"Go write down what you see and see how far it can go"

I'm determined to see it all. And this weekend, I saw a lot. (pictures to come soon...)

I spent the weekend visiting Dan in Delaware and had a great time. I arrived in Philadelphia on Thursday night. Dan and I spent the evening chatting and catching up. We made our plans for Friday before getting to bed to gear up for the busy weekend ahead.

On Friday we went for a chilly and windy run around Newark and the University of Delaware (such a pretty campus) before heading off to Philadelphia for the day. We took the train from Wilmington, DE to Philadelphia. Upon arriving in Philly we went to a huge indoor market that sold everything from fresh meat and fish to Amish baked goods to candles to Chinese food. We found a favorite of Dan's, a stand that sells fresh baked cookies and bought a few to start our day. I enjoyed the most amazing and delectable caramel pecan cookie. Then, we headed out into the streets of Philly towards the Liberty Bell. We saw the infamous crack in the bell and took our picture with it before heading over to Independence Hall where we got a free (score!) tour (because it's winter...apparently winter = free in Philly). After the tour we decided that we wanted to go to the art museum which was at the far end of town. Dan showed me a map of Philly and pointed out how far we needed to walk to which I replied "no big deal, let's do it." But as soon as we set out on our trek, the wind kicked up and I knew my cheeks were going to be very cold for the next 30 minutes or so. Nevertheless, we braved the blustery cold air and continued our journey which was a great way to see the city. I saw some great architecture (I honestly love old buildings, especially churches with great character) and got in a bit of exercise too. We finally got to a point in our walk where I could see the art museum way at the end of the street. I was hopeful then, but as we journeyed down the street I realized that it was much further than it seemed. Still, we persevered. We made a pit stop along the way at some sort of Science museum where I took the chance to warm up a bit and go to the bathroom before we set out on the final leg of our journey. Let me just say, it was totally worth it. The Philadelphia Museum of Art was pretty cool. We only got to see 2 floors because the top floor was closed off that night, but there are some really great pieces of Van Gogh and Monet as well as some interesting pieces of modern art. Plus, Dan showed me some really cool pieces of art that hold pretty significant places in the Philadelphia history. An oil painting by Thomas Eakins which depicts a medical scene hung in the lobby of Jefferson Medical College for many years before the school decided to sell it. In an effort to keep this painting whose roots are tied to Philadelphia in the city, they offered the first bid to the museum who quickly took them up on the offer and now have the painting on permanent display. Additionally, there is a sculpture called "The Angel of Purity" which resided in a Philadelphia church for many years before the church needed to sell it in order to make up for funds loss due to a dwindling congregation. Once again, the museum stepped in and bought the sculpture in an effort to keep the artwork in the city and help keep the city's history intact.

After our excursion at the art museum, we were both extremely hungry and set out to find some dinner. Dan knew of some restaurant that he had been wanting to try and called ahead to see if they were busy or to see if we could get reservations. They were unwilling to take reservations but convinced us that there were tables available so we headed towards the restaurant (another long walk, might I add). When we got there, we were told it would be a 45 minute wait and we were both starving (and also needed to ensure that we would be able to catch our train back to Delaware in time) so we opted to look for another restaurant. We found a fantastic Mexican restaurant (the name of which has eluded me). Their appetizer special that night was some absolutely incredible guacamole made with some sort of spicy sauce and peanuts. I have seriously never had better guacamole. There were still large chunks of avocado in the guacamole which I thought was fantastic. I ended up ordering a chicken dish that had refried beans and cheese smothered over it with a slightly spicy green sauce poured over the top. It was absolutely delicious. Dan ordered a beef dish that came in a hot lava rock bowl that was pretty much just really cool. It was an excellent dinner. Finally, we stopped at a Starbucks to spend a bit of time before we caught the train back to Delaware.

Saturday we decided to get up early (relatively speaking) and head into D.C. for my first(!!!) visit to our Nation's capital...ever!! I was super excited. We drove from Delaware to New Carrollton (two R's and two L's :-) ), Maryland where we caught the Metro into D.C. Once we got to D.C. we decided it was time to get some brunch as I was already pretty hungry (I suppose all that walking the previous day really got my metabolism going). We found this great French and organic (I heart organic) place that we could tell was going to be good (if there's a crowd, you know it's good). I ordered Black Bean Hummus Taratine which was so delicious. Black bean hummus was spread over toasted homemade organic wheat bread and it was topped with tomatoes, peppers, and avocados. Dan ordered an omlette made with asparagus and goat cheese that looked equally delicious. On the table they had some Praline spread that we both tried on the fresh bread and it was even better than peanut butter (I didn't know something better than peanut butter existed!!). After brunch we went to the coffee shop next door where I ordered a hot chocolate that was delicious. The barista even poured the milk in the hot chocolate in the shape of a heart. It was cool!

We then headed towards the Archives. On our to-do list for the day (we had to pick out ahead of time what we were going to do since there is so much in D.C. to see!) was the Archives (since we had seen Independence Hall the day before we found it only fitting to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights), the Smithsonian Museum of American History, and the monuments. We hit up the Archives first and waited in what seemed like an endless line, but luckily it was pretty comfy weather so I didn't mind waiting outside. Finally, we got inside and I have to be honest--I'm not a huge American History or Political expert, but seeing these historical documents was awe-inspiring. Just to think that such intelligent men over 200 hundred years ago crafted these documents that now give me the many freedoms I enjoy today is absolutely amazing. I'm positive we take that for granted far too often! After the Archives we walked to the Museum of American History. We got to see a few pretty cool things (such as Kermit the Frog, the Ruby Red slippers from Wizard of Oz, a dress from Hello Dolly!, Apollo Anton Ono's skates and Julia Child's kitchen), but otherwise Dan and I were both somewhat unimpressed with the museum. Hey, at least it was free. Next time, though, we're going to the Newseum. Seriously, it looked so cool!

After the museum we headed down towards the White House (sorry, Barack and fam were not outside playing), the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Memorial. At the Vietnam Memorial Dan asked me if I knew anyone in that war to which I all of a sudden remembered that my Dad's cousin had died in that war. We found his name in the book and located his name on the wall. I called my parents and asked about it and it was cool to learn a bit of history about my family. Finally, we decided to get some dinner and took the Metro to Dupont Circle (is that correct?) and found a little Thai restaurant that was pretty decent. I had some Pad Thai that was good (not great...but then again, I'm comparing to Thailand...not fair, I suppose). After dinner, we took the Metro back to Maryland and drove back to Delaware where we hung out with a few of Dan's friends before getting some shut eye.

Sunday morning our intentions were to attend the Episcopalian church Dan attends in Wilmington, but I was a bit late getting a shower so we ended up going to Mass instead. The service was good (the teaching was about the man with leprosy) and afterwards we headed towards Longwood Gardens with a stop at a local restaurant for brunch. The Gardens was absolutely incredible. Seriously. Dan told me all about the history of the Gardens from the Peirce family purchasing it from William Penn and later selling it to Pierre du Pont to the research and educational programs the Gardens has now instituted. They have a variety of events hosted there throughout the year including many outdoor displays and even fireworks in the summer. They even have interns living on the Garden grounds who can spend time learning about horticulture and education. It seems like a very well run Gardens with a great mission. And the flowers smelled absolutely amazing.

After our leisurely afternoon at the gardens, we headed off to the airport so I could return to Orlando. After a slight mishap with the plane (that might have left me a little panicked and uneasy) I arrived safely back in Florida.

It was a great weekend full of thoughtful and insightful conversation, great sight seeing and adventures, endless amounts of learning and education and a bunch of firsts (train rides, capital visits, state visits, museums, etc.). I'm thankful for opportunities to get away from reality and experience new cities and culture and spend time with people that are important to me.

Now, I'm looking forward to seeing my two little princesses (my nieces!!) and just a few short weeks. Rumor has it, that little Britony is smitten with a young man from her preschool who she has told me she is going to marry because he's cute and funny. I love four year old talk! :)