Where we left off, the rain caught us hilariously off guard. After our stint at the national mall, we decided to do more touristy things, but with a nerdier twist. When the destination for this trip was still an idea among ideas, I told him that if we were to go to DC, the Smithsonian Air & Space museum was all I wanted out of it. It had been my dream to visit the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy center. But to be completely transparent, I was dreading it the night before. The two days we’d already spent around the national mall proved to be incredibly stressful. As much as I enjoyed the actual sights, the amount of schools there on field trips was overwhelming. We had children running into us from all angles, pushing anyone in their way and grabbing whatever they wanted, even if someone else was holding it. I know this probably isn’t what you guys would like to hear, but I’m being honest. I think it’s important to be realistic about what vacations are like sometimes. It’s not always as dreamy as it comes off in the pictures accompanied by pretty words. It absolutely broke my heart that I wasn’t able to fully enjoy my time at the museums that I had dreamed of visiting for so long.
Friday morning was another grey and rainy one. This actually gave me hope because the Udvar-Hazy center is out of the way, near Dulles, and I didn't see any busses making the trek up there in the inclement weather. The universe was working in my favor, because the crowd that day was small— all adults and families. Everyone was able to appreciate the museum’s offerings in their own personal space and at their own pace.
It was on this trip that I realized how much I prefer shooting on my DSLR. My iPhone 7+ is great for general photography, but I’m easily distracted with the notifications that come in. I’ll also become overly-concerned with editing and uploading things in real time. Shooting with my camera allows me to stay immersed in the moment. As spoiled as I am with being able to depend on my phone for everything, it was nice being away from it. I got to really be present.
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The days that followed really focused on the local haunts. Andrew had a list of breweries that he was slowly checking off his list, and we frequented local thrift stores. And did I mention that a really good friend was in town at the same time that we were? It’s as if the stars were finally aligning. We weren’t able to meet up when I was down in Texas this past December, so the fact that our time in DC overlapped was perfect. We met up for an afternoon of pizza, shopping, and experienced the terrifying roller coaster of northeastern traffic.
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| We FINALLY went to a game |
On our final full day, we decided to take a drive into Virginia where we met up with some friends that live in the area. We took a nice little tour of their town, then headed over to a brewery which was soon to become our (or at least my) favorite place in the world. Stable Craft Brewing has got to be the most beautiful brewery I’ve ever been to.
Our drive home was much like our drive up. I let Karen and Georgia of My Favorite Murder take over most of it, laughing and learning over the hundreds of miles we covered. We stopped in Virginia one last time for lunch with our friends, and then we were on our way.
