Washington DC

Well classes are busy as always but I managed to sneak away for the long weekend and take a trip to the nations capital and what a worthwhile trip it was. I LOVE DC. I spent Friday studying and took the train to DC on Saturday afternoon. Took the metro to my hostel and was questioning the decision for a moment...run down building in a run down neighbour but apparently looks can be deceiving because it was actually pretty comfortable and the people there were nice (Plus I saved money by agreeing to having a third person stay in my 2 bed dorm room).
I had booked a 48 hour ticket on a hop on hop off bus and when i went to get the tickets the next morning i was informed that i had managed to save over $40 which was great..definitely going to book over the internet again when I decide to take one of those next. Anyway there was a marathon on in the city center so the only bus service was the national cathedral and georgetown circuit. Went up to the top deck and ended up having to move down while we were detoured because of low branches and as i was the last one to come down the bus driver took off while i was still walking down the stairs..needless to say i have a few bruises that i didnt have before i got to DC.
The bus trip was pretty good we saw the cathedral and i was hoping to go up and do the gargoyle tour (they have a gargoyle shaped like darth vader) but it was closed off because of the quake that hit there at the end of august. Went to Georgetown Cupcakes at Lisa's suggestion and it was a major wait but totally worth it the cupcakes were devine....chocolate, vanilla and their signature red velvet. Yum yum yum yum yum! Anyway eventually managed to find the bus again (DC has something against marking tourist bus stops) and headed back to the mall and went to the old post office pavilion and up the tower which had a great view of the city. After that I went to the American History museum to see the original star spangled banner and dorothy's ruby slippers and then it was off to the supermarket and back to my hostel for more study.
Day 3 (or 2 if you dont count the day i arrived) this morning i walked down to the crime and punishment museum where i checked out the exhibits and did the top detective challenge which wasnt as interesting as i thought it was going to be. I got myself an NCIS hat and when i was walking to the white house a guy surprised me by putting his hands up and going i give up! Talk about your random events. So i did the photos at the white house and managed to find some DC charms and had some photos taken in a mock up of the oval office and the press room in the white house which was pretty cool. Next stop was lunch and then off to Arlington Cemetery where i got to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier which was very interesting but not something ill be doing again. It took 15-20 minutes. Unfortunately I wound up finishing there half an hour before they closed but the bus never showed up even though it was still meant to be running for another 90 minutes. After half an hour I gave up and took the metro to the local mall where I got some dinner and had a look around before heading back to the hostel for more study.
My last day was spent with a very heavy backpack shopping in the morning (i managed to get most of my Xmas presents so I was very pleased) and walking around the memorials and monuments at the mall (Lincoln, Jefferson, FDR, Martin Luther King, Vietnam, Korea, WWII and Washington) and Capitol Hill. Really interesting finally getting to see the sights that I have seen on TV and in the movies. Went to the Museum of Natural History and watched an IMAX movie on white water rafting in the Grand Canyon not at all what I thought it was going to be....wished Id gotten there half an hour earlier so I could have seen the tornado one instead but oh well. Then it was off to Union Station via the metro and on to the train to write my assignment and make my way back to Caldwell. Got back to the dorm around 9.30pm very tired but after a really great trip.