was really comfortable,

but still decided to take a few breaks here and there. 

One day we headed over to Georgetown via a double decker bus and did some shopping.

#3 L.O.V.E.D. the Vineyard Vines store and sweet talked her way into
a bathing suit, pair of shorts and shirt.

I got a few things also, but my big purchase was shoes.
I promise I needed them.

#2 wanted cupcakes from DC Cupcakes.....

but so did everyone else. 

We could not believe how long the line was. 

It was wrapped all the way around the building.  

We decided that waiting in a line for thirty minutes was probably not the smartest thing to do because it looked like it was going to pour any minute and decided to head to the bus stop. 

We lucked out a were able to take a tour of the Capitol one day.

We met  up with you know who for dinner each night and I just about ordered crab cakes at every restaurant. They were wonderful everywhere we went, but I have to give first place to
Oceanaire's.

Another night we went to Bobby Van's and got to experience this wonderful thing...

I have been craving lump crabmeat since!!!


The girls and I were having withdraws from tomato sauce and so on the night that
we were on our own, we headed to Carmine's for a family style italian dinner and
had a platter of salad

and another HUGE platter of spaghetti and meatballs. 

AND
I am so glad that my girls got to experience this bea - u - ti - ful sight.

 I had to crop a lot OUT of this picture.
That is a man in the bra and thong, everyone else didn't bother to wear anything and there were more participants than just these three hunks!
I am not so sure why they were riding around the capitol of the United States in their birthday suits, but I assume it was in protest of something.
Can I protest their manner of protesting?

I was so proud that #3, my baby, got to see "THAT",  if you get my drift.
IT was nothing new for #2 though.
Years ago, she bumped into a skinny dipping frenchman while she was snorkeling in the Caribbean.
But that is a story for another day!