We headed to the Maryland/DC area where we stayed at the Cherry Hill Campground. They offered a military discount or a Good Sams so we went with the best one. It was a nice place and offered many amenities, none of which we used, besides laundry. It was a really clean place, we'd go back there if ever in the area.
Our first night in we met up with a college friend/sorority sister of mine, Leyla, for dinner. We had such a great time catching up and drinking margaritas! Not too many though, we had our Groupon DC tour scheduled for early morning the next day.
We were unable to get a tour of the White House as our request was denied. A few months prior to coming to DC I had to put in a request with our State Congressman, Daniel Webster, of our district in Florida. His office emailed me and said they would be putting in the request. Sadly, when we got the denial letter from the White House, I reached back out asking if there was a wait-list or another way to possibly get in. I explained my husbands a veteran and has never been and was really looking forward to this trip. The answer was still no, no wait-list. I'm sure he probably laughed at me for even asking but I had to try.
We signed up for a half day tour where we toured the Capitol building, Vietnam memorial, MLK memorial, Lincoln memorial, Korean War memorial, Jefferson memorial, WWII memorial and the Washington monument. We walked so much and DC was a billion degrees with high humidity. It's a beautiful city and you really need a week to see everything. We didn't make it to even one Smithsonian museum.
The next day we met up with a zulily friend of mine, Lauren, who now lives in Annapolis. It was great catching up and talking about the early zulily days. That evening we were able to get a FREE tour of the Coast Guard headquarters with Steve, an old boss/friend of Keith's. We had to get approved as they share a building with DHS. It was a great tour and I know Keith loved it. We even saw the Commandant and met the Vice Commandant. I'm told that's a big deal.
After our tour, we headed back into DC to have dinner with Steve and his wife Michelle. They are a great couple and I'm so happy we were able to see them.
DC was great but the traffic is terrible and it never seems to let up. Seattle is light in comparison and I thought Seattle traffic was BAD! We saw Marine One flying a few times and several motorcades in the city, so who knows, maybe one was Trump... he wouldn't let us in his house so I'm just going to assume he passed us while we were there.
Before leaving town we squeezed in a quick lunch with a high school friend of Keith's, Andrea.
We tried to fill this trip with friends and we love that! Hoping to see more along the way.
Next up, New Jersey.