Anniversary in D.C.

Next week we celebrate our 2-year wedding anniversary with a trip to Washington, D.C. Ryan, history and politics buff that he is, has never visited our nation's capital, so you can imagine how much he is looking forward to the trip. I sense monuments in our future, along with periods of awed silence as we observe the massive scale of our government in action.

I visited DC once, as a young teenager, on a road trip with my grandparents and sister Katy. We were there to meet up with my sister Ab, who was spending one of her college summers as an intern for a Congressional subcommittee on something, something, and something. (Forgive me, it's been a while. I remember that her subcommittee was very technical-sounding and therefore clearly important.)

I remember thinking how cool that was -- MY SISTER working alongside US Representatives in the halls of Congress. (So impressive!) MY SISTER wearing suits and carrying a leather padfolio! (So chic!) MY SISTER living in a DC apartment where she could stay up all night if she wanted to! (So cosmopolitan! And perhaps more to the point, so liberated from the shackles of parental surveillance!)

Such were the thoughts of 13-year-old me. I've got my own leather padfolio now, but I must admit, I still find my sister's summer in DC impressive.

We have a few travel books about the city and have a handful of must-see spots on our list, but we like to keep our advance itinerary planning somewhat loose to accommodate recommendations from friends and spontaneous discoveries.

Have you been to Washington, D.C.? What are some of your must-see recommendations? (Or any over-hyped places we should avoid?) Do you have any D.C. memories? Share yours in the comments.

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Photo credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosz/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0