D.C. Reflection

Hey guys!
I know I didn't give much of a run down of my actual D.C. trip and honestly, it was so hectic all I could do at the end of each day was post all the photos of the day and crash in bed.
Regardless, here is a nice little overview/reflection of my mom's and my trip to D.C.!

August 5
ROAD TRIP! Woooooo!
I felt bad that my mom had to drive the entire 12 hours (since my permit expired), but the trip was still fun. For starters, the scenery of Tennessee and Virginia is absolutely breath-taking. The mountains, hills, ivy, everything. Just gorgeous. We listened to 80's music most of the ride and talked about an assortment of things. There's not much more to comment on the road trip but when we arrived in Falls Church, Virginia (where we were staying with our friends) it was so great! The kids, Samuel and Sofia, were outside playing with their friends when we pulled up and they instantly stopped playing to run inside and tell their parents we were there. Mrs. Marinela and Mr. Keith came out to greet us before going in. We all talked for a bit (including the kids) and ate some pizza they had made, which so yum! The rest of the evening was spent chit-chatting before bed, my mom and I were utterly exhausted.

August 6
This morning the kiddos knocked on our door bright and early at 7 AM, to wake us up. They jumped on the bed and talked to us about all sorts of things before dragging us upstairs to eat breakfast in the kitchen (where Mrs.Marinela was getting the food ready). We ended up leaving at 10 AM, drove to the Metro station and parked. Going into the station was cool because it reminded me when we use to take the Metro and trains in Europe, much nostalgia people. Anyway, we bought our one-day passes. The station we were at was East Falls Church (orange line) and we had to get to Tennleytown (red line) but because the orange line was having some technical issues, we had to ride to McPhearson Square and walk to Metro Center Station in order to ride to Tennleytown.

Anyway, we made it to Tennleytown and we walked to the American University (about 1.5 miles). The main point of this whole metro situation was to do a test run of how long it would take for us to get from the house to the American University the next morning for Preview Day. Unfortunately, once we finally reached AU, we decided to just take our luck driving since it had taken us over 2 hours by metro and walking to reach the university. It just seemed pointless.

By this point we were getting hungry so we decided to walk back towards the metro station we had come from since we had seen some restaurants near by. 

We settled on eating lunch at the Burger Tap & Shake and then grabbed some coffee from the nearby Starbucks to charge our phones. 

At 3, our phones were charged and we were ready to begin our real adventure through DC.

We got to the metro and rode back to the Metro Center, where we then walked to Downtown D.C.

Our first sight was the Warner Theatre that had signatures of people on the sidewalks (which was pretty awesome.)

Next we saw the Washington Monument but decided not to go to the top since we were trying to fit in all the stereotypical sight-seeing of D.C. in one day.

Within walking distance, we visited the World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, White House, and various nearby buildings I took photos of. 

We were going to try to take a metro ride to Capitol Hill but just as the morning, the lines were having some issues so we decided it'd be too late and dark by the time we got there and settled on going home. 

Actually, no, we got to the station, jumped on a random train, figured out it wasn't our train to the Capitol, jumped off the train before the doors closed, and then settled on going home. So we had to wait in the station for about an hour before actually getting on our train home.

WHICH WAS FREAKING PACKED.

I'm talking sardine-style here people. It was pretty ridiculous. Funny though.

Once we finally made it back to the car lot, we decided to drive to a Greek Restaurant Mrs.Marinela had mentioned to my mom, Plaka Grill.

IT WAS DELICIOUS! We ate Taramousalata, Gyros, and fries. Ugh yum. It was definitely the best Greek place in the United States I've ever been to!

August 7

Mom and I went to Starbucks for breakfast before driving to AU, which ended up only being like a 20 minute drive. 

We got to the university at 8:15, parked, and walked to check in. I was given a booklet with the day's schedule and other information about the school in general.

First, we met with the College Recruiter of our state, Jeremy Lowe. He was super nice and said I'd get an email when we came to the Nashville-area.

Next, we went to the School of Communication informal breakfast where I got to meet and talk with several professors, students of the field, and administrators of the school. It was absolutely amazing and I got lots of information I was looking for. 

Before the big welcome meeting at 10, my mom and I went to College Life booths that just had a bunch of clubs and activities that take place at the university. 

Then the welcome meeting began, where they talked about admission and such.

Next we went to the formal meeting for the School of Arts&Sciences. I got tons of information about their Literature department and History (which would either be one of my double-major's with Journalism and minor). 

There was provided lunch at 12:15, so that was cool and actually tasted pretty good.

The next couple of activities we got to choose so we went to the Financial Aid meeting and Honors Program meeting. 

Since the actual preview day was over, we decided to stop by the AU bookstore and we ended up buying a AU mug for my mom and I, AU golf balls for my brother, and AU pens for my dad. 

Overall, American University was definitely amazing. The only doubts I have is that it's a really good school with a only 35% acceptance rate. I don't want to give my hopes up, not get accepted, then not really want to go to other colleges. So I'm trying to keep an open mind. I'll probably apply early decision and then see from there what happens.

Anyway after AU, my mom and I visited a nearby book store Politics and Prose, which was sooo freaking cool! 

We went home after our long day and ate dinner with the Mrs.Marinela and her family at their house and even ended up walking to get frozen yogurt. <33

August 8

Since we didn't get the chance to see Capitol Hill, we decided to go this morning before our road trip. So we packed all our belongings, grabbed breakfast at Starbucks (we also bought a Starbucks D.C. and Virginia mug), and then started driving there. While driving we actually saw the Jefferson Memorial, another place we didn't get to see so that was nice. It didn't take long to get to capitol hill since it was early Saturday morning. We parked on the street in a neighborhood and began walking.

First we saw part of the Library of Congress, which I have to say was my favorite sight to see. I mean, it's a library. Of course I loved it.

While walking we also saw the Capitol Building, the United States Senate, and another part of the Library of Congress. It was the best part of the trip<33.

Finally, we had to start getting ready to leave so we walked back to the car and began our road trip home.

The trip home felt about 3 times longer than the trip there, but I think it's just because we were more tired on this trip then on the one there. Regardless, we only made two stops and finally, got home. :) 

I must say that this trip to D.C. with my mom was so fun! I've been to D.C. before but in 7th grade when I was 12, so I really enjoyed going back with a new perspective and showing the places I'd been before to my mom. :)