Our Leather Anniversary Trip: Days One and Two

For the past three years, Eric and I have done something special to celebrate our anniversary.  The first year, our anniversary coincided with the opening of the Treehouse Villas near Saratoga Springs Resort where Eric worked at the time.  To test the operational capacities of the villas, all of the managers were offered a free night, so Eric cunningly planned his test date to be on the night of our anniversary.  Last year, we escaped to beautiful Miami for a few days.

Near our Miami hotel

For a while we had been thinking about taking a vacation to Washington, D.C., so when Jackson and his fiancee Evelyn announced they were getting married on Memorial Day weekend like we did, and that the wedding would be near her hometown in Maryland, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and take a fantastically fun and educational vacation to the D.C. area to celebrate the anniversary of our wedding during the week before their wedding!

We flew in to Dulles on our anniversary, Tuesday the 24th, and took the MetroBus into the District.  Upon arrival, we immediately partook in a DC/MD/VA tradition, eating Five Guys burgers.  (Adventurous.)  I count these as our leather anniversary gifts since they come from the same source.

Adorable upholstery on our express bus

After that, we knocked out several items from the itinerary right off the bat.  We walked from our hotel to the National Gallery of Art's East Building, stopped to see the Charters of Freedom (Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution) at the National Archives (no photos allowed there, to my dismay), and then hoofed it a couple of blocks to check out the Capitol Building.  Then we said "eff that" and got weekly bus passes apiece.

A favorite Renoir (Little Girl with a Watering Can) at the National Gallery

*salute*

There were no tickets available for the Washington Monument elevator ride all week, so we (read: I) researched a worthy alternative for an aerial D.C. view and came up with the Old Post Office.  The view was lovely but an unexpected draw for me was the tower bells.  Totally fascinating for a geek.

We were up bright and early on day two, only to find out that none of the attractions on our list opened before 10am.  So we killed a little time outside the gates of the National Gallery's Sculpture Garden.

Eric found a head rest in my monopod

After a stroll through the sculpture garden and a look through the National Gallery West building, we stopped for a highly recommended lunch at the Museum of the American Indian, and then we spent way more time than we thought we would at the U.S. Botanical Gardens.  What a cool place!

Stunning da Vinci at the National Gallery, the only one of his in the western hemisphere (and it's gosh dang double sided!)

Some type of tropical curiosity at the Botanical Gardens

Our next stop was my personally most anticipated itinerary item: the Library of Congress.  The idea I had in my head--a cavernous palace stacked with ancient and colorful books from floor to ceiling--was much more romantic than the real thing, where books actually are largely brought in from other storage areas upon request.  However, since I had taken the advice of some sage friends, I had at least had the foresight to register for a reader's card, so I still got to go inside the main reading room, an architectural wonder, which most visitors don't get to visit.  There were also some really interesting exhibits, including Jefferson's personal book collection, which restarted the Library after the British burned it during the War of 1812, and a Gershwin brothers gallery.  We also took the free tour (yes, everything we did on the whole entire trip was free), led by a very dedicated if ditsy volunteer.  She graciously agreed to lead Eric and me off the beaten path after the tour to see the beautiful chamber venue and a nifty collection of musical instruments.  All in all, even though it wasn't at all what I expected, the Library of Congress was still really, really cool and one of my highlights of the vacation.

Geek out!

On the way back to our hotel, we made a brief stop in Chinatown for dinner...at Ruby Tuesday.  And that completed Day Two.

Ni hao

This vacay recap has become rather lengthy, what with the myriad photos and rambling stories and whatnot, so I'll continue with the next two and a half days in the next post!