Our First PA Adventure- A Day in DC!

Jake and my dad left for D.C. at about 5 am on Saturday morning to take the youth to the temple to do baptisms. Troopers! Mom and I and the girls headed down there leisurely later that morning, stopping at an easter egg hunt along the way. When we finally got close to the temple, the thing I love about it is that it appears out of nowhere from behind the trees, right at the end of the freeway. So you're driving, and it's right in front of you, looming and majestic and white, and it's just a spectacular sight.

We met up at the temple after the boys also did a session, and we spent some time in the visitors center. Cami always gets so excited when she sees Jesus.

Cami was given a picture of Jesus from a nice sister missionary. :)

 I am SO glad we took our trip in the spring- everything was SO beautiful! Pink and white blossom trees everywhere, bright green grass and rolling hills, colorful flowers. This was right outside the visitors center.

 Gorgeous!

On the way from the temple to the heart of DC, we packed into one car with Mom riding in the front middle seat. It was fun to see the sights along the way, including tons of charming houses like this one. We drove through Chevy Chase, a ritzy little area by the temple where I guess it's the most expensive housing property in the country. Such a beautiful area.

 Our next stop was Chinatown! Jake and I had ridden the metro a few years ago and stopped at this Chinatown, and seen a Chinese restaurant where a man was making noodles. It was so impressive, he just had a long strand of dough, and then he wiggled his fingers really fast and all of a sudden it was tons of noodles. We didn't eat there, but there were magazine articles and awards in the window claiming it was one of the best, so we tucked that little place into our memory. Jake was determined to find it again this time!

 Surprisingly, we did! It's called Chinatown Express, and it looks like a hole in the wall. But there was a line out the door, so we waited patiently amongst the hanging ducks, lobster tanks, and Chinese man in the window making homemade dumplings.

 I had read reviews that the noodle soup was the dish to go for, so we ALL ordered a bowl of noodle soup with chicken broth and pieces of chicken in it. Sadly though, it was a letdown! I didn't think it had enough taste or substance, and although the noodles were fresh and homemade, they were just too thick and long and tasteless. Good thing we got some dumplings and egg rolls on the side, or else I would have been very dissatisfied! I felt bad for Dad...he went along for the ride and ordered the same thing but it was not his cup of tea. (Nor was the actual cup of tea that he tried) Cami sure loved the noodles though! And don't be fooled...we don't really eat with chopsticks.

From Chinatown, we drove around the blocks surrounding the mall, seeing the sights from the Washington Monument to the Capitol Building. I thought this was a cool picture of the monument.

 It was a gorgeous day, and a Saturday, so holy traffic and people everywhere! We decided instead of trying to get into a Smithsonian museum before it closed, we'd go to the National Zoo. None of us had ever been there before, and it's free! (except for the ridiculous parking fee). It is a really nice, spacious zoo.

 They have pandas, which our Hogle Zoo doesn't! But they don't have giraffes, so we'll call it even.

 The tigers were fun to watch, with a huge enclosure (I learned that from "We Bought a Zoo") to roam around in. They also have lions, but they weren't out for us to see.

 I loved this elephant made of twigs.

 Mom and Cam with a random dinosaur.

 What's a zoo visit without sitting on an animal statue?

Fun times in DC!