Thanksgiving in Washington, D.C. [Part 1]

You probably already heard that we spent Thanksgiving in Washington, D.C., and if not, you knew by the title of this post, right? It's true, we headed out early on Thursday morning to the Des Moines International Airport (which has no international flights) for a 7:10 flight to our nation's capitol. The purpose was to not only take in the beautiful city, but also to visit Kelsey's brother, Cole. The Christiansons, Williamses and the Smiths were on their way!

There are going to be a lot of photos and not much commentary...k thanks!

Thursday (Thanksgiving Day)

The plane was light with passengers so the three of us were upgraded to first class! Bingo!

After arriving, we all got metro passes. We relied on the metro and walking to get around. The most I think I have ever walked in four days. Even more than Disney World.

Unconventional, but that was the best pork chop and mashed potatoes I have ever had! Dave at 1cupawesome informed me that pork has more tryptophan than turkey...

I thought this bike rack was pretty neat.

After our bellies were good and full, we took the blue line to Arlington National Cemetery for the afternoon.

JFK grave site

The view from the Robert E. Lee Estate

With all the walking we made sure to rest where we could.

Friday

I also rode more escalators in four days than ever before in my life.

We started Friday with a walk around Capitol Hill.

Maysen is sleeping in the stroller after getting sick earlier. Poor little girl. It must have been a 12-hour bug because she bounced back later that night!

We got a private tour from Kelsey's brother inside the capitol.

Maysen slept through a late afternoon lunch at Pour House.

The Smith girls and papa bear went back to the hotel to relax while the rest of the clan trekked on down the national mall to see the monuments at dusk/night.

The telltale sign that Maysen (right) was feeling better...swimming and smiling!

We loved getting to squeeze these cheeks for four solid days!! She's going to love having a little cousin in March!

That concludes the first two days of our trip. We'll be back tomorrow with the last two days.