Flying to Washington D.C.

At the end of June I was offered the opportunity to go to Norfolk,Virginia for a very short trip.  I was a little hesitant because it was all the way on the other side of the country.  I haven't flown since May of 2006 and the last time I was in a plane was September of 2006, but I ended up getting off and not going on my trip because of some anxiety issues.  Needless to say I couldn't get myself to fly since then and Michelle has been very understanding (I had told her my issue while we were dating, I knew she loved traveling and I wanted to make sure she would take me as I am, and she did.).  When this opportunity came I realized I couldn't pass it up just because I would have to fly so I decided to see a new family doctor (I had seen one before, but he was terrible, I don't know how some people got into med school.).  She gave me some options for help and although I was still reluctant I thought I would give it a try.

We left the family Bear Lake trip on Wednesday after the celebration.  Michelle was nice enough to fly with me so we left Drew in the care of her mother Carol.  We got to the airport on Thursday morning and I took the pill my doctor had prescribed and I waited for something to happen.  I felt a little different, but I didn't get knocked out or anything close.  I wasn't sure if it was even going to work.

Luckily when it was time to board I had no problems.  I felt a little tired and hungry, but that was about it.  Since Norfolk only has a small airport it is a little more expensive and there are only two or three layover flights available from SLC.  We decided to fly into the DC airport and then drive the 3 hours to Norfolk and then we would also return to DC to visit Michelle's old roommate Amanda as well as do some site seeing.  The 5 hour flight to DC passed fairly quickly and we soon landed without any problems.

The drive to Norfolk wasn't that bad until we had to go under some tunnels and the traffic got pretty bad.  It was a port city and the Naval base was in the area.  We got in pretty late and went to bed as soon as we could.  We enjoyed the 12 hours we spent in the area, but I soon finished my business in Norfolk and we headed back to DC for the evening.  We hit traffic again on the way out, but I managed to use my phone's GPS to find some back roads that got us past all of that and to Amanda's place just in time for some homemade pizza.  Her and her husband were nice enough to let us stay the night. We visited for quite a while and then we were all ready for a good nights sleep.

Saturday morning Michelle and I were ready to conquer DC.  Michelle had been there at least once and I never had.  Our goal was to go to as many places as possible since I knew we really wouldn't have time to really explore with the few hours we had before needing to get to the airport.  Our first stop was to see the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and The Constitution of the United States.  The line was long and it was pretty dark.  We then made our way to the Museum of Natural History.

Michelle has always wanted to see a moose up close.  This has been the best she has been able to do.  I don't think she will count it, but it was worth a try.

We then hit up the National Museum of American History where we got to see the huge American flag.  I started to take video with my phone and one of the workers had to stop me.  It doesn't even have a light on it and I didn't see the sign so those are my excuses for breaking the rules.  I would have included the video, but you can't even see anything.  We then saw or went to the Washington Monument.

The White House was exactly what I expected, a white house.  It would have been cool to be able to go inside, but i don't think they do that like they use to.  I did enjoy seeing the snipers up on the roof top.  I was going to get their attention, but I thought it best not to bring attention to myself.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat and to get some bottles of water as well as a frozen lemonade since it was getting hot.  Since I just brought up the weather I wanted to say that we must have been lucky while we were visiting because I didn't feel humidity at all.  The weather was actually quite nice for most of the trip and until now it hadn't been that hot.  Anyway, after finishing eating we made our way to the Lincoln Memorial.  It was pretty cool to see it in person. 

A lot of things are under construction this year in the area so the views weren't as spectacular as they could have been, but I will take what I can get.  I am sure they will have them all done by the time I make it back here again.

We then passed through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and past a new memorial they were making for Martin Luther King Jr..  We then hit up the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and Theodore Roosevelt's Memorial

One of our last stops was the Jefferson Memorial.  Again there was a little construction going on so it wasn't picture perfect, but again I can't complain.  The day was growing short and I wasn't sure if we would have time to see anything else on our way back to the car.

I really wanted to see the capital, but there just wasn't enough time to get there and walk around.  We decided to do the next best thing and just drive by.  I got Michelle to take a picture of me with the Capital building in the background while we were stopped at a light.  It was the only option we had.  Oh well, there is always next time.

Before we knew it we had to get back to the airport.  We had packed as much into the day as I think we could, especially with a pregnant woman by my side, but she was a real trooper.  The trip home was even better than the one going to DC because it was a little shorter and I had eaten before I got on the plane.

The trip was short, but it hopefully paved the way for many more in the future.  Since Drew is turning two at the beginning of next year we might not have the opportunity to fly with the extra expenses.