4 Days in Virginia and Washington D. C. with Melissa
I would end my month long visit to the US with a short visit to see Melissa.
I absolutely loved having mother-daughter connections over these 4 days.
Almost a year ago, Melissa moved from Maryland to Arlington, Virginia.
She lives in this beautiful home with 6 other girls.
I was thrilled to visit Melissa here...as now I would have a true visual of where Melissa lives!
The closest Metro stop near Melissa's home was just a short walk away....less than 10 minutes....even though D.C. has many more Metro lines than in Warsaw, I actually felt quite comfortable riding the subway and finding my way around.
While Melissa worked on Thursday and Friday, I toured the "Newseum" and the "Holocaust" museums in downtown D. C. I had previously been to the Newseum on Pennsylvania Ave. with Mark and Jamie...on a very cold December day when Melissa first moved to the D.C. area.
I enjoyed returning to the Newseum...going slowly through the exhibits and relearning about many of the "news worthy" displays they had on hand.
In one area, the museum has the headlines from a newspaper for each state in the United States as well as many international cities...I recognized Polish words and found the newspaper from Warsaw, Poland!
I thought this was a very interesting map...Here displayed are countries throughout the world showing countries that do and do not have a free press.
The countries in green = free press
The countries in yellow = a little free press
The countries in red= no free press
I was pleased to see that both the United States and Poland are countries displayed in "green"!
I saw an interesting display about the 2012 Presidential election....
.....a portion of the former Berlin Wall (this side was facing West Berlin)
....one of the many towers on the East German border...
and a map showing the great length of the Berlin Wall.
I also walked out on the terrace facing the Nation's Capitol Building.
This time instead of freezing cold air (like in 2009)....it was windy and very hot...our temps during my visit were over 100+ F.!
I loved when Melissa got off work and we were ready to eat together...here we are at Cosi's...a fun sandwich shop!
We also went to "Mie N Yu"....a very interesting restaurant...I had edamame peas for the first time for an appetizer...they were simply delicious!
Friday night....ready to hit the town....dinner....dessert and Beauty and the Beast!
Just outside the "Mie N Yu" restaurant
Melissa said she "had to take me to a cupcake shop"....so we shared a raspberry-lemon cupcake!
Fabulous!
Just outside the cupcake shop was this cute pink bike...then we started our long walk to the National Theater...
Many years ago our family had seen the original stage production of "Beauty and the Beast" in Houston prior to it being performed on Broadway.
We loved seeing"Beauty and the Beast" years ago....and we enjoyed it this night as well!
After the production....I thought....this is such a happy story! So glad I could enjoy it with Melissa!
On Saturday....we went to the Eastern Market....then to the Washington D. C. Temple. We had a great Saturday together even if the weather was stifling hot! First we had to find a parking spot...close to some beautiful, old, colorful homes...then walk just a few blocks...
"Eastern Market" is like a food/flower outdoor market....a flea market....quite an eclectic fun place to walk and shop!
We bought some of the most delicious fresh peaches I have ever eaten....wish I could have brought some home to Poland!
We were hungry...so we had some fantastic crepes...can't even remember all the ingredients but we devoured and enjoyed every bite!
We attended the beautiful Washington D. C. Temple in the early evening...what a great way to end our Saturday evening together.
We also stopped by the Visitor's Center and enjoyed seeing a new display of pictures and questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints!
Sunday...early morning church....connections with Mark over Skype....and a pre-birthday treat from Melissa and her roommates.
After attending church with Melissa, we came home and made a yummy brunch together. One of her roommates created a sweet fruit creation...and before eating it...Melissa and her roommates came out and sang to me..."Happy Birthday"....my birthday was the next day and I would be celebrating it in the air!
What a sweet surprise!
"Happy Birthday, Mom"!
I loved ending my month long trip with a mother-daughter connection! I didn't want to think about how long it would be before seeing each other again...but grateful for the fun memorable weekend we enjoyed together!
So good bye Washington D. C. Good-bye Melissa...thanks for letting me hang out with you and welcoming me so warmly into your beautiful home!
No comments:
Post a Comment