Almost Charleston but not quite

Today we drove down to Alexandria, VA. We went to the George Washington National Masonic Memorial then went to Old Town to eat lunch and do some shopping. It was a beautiful day again but a little chilly and very windy. The Memorial was super nice and had a lot of George Washington's personal items. We got to go up to the top and go out on the observation deck. If you saw the picture on Facebook you know how well that went for me. Man the wind was gusting up there! The downtown area reminded me a lot of Charleston. It is right on the water (Potomac) and had shopping, restaurants, and parks all lined up on King St. I found a couple of really cute shops that I would love to be able to go to on a regular basis. I hope we get a chance to go back. With all the restaurant choices you could eat there everyday for a week and still not eat everywhere. Today we chose a spot right on the water, at the end of King St, called Chart House. It was really good and the view was very nice. Everyone was drinking at 1 in the afternoon. I felt like we needed to order something to fit in but we resisted. I also got to give a big War Eagle to a guy at a table by us. That just about made my day!

George Washington National Masonic Memorial

The main hall

George Washington's chair 

Old Town Alexandria

Old Town - stuck in traffic just like you are on King St in Charleston

Eating lunch at Chart House

Our view from the table

Some really good ice cream

DC

After the cathedral we headed to downtown Georgetown for lunch and cupcakes. Unfortunately the line for cupcakes was a mile long so we did not get any. :(
We decided to go over to DC and do a tour of the Library of Congress. I read the times wrong and we missed the last tour so we walked around inside and then headed over to the capital across the street. They did not allow for any pictures to be taken inside but I was able to get a few in the "allowed" areas. I was not very impressed with the Library. I am not sure if the tour lets you see more but we barely saw any books. It was more like a small museum. You get to see WAY more at the New York Public Library. Maybe we were at the wrong place?

An illegal photo of inside the library. :)

The one picture I got inside the Capital. We plan to go back and do a tour. 

Washington National Cathedral

Yesterday we headed to Georgetown to go on a tour of the Washington National Cathedral. If you have ever been there you will see my pictures do not do it justice. It was a gloomy, rainy day so the church (which is almost completely lit by natural light) was not very bright inside. My camera tried to do the place justice but this is one of those times I wished I had a nice fancy camera (you know, the ones all the Asian tourist have around their necks).

Everything in the church has a story behind it. Literally, EVERYTHING. I was amazed at the stories I heard and the craftsmanship that went into building every inch of the place. I really recommend going if you ever get the chance. I also recommend reading up on the church as there is no way I can retell everything I learned yesterday.

See the netting across the top, going all the way down the church. It is to catch any falling debris caused by the earthquake about 2 years ago. They are still repairing the damage. 

This window (the Space window) has a piece of moon rock in it. 

Between the netting and the overcast day, the three rose windows were not as vibrant as they normally are.

Woodrow Wilson's crypt

A cross made from the Pentagon where the plane hit on 9/11

A statue of Jesus as a child outside of the Children's Chapel

The choir and organ area

High Alter - To give you an idea of how big this is, the statue of Jesus in the middle is the size of a seated 5'8 man. 

Each post is a carving of one of the 12 disciples. The last one, closest to the camera, is blank as this one represents Judas.

The memorial to Mary in the St. Mary Chapel. 

Bethlehem Chapel

Scaffolding around the bell tower and the tops of the cathedral repairing the earthquake damage.

Washington National Monument from the observation tower. 

Movie Saturday

Since the weather was yucky outside yesterday, Doug and I decided it was a great excuse to go see Iron Man 3. We headed to the mall in Annapolis to eat lunch, do a little browsing, get my wedding  rings cleaned, and then go to the movie. You know that feeling you get when you leave the house and you know you forgot something. I soo had that feeling when we were getting in the car but couldn't figure out what it was I was forgetting. After eating lunch it dawned on us... the warranty contract that we have to get signed every time we get the rings cleaned. Oops! So I guess we will be going back to the mall in the next couple of weeks to get that done. We were very successful in American Eagle because Doug found shorts he liked (all his shorts are way too big on him and he is one picky ass shopper) and I found a pair of white skinny jeans I liked and actually fit right (been hunting since last year). I am not straight, I am not hour glass, I have no butt but I have some hips and thighs, and I am tall so almost all ankle or crop pants are about an inch or two too high on these long legs. I was seriously considering buying a pair and getting them altered. 

I have come to not be a fan of shopping. I hate going through racks and racks of clothing that are either too young for me, too old, too cheap looking, or too expensive. I am in that in between place. Plus, it takes me awhile to warm up to the new styles so by the time I like them it's out of style. Ha! I also have a tendency of buying something and not liking it a month or two later. So now I am hesitant to buy anything. Anything I do get is basic or looks exactly like something else I already have. I need someone who can figure out my style (bc I have no clue what it is right now) to go through my closet, throw out all the crap, find stuff to wear with the remaining items, set up outfits so I don't have to think about what I am going to wear (I seriously hate that part of my day), constantly replenish my closet with new stuff, and not cost an arm and a leg. Wishful thinking I know. 

Iron Man 3 was really good. I was not thrilled with our seats (like 4-5 rows from the very front) so I think I would have enjoyed it more if it did not hurt my eyes. I tried to get Doug to go to the later showing but after leaving one theater to drive to another one that was not as full I think he was ready to watch the movie. I hope this Saturday's weather is better so we can get out and about more. I have lots of outside activities planned and would love to do them before it gets too damn hot!

From Heather's Kitchen

For the past couple of weeks I have been experimenting in the kitchen and making some classic southern favorites. I am surprised, but until last week I had never attempted country fried steak or cubed steak. I know they are very similar dishes with the big difference being the gravy and I cheated on that part by using the McCormick packets where all I did was add water :). Maybe next time I will attempt the homemade gravy.  Doug really enjoyed them so I guess they came out right. He requested the country fried steak to be made on a weekly basis.

Cube Steak with Green Bean and Corn Casserole

Country Fried Steak with Sweet Potatoes and Corn on the Cob

Bar-BAY-Q

Saturday Doug and I met up with Sarah & Ryan and headed to the Bar-BAY-Q Festival. It was advertised to have beer and bbq so we were in. The day was beautiful so of course that means we got a little red. Nothing like a good ole farmers tan! We went out there a little after lunch so we did not eat much in order to completely stuff ourselves with the barbeque (important note to remember). The odd thing was you could not pay for anything with cash or credit. You had to trade your cash in for tokens (think poker chips) and you used those for payment. When we asked what we did with the tokens left over the guy gladly told us we could donate them to some charity. Umm... No... So we ate/drank every last dollar/token we had.

We got a beer and walked around to get a lay of the land. They had a surprisingly wide selection of adult drinks (beer, liquor  and wine) and food other than bbq. Of course they had their crab but they also had the traditional fair foods like funnel cakes, corn dogs, and everything else that is fryable. We started with splitting a bbq sandwich. It was quite tasty. One stand even had a variety of sauces that included the SC style and a Jack Daniels flavor. Now remember that note I made about not eating much before going... well... after a beer and half a sandwich I thought it was a good idea to have a BayBreeze. 1. YUMMY! 2. STRONG I was literally tipsy and we were barely there for an hour. So my buzzed food item choice #2, NACHOS! I wish I would have gotten a picture of them. It was huge! Covered in pulled pork and all the fixens. It took three of us to finish it off.

At this point I stopped drinking and eating but Doug and Ryan kept on. Beer after beer then wings after wings. We played a little corn hole to let our food settle and then went back to spend the last bit of our money. Doug got a crab melt sandwich and it was amazing. Think crab dip and grilled cheese in one. Ryan had fried Oreos for the first time. He was not disappointed.

Normally I would work out over the next few days after eating all that food to counter act the extra calories but I hurt my back. Not real sure when it happened (thanks to the BayBreeze drink) but I think it happened in the porta-potty. You know ladies, your bending all sorts of ways trying not to touch anything... So great Saturday will my hubby and a sore back to remind me of all the fun had.