Washington D.C., Part 3.

Day 4:

After recovering from the bike tour, the next big thing on the agenda was a capitol tour. For almost a month, Micah had emailed and called Michael Bennet's office (one of the colorado state senators) in an effort to secure a tour from one of his staff. Having been for the most part unsuccessful, I didn't really think we'd be able to go. I would just have to rely on my 5th grade experience of the capitol, which is shaky to say the least. However, luck would have it that on day number 3, someone called and set up a time for us to come in the very next day.

So we were off to the capitol, that is after relocating our luggage from the guesthouse to the hotel where all the wedding festivities would soon commence. Security wasn't that bad, and once inside we soon met up with tour guide Matt. Matt worked as an intern and is now employed as a legislative correspondent (or something like that). He explained that his job entails a lot of opening all the public's mail addressed to the senator, which include intelligent Americans screaming through paper that he is the spawn of satan and is singlehandedly tearing down our nation. Like I said, intelligent people. I'd say that's a pretty depressing job. Anyway, you could tell that Matt had conducted the tour before as he was quite informative and kept a good pace.

We saw a replica of Lady Justice, who resides on the top of the capitol building. The replica ushers people into the visitor's center, which is a fairly new addition and houses a few of the state statues (each state gets to place 2 statues in designated areas throughout the capitol).

The first stop was inside the dome of the capitol, which as impressive as it might be from the outside, is even moreso from inside. I can't imagine the time and energy that went into creating it, and the sore necks that perspired as a result.

It is beautiful.

Again, can you imagine the sore necks?

I forget the significance of this chandelier, but I think it has something to do with there being a lot of stories revolving who first brought it there.

Tour guide Matt did mention that it takes about 2 or 3 weeks to clean. Can you imagine having to clean that thing?

The Old Senate Room

Yeah Nancy!

The Old House of Representatives Room

This is supposedly where Abraham Lincoln's desk sat.

The Crypt:

where they were going to re-bury George Washington,

but his family fought to have him stay at Mt. Vernon.

The Center of the Capitol

(where the four quadrants of D.C. begin)

The Old Supreme Court Room

Hallway and one-fourth of Tour guide Matt.

I spotted the Washington Monument from inside the Capitol.

And then we got to go on the special tour due to Micah's status as a Bennet volunteer. It really only consisted of seeing a few extra rooms and a cool hallway. Tour guide Matt mentioned that we might see a Senator, but we had no such luck.

The story goes that lobbyists used to hide behind this stairwell and wait for Senators to come down so that they could talk to them. Isn't that crazy? I guess that was a time when politicians were not all too eager to meet lobbyists' demands.

Last but not least, The Senate Appropriations Committee Room

After the official tour, we were given tickets to see the current Senate and House meeting rooms. First stop-the Senate, which was actually in session, so we got to see a few Senators speak (including John McCain-who was the only one I really recognized). He talked about his opposition to Earmarks, no shocker there! (: Second stop-the House, which was not in session, but impressive to see nonetheless. Oh, the history that happens in those two rooms. The women and men that in those very rooms fight for those that elected them. And, the decisions that are made that we adamantly oppose or victoriously cheer on. It was probably my favorite part of the capitol tour.

And, switching gears, as the tour found an end, we found a new plan. There were wedding favors to be made. Kristen, Hsiong, Micah, my Mom, and I powered through putting together the boxes and then Micah and I started in mixing the vegan chocolate truffles. They were really easy, but may I suggest that you follow the directions carefully for your food processor, because we burned through my sister's and had to go out and buy another (which we almost killed as well)!

Do you see that Smoothie King cup? Why, oh, why do I not get those more often...so good!

The diligent team (minus Micah who was taking the picture).

The finished boxes. Aren't they cute?

For some reason, I did not take any pictures of the actual truffles, but they were really good. And by around 12:30 a.m. the favors were all finished!

p.s. No, I still haven't gotten a cord to get the rest of the pictures off the camera, so this may be it until I can figure that out.

The blog lives on.

I've got lots to catch up on...like for starters finishing up D.C. Trip/Wedding Extravaganza. But for now, you'll just have to be satisfied with an awesome little video of some of my sister's wedding photos, which are AMAZING! (and yes, she did run a half marathon the day OF her wedding!)

Kristen & Hsiong from Ethanyang photography on Vimeo.

Washington D.C., Part 2.

Day 3:

Thanks to my friend Emily, who told me about Bike and Roll (a bike tour company in DC), Day 3 was filled with seeing many of the monuments along the National Mall. And, let me just say, biking was the way to do it. The tour was three hours and it really wasn't strenuous at all since there are tons of breaks for picture taking. The guides were knowledgeable and outgoing. I highly recommend them. Also, I found a $5 coupon for them on yelp, which made it even better! In case you don't want to spend the money or in case you'll not be traveling to DC anytime soon, I'll give you the play by play.

We started out at the first Smithsonian building, The Castle.

It took some time getting used to the bike I rode. It was more reactionary than mine, but we soon became fast friends.

We rode along to the Natural History Museum.

Micah has this look of shock, I'm not sure if it's because he was finally coming to grasp that we were really in DC or if he was just excited about natural history.

Here's the group in front the Smithsonian Modern Art Building.

The World War II Japanese Memorial.

The back of the Capital.

The front of the Capital.

The Korean War Memorial.

I wish we had gotten the chance to go back here and see it close up, because it looked really interesting. Because of space limitations, the designer built a wall to reflect images of the soldiers to make it seem as though there are more of them.

The Washington Monument.

(It's so impressive when you're standing right underneath it.)

The Reflecting Pool.

The Lincoln Memorial.

The White House.

(The fountain is green because it was St. Patrick's Day.)

The End. (I guess Micah's waving goodbye?)

After the bike tour, food was once again on our mind and upon yet another recommendation (this time from Melissa), we went to Kramerbooks and Afterwords. It's located off of Dupont Circle, which is definitely an area I would like to spend more time exploring. Although the escalators coming up from the metro were intimidating (by which I mean terrifying). Here's the view.

For lunch (not that you really care), I got this crabcake pasta dish, which was awesome. I pretty much ate as much crab as humanly possible in a 7 day time period. It was grand. And, to finish off, we got the Goober Pie (which Melissa said was a must).

Hmm, hmm, goober pie!

Washington D.C., Part 1.

Since the Wedding pictures are currently stuck on my camera (the cord to connect to upload them is nowhere to be found), I will begin our journey at the beginning. I suppose chronological order is nothing to snub at, so here it is. Spring Break 2010!

Day 1:

After arriving late to the Baltimore airport, missing the earlier bus that would take us to the metro, and hauling our 4 bags to our bed - breakfast (not to be mistaken with bed & breakfast), the first and really only task of the remainder of our evening was to get food. Based on my sister's recommendation and overwhelmingly positive reviews on yelp, Micah and I found our way to Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant. And, well, it did not disappoint. I'm not a pro when it comes to Ethiopian or Eritrean food, but the mixture of spices were delectable and the spongy pancake-like bread was superb.

Micah got an Ethiopian beer.

And, I got a glass of honey wine, which I obviously was much more excited about.

The restaurant had also won the approval of many a review companies, proudly displaying their "best of" awards on the mantelpiece.

After our meal, we decided to hit up a nearby wine bar, and let's just say the wine was fine, but the dessert needed some more love and attention. Thankfully, we had a waiter that informed us out-of-towners that we should "see the sites" while in DC. Seriously, we would have been lost without that tidbit of insider information.

Day 2:

So, based on the insight of a DC local, the next morning Micah and I fought the time change and made our way downtown to see the sites. Let me just point out right here that DC has an amazing metro system. It was as if I had died and gone to public transportation heaven. It was efficient and timely, oh, the praises I could sing. Micah timed it and I think it took somewhere around 15 minutes from the time we left our guesthouse to the time we arrived downtown. Absolutely, incredible! Once downtown, we were on a hunt for food again.

We walked around, asked a few people, but it was not until ingenious DC local #2 that we happened upon Lincoln's Waffle Shop (I say ingenious, because he was unsure whether they served breakfast, really? It's got waffle in the title). I feel the need to apologize to Eddie's Cafe, since I felt a twinge of pain as though I was cheating on my first breakfast love. It wasn't quite as good, but a greasy spoon nonetheless and we were about the only tourists in the place which always makes a restaurant seem more authentic.

We sat at the bar looking out at the street, which gave us this view of Ford's Theatre, where President Lincoln was shot.

We took a better picture of the view once outside.

We inquired about going on a tour inside, but because of price and time, limited ourselves to posing under the sign.

After which, we walked over to the National Mall, passing by the Old Post Office Pavilion on our way.

I've been to DC a few times before, but the mall area is always impressive.

There's the capital at one end.

And the Washington Monument at the other.

Like I said, it's an impressive sight.

Isn't this one of those obligatory pictures, like when you go to London and photograph yourself in a red telephone booth?

Since there's something like 13 Smithsonian museums and we knew we would at the most only make it to one or two, we decided upon the National Museum of American History. Although, slightly disappointing, it had a few great exhibits and there was a spattering of interesting artifacts to look through.

We started with the President's exhibit, which was informative, interesting, and even interactive! I've decided from here on out presidents should pose like I did in the last picture.

After that, we saw some red shoes

A green puppet

A huge dollhouse

Michelle Obama's Inagural Gown

Then, Micah kissed a buffalo

And I basked in the awe of Julia Child's kitchen

The day was not close to being done when we left, so we went to Georgetown to window shop. After much walking, we attempted three times at going to a happy hour, but for some irrational reason, many DC restaurants only serve happy hour at the bar, which we were only told after we sat down to order. Umm, no, no I do not want to pay $6 for a glass of sangria when someone 5 feet from me is drinking one for $3. Give me a break. We ended up at a thai restaurant and got a few appetizers and then grabbed some hummus and pita from trader joe's before crashing back at the guesthouse.

Soon to follow, the rest of our touristy adventures and the wedding (as soon as I can figure out how to get the pictures off my camera).

coming soon...

MANY posts on Spring Break 2010!

there once was a bakery.

Once upon a time there was a little bakery in Silver Plume, CO.

It was the perfect little bakery, nestled in the quaintest of mountain towns.

The town boasted of 175 people.

The bakery was worn, loved.

There was a unique feeling that filled the place, as though I was standing in a piece of history. A place that had provided an outlet for community gatherings, a place that united past and current generations.

The aroma was heavenly and so were all the baked goods we purchased.

(me, sandra, kortney, and micah)

And then there was the town church, adorable.

I may have been delusional at the time, but after leaving I declared if I couldn't live in a city, hands down I would pick a quaint, less-travelled town over the suburbs. Would you?

a series of unfortunate events.

(no, not the book)

1. I decide to use the chef knife to cut an onion, which is odd because I am normally wary of gigantic knives that can kill people.

2. After chopping the onion, I set said knife down on the counter by the cutting board.

3. Micah asks to help by cutting the red pepper for dinner.

4. Micah picks up said knife.

5. Knife gets caught on edge of cutting board.

6. Micah accidentally drops the knife.

7. Knife bounces up with incredible strength.

8. I am still standing next to the kitchen counter.

9. Knife slices open my right index finger.

10. Knife drops to the floor (thankfully causing no further problems).

11. My finger is bleeding everywhere.

12. I put finger under water and put pressure on it.

13. Micah and Connor (who was over for dinner) race to grab paper towels and emergency kit to further contain the bloody mess.

14. I keep finger elevated to stop bleeding

15. I bleed through at least 6 sheets of paper towels until bleeding finally subdues.

16. Finger is bandaged and wrapped in gauze.

17. Finger is throbbing in pain.

18. Micah apologizes for the 2,013th time, because he feels terrible for slicing my finger open.

19. I take lots of advil to dull the pain

20. My finger looks like this.

This is my meager attempt at an ok sign...cause really, I'm ok.