There's No Place Like D.C.

There’s no place like D.C., there’s no place like D.C.

Ok I’m not really that into D.C., but I thought it would be a good segue into the fact that on day three of our D.C. trip, we visited the National Museum of American History where we saw a Wizard of Oz exhibit.

The museum had the beautiful ruby red slippers themselves.

Evidently there are some differences between the two pairs, but I couldn’t identify any.

They also had the scarecrow’s hat and the Glinda’s wand!

Definitely wanted the wand.

They also had an exhibit with dresses that various First Ladies have worn throughout the years, including this stellar flapper dress.

Old sport.

Also, would die to try on this red gown.

Stunning.

They also had a full-on, whole vintage fire truck.

It was really beautiful, as was the painting done on it.

Other notables:

Selena’s jacket

Prince’s car

A whole boat from 1776

It was incredible! You can’t beat the museums in D.C. I highly recommend you add them to your list of places to visit.

Next on our docket was the Capital.

It’s a beautiful building.

We checked a few things out in the building before walking to the Library of Congress, which is attached.

I approved of their signage choices.

One of the first things we saw was the Gutenberg Bible.

As I’ve mentioned before, it was a bizarre experience seeing some of the things you grow up learning about in school in real life. I’m a bookbinding, literature-loving book nerd, so it was awesome to see the Gutenberg Bible.

We also got to take a look at one of the offices, which was set up in a replica of one of the librarians’ offices.

I’m not sure if I would be super productive in this office or if I would be constantly distracted by the paintings on the ceilings, but I’d certainly be willing to find out.

Then, the main hall.

The Library of Congress has to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited.

I mean, LOOK AT THE CEILING.

We climbed up the steps to the second floor, and the stunning views continued.

This is what the ceilings looked like as you walked down the corridors:

I want to know who maintains these ceilings so I can personally thank them. I could have spent a lot of time hanging out here (and I kind of did), but we eventually made our way to the viewing room, where you can look at at the actually library itself. For those keeping up with the National Treasure facts, this is where the president’s book of secrets is kept!

It’s also just another astonishingly beautiful space.

You have to climb up a few steps to enter the little lookout room, so when we exited we were treated to another beautiful view of the building.

And with that, our mini tour was over, and we left the Capital area.

One of the final items on our list was a visit to the National Archives.

I wasn’t allowed to take any photos while I was there, but it was hands-down the craziest thing I saw during our trip (with the exception of Lincoln’s hat that he was wearing the night he was assassinated, which can be found in the National Museum of American History). Like I said, it’s hard to wrap your mind around the fact that you’re looking at the actual Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Sadly, both documents were pretty faded, but it was still mind-boggling to see them.

We couldn’t leave D.C. without having a formal photoshoot at the National Mall, so please enjoy the following images.

I’m only smiling because I still have my fan.

We’d gone to the National Mall approximately ten million times during our trip, so we decided to shake things up by visiting a new stop, the Jefferson Memorial.

It was also under construction, but it was still very cool!

It also had a sick view of the Washington Monument, with the White House peeking through the trees next to it.

The epitome of Washington, D.C.

We then returned to the Lincoln Memorial, which was still pretty packed even during a weekday.

“I’m going to steal the Declaration of Independence,” I said to Sarah. “Please don’t,” she replied.

(Obligatory National Treasure fact: This is where Ben/Nicholas Cage decide to steal the Declaration in the first film.)

Honest Abe probably wouldn’t have approved, anyway.

I had to get a classic shot of the monument across from the reflecting pool.

Check that off the D.C. bucket list!

And that was D.C.! Our last day was pretty short in comparison to the others, but we packed in a fair amount of sightseeing and museum-perusing.

Next on my adventure docket was to cross off a series of Northern State Parks from my 25 Things List. Stay posted for more shenanigans coming your way, soon!