East Coast Trip 2005 Pt. One

Hey Everyone! :D I just got back from a 10-day vacation to the East Coast (Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York (city), Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts), and it was amazing! But instead of just telling ya'll about it, I thought I'd show ya what we saw. ;) So, here goes starting with Day 1:

Ok, so what! I'm a teenage girl! I'm sure there are other teenage girls that pack more than me... 0:) Anyway, at Sea-Tac airport getting ready to fly out.



The beautiful White house... Complete with protesters. :p



The famous White House lawn. Practically perfect in every way. In fact, they think it's *so* perfect that they feel it important to protect such perfect grass, so you see that guy in the left corner of the roof with the machine gun? Guess what happens to people who violate that lawn... ;)



:o!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
0:3



While we were at the White House, we were lucky enough to peek inside one of the fences and see Pres. Bush shaking hands with the Palestinian Pres. Abbas right before Abbas climbed into his limo and was escorted out by the Honor Guard.



The World War II Memorial for every state in the US to honor all the soldiers that fought and lived, died, or were MIA (Missing In Action). It's amazing to come face to face with the reality of men and women putting their lives on the line to keep our country a free nation under God. :)



The Washington Monument... Such a beautiful structure with sooooo much meaning!



Some cute little duckies we found at the little pond in front of the Washington and Lincoln Memorials. (:>)



The Lincoln Memorial: One of my most favorite things in DC. Lincoln was an amazing man of God, and his wisdom and caring were tremendous. Reading two of his greatest speeches carved on the walls on either side of him and seeing this gigantic sculpture of him at the same time was an experience I will *never* forget!!!



This was my second favorite in DC: The Vietnam Memorial. I guess the Vietnam War was a really big deal to me because several people I know fought in that war, and my dad almost fought. Seeing these soldiers and walking along the Vietnam wall brought the whole war to life for me, and I have a deeper sense of understanding and compassion and grattitude for those men now more than ever...



My dad and I actually got a chance to go to three of the Smithsonian museums together, and we just happened to be lucky enough to find this: The Hope Diamond. WOW!!! This picture doesn't do it justice at all though.. It was an amazing deeeeep blue, and one of the most beautiful diamonds I've ever seen. Well worth the trip out of our way... ;)



Ok, so that's Part 1 of the trip: Washington DC. It's an awesome city, and we had a blast seeing what I showed you above, plus taking tours of the Senate office and the Library of Congress. It was an awesome experience, and I highly reccommend it to all of you as well! ;)

<>< Christi <><

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