Washington D.C. to Visit Elder and Sister Blanchard

This was my first time to Washington D.C. and Troy's 3rd. What a beautiful city! The architecture alone can tell history. The Executive Building is clearly european. The Watergate speaks of Nixon's era and the Kennedy Center looks like the 70's. There is an ordinance forbidding skyscrapers so nothing towers too high over the gorgeous trees except the Washington Memorial. I feel like we just took a history class--every square inch of this place has a story...just walking down the road we ran into the Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot. When we watched the news with the reporter standing in front of the Capitol Building it's amazing that it's just down the street from where Jo Ann and Gary live. The city has such a political pulse and patriotic vibe-I love it! We had the BEST hosts anyone could ask for! They hooked us up with all their connections and got us a private tour through the East and WEST WING of the White House (thanks Jean!) They also got us a private tour through the Capitol Building (thanks Lauren-one of their interns). And then every minute was filled with monuments, memorials, a cruise on the Potomac River, water taxi-ing through the Baltimore Harbor, lunch at Rusty Skupper's with the senior missionaries in the area and a very special trip to the beautiful DC Temple. What a memorable trip!!

The World War II Memorial is really neat at night. It has a reverence to it. This trip has made us so grateful for all the sacrifices made on our behalf.

We got to help take down the ginormous flag at Fort McHenry.

This was absolutetly stunning seeing Lincoln aglow between the columns.

I kept thinking, This is where it happens.Troy, of course, noticed the guy on the roof and the souped-up secret service carWe went through a tunnel that connects the Cannon Building to the Capitol Building. I was amazed by how beautiful the Capitol is. Every wall and ceiling (and often floors) are covered with the most colorful and detailed artwork.

I don't know why but I could barely breathe driving down "Embassy Row". You can just feel the power of the nations! I guess I never thought about how many embassies there would be-they were everywhere!

The Washington D.C. Temple