Tour de Vernon

The beginning of this weekend was really great and relaxed. I slept late on Saturday and spent the afternoon at the Newseum! The Newseum is a museum dedicated to news, which may seem strange, but it's so cool. They have a wing dedicated to Pulitzer Prize winning photographs and the stories behind them! It's a really interactive museum so it's easy to spend several hours there! They have six sections of the Berlin Wall and one of the watch towers used to guard the border between East and West Germany. It was kind of like the Holocaust Museum in that it was very humbling to see the oppression so many people have gone through and to realize how thankful I am for our country. I also loved the Sports Illustrated photographs section- it was cool to read about the personalities of the famous athletes pictured!

Sunday was just amazing. Allison Pace, her friends Amy Katherine, Daniel and I rode bikes to Mt. Vernon! Daniel had his own bike but Allison, AK, and I rented bikes from a place in Georgetown. When Allison, AK and I were walking over to pick up the bikes we were joking around about how we hoped they would have just some mountain bikes- not intense road bikes we would have to wear clips for, etc. I was already nervous about the 18 mile ride and knew that if I was going to try to ride a bike clipped in for the first time, it was going to be a long morning! We got to the rental place and the girl told us we could pick any bike-- any of the 7-speed cruisers! Needless to say, it took us a few hours to get to Mt. Vernon haha thankfully, the bikes did have hand-breaks, not pedal breaks. The Mt. Vernon Trail we took was a beautiful trail following most of the way down the Potomac River! The trail goes through Alexandria, woods, and some swampy areas so it was fun even just to see the area!

Allison, Me, and Amy Katherine happy to be at Mt. Vernon!

George and Martha's back porch... pretty sweet!

We left D.C. at about 10 am and got to Mt. Vernon around 1:30! We walked around the grounds for a while and went to Washington's tomb. We were going to take the Metrobus back but the bus only came every 30 minutes and could only take two bikes at a time so we rode 10 miles back to Alexandria and hopped on the Metro from there to return our bikes! I did learn a few things from the ride: 1. I have a new appreciation for cycling etiquette (such as the terms "passing", and "on your left") and 2. I really want a cycling jersey haha

Two quick anecdotes from the ride and I'll wrap up this super long post! First, the trail was packed and during the first 30 minutes or so we were getting passed by cycling teams non-stop. I heard a guy riding up behind me warn me he was passing and I tried to move to the right so he would have room. There wasn't much space for me to move so I apologized for not being able to move and he responded, "No worries! That's the great thing about this trail-- everybody can ride!" It may seem simple or cheesy but simply him saying that made me feel a lot better about enjoying the 3 hour cruise we were about to take! Second, about half-way to Mt. Vernon we passed a man going to town on a handcycle and he was wearing a jersey honoring veterans. It was so cool to see the determination in his face as he rode and easily kept up with the other cyclists... just another thing that makes me admire our troops and those who honor them!

The Boys are Back in Town/Independence Day

If there is one thing I realized over the Fourth of July weekend it is that Independence Day in Washington, D.C. is celebrated like most religious holidays are celebrated in the South... you could hardly go anywhere without someone telling you "Hey! Happy Fourth!"... and that's just how I like it!

Two weekends ago, four of my good friends came in town for the 4th of July! Brett, Blake, Matt and Joe drove all Thursday night and got here on Friday the 2nd. I was so glad to have Friday off because I was able to hang out with them most of the day! I tagged along with them for a Capitol tour (given by Val and Nathan!) and we even got to meet Congressman Harper! That was an unexpected surprise and it got even better-- he gave us a personal tour! He took us to the floor of the House chamber, to a special chapel in the Capitol building and... (drum roll, please!) out to the Speaker's Balcony! 

Blake, Joe, Brett, Me, and Matt on the Speaker's Balcony!

The guys with Congressman Harper on the Speaker's Balcony

Looking out on DC from the Speaker's Balcony was one of the coolest things I've done in DC! Congressman Harper was so kind to take a special interest in us and give us such a neat opportunity!

The fun continued on Saturday with a morning trip to Arlington Cemetery. I guess visiting Arlington isn't necessarily "fun" but it was a beautiful day and a special weekend to visit a place set aside to honor the many men and women who have given their lives to allow us to celebrate our freedom. We went to the Tomb of the Unknowns and watched the changing of the guard there and toured Robert E. Lee's home! We ate lunch at the Old Ebbitt Grill and I had a delicious crab cake sandwich (not soft shell crab this time)! Our crew for the weekend (the guys, Cat Randall, Val and myself) spent all afternoon at the Nationals v. Mets game and just took it easy, enjoying the "Great American Pass-Time". I was glad we spent all afternoon there too, because after a close game and a late falter, the Nats came back with a bottom-of-the-ninth rally to win the game! It was really fun to celebrate a great comeback with the Nats fans who have been here through thick and thin.

The flag in front of Robert E. Lee's house being flown at half-mast in memory of Senator Byrd.

We all went to Capitol Hill Baptist for church (the guys are big Mark Dever fans) and got lunch at 7th Hill Pizza! We parted ways after lunch and I went back to Nationals Stadium with Lauren, Emily and Rae Anne for Party on the Potomac 4th of July party! We had a great time hanging out with friends, dancing, and watching fire works to celebrate Independence Day!

The Week in Pictures

My internet was down this past week so I'm trying to condense this post by using pictures for the majority of it... Each one is 1,000 words, right?

Last week Gov. Haley Barbour came to DC to hold a fundraiser for one of his PACs that promotes Republican leadership! It was written up in POLITICO so that was pretty cool and I was really excited to go. We had a lot of fun hearing Governor Barbour speak and celebrating being republicans! haha

Caroline, myself, and Emily at Haley's Fundraiser!

I had the chance to go see my cousins who live in Connecticut this past weekend! I took the bus the NYC then the train to where they live and had such a great time catching up with them. I got to watch my cousin Jack play tennis in a big tournament and went into New York City on Sunday with my Aunt my cousin Charlotte! Even though it was a quick trip, I'm so thankful we were able to spend the weekend together!

saturday...

Jack making a good save!

The beautiful tennis center at Yale!

sunday...

Charlotte and myself eating lunch in Central Park!

The boat pond in Central Park

Charlotte at the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park

I had work Monday and then Tuesday was the 49th Annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity. Congressman Gregg Harper wore a Mississippi State jersey! It was a close game until the very end when the Democrats got 4 runs to secure the win... Most of our office sat together and a group of people protesting for clean energy and against "big oil" sat behind us! Despite the protesters, we had a great time!

Congressman Harper is True Maroon... 

Myself, Lauren, Chaille and Caroline cheering on the GOP!