Washington D.C. Sightseeing by The Seat of Our Pants

Most people plan an organized trip to our Nation’s Capitol filled with tours, sightseeing, museum visits, and other Kodak moments. However, when we faced with a less than 2 day trip to plan in a little over twelve hours, we were forced to sightsee by the seat of our pants.  We didn’t have time to see much, but we made the most of the time we had.

annapolis crab pick

Our plane landed in Baltimore on Thursday night.  My friend Suzanne picked us up and took us directly to our very first Crab Pick experience at Cantler’s in Annapolis.  If you’ve never had the opportunity to take in a Crab Pick, you order fresh crabs and they deliver them in their shell to your table by the bucket full.  Then you use a mallet and knife to break open the shell and dig out the incredible white crab meat. Melts in your mouth!

downtown annapolis in the fall

The next morning we woke up to the quaint capital of Annapolis.  I could have spent a week there.  It’s so historic with so many cute shops, and a beautiful view of the Chesapeake Bay. We had to be at the White House Tweetup in the morning, so we mostly just looked out the car window, but I would LOVE to go back!

Most of our daylight hours were spent inside the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, but we did manage to take a few pictures during our lunch break.

You know like the classic pinch a National Monument pictures.

how to pinch objects in photos

(You can see pictures and details from our time at the White House Tweetup over here.)

Except for this one. 

joe biden vp urinal in eistenhower building

I know.  It’s a urinal.  But it’s not just ANY urinal.  This is the urinal just steps away from Vice President Biden’s office.  So yes, this is proof that my husband has relieved himself in the same place as our current Vice President and those in the past.  You want his autograph?

After leaving Press Secretary Carney’s office late Friday evening, we took a cab to take in a few monuments at sundown. 

lincoln memorial at sunset

The Lincoln Monument is breathtaking at night. 

washington monument at night

As is the Washington National Monument.

world war II memorial at night     

And the World War II Memorial is stunning. A highlight of our trip was looking up Brad’s grandfather and my uncle on the World War II Registry and viewing their records. So grateful for their service as well as so many thousands of lives who fought for our freedoms.

mayflower hotel entrance washington dc

And THIS is where I want to stay next time we are in town. {Insert Sarcasm.} I could live in the entrance of The Mayflower Hotel.

southwest wing shot 

And in almost the blink of an eye, we were back on an airplane and headed back to the Midwest.

Maybe we’ll have the time and opportunity to PLAN and take in more sites next visit!

Have YOU been to our Nation’s Capitol?  Where is your favorite place to sightsee?