Impromptu DC Trip. 'Cause, Why Not?

 I have a friend named Sandy. She is from Virginia. While we were doing what we do in Chicago she asked what I was up to that weekend. I mentioned I worked Saturday morning, and I had Monday off. She said, "Wanna come home with me?!" I said YES!

We flew in around 8 PM on Saturday night, I met Sandy's parents who may or may not speak English, and we went to see a movie. I didn't like it.

After, we got Taco Bell. We ate a lot of Taco Bell that evening. You see, I only know of two Taco Bells in all of Chicago, and whenever I have a car I go through the drive through. Well, Sandy had a car, and she knew of at least three Taco Bells in her town, so we ate there a lot. I also drank a lot of Kool-Aid.

The next morning we were going to catch a Sacrament Meeting, but her Stake was having Stake Conf, so we decided to pass. We went out to brunch instead, and I got to ride on the Metro!

It turns out the Metro pass left something to be desired. It was so thin! It practically melted in the humidity. Just so you would know how cool Chicago is, I juxtaposed the two passes. Can you tell which one is from which city?

 Drinking something.

Brunch! Eggs Florentine, of course!

Wait a minute, hold the phone. We didn't just go out to brunch. We went to see Mark Egan!

It was basically awesome. It's good to have friends that you can have a good time with, any time. I don't particularly like the grammatical structure of that last sentence, but you get what I mean. To break it down, you could basically say, "Myriah hearts Mark." Yea, that's basically it.

Aftah brizzunch it was time to see the sights! The first thing I saw was dead grass and gravel. What? Am I on my way to a Renaissance fair?

Can you spy me in this picture?

As an awesome perk to our adventure, the Jazz festival was happenin'! You could hear the jazziness all over the mall! Thank you, awesome soundtrack! The proof refuses to format correctly:

 

This was right before a downpour. Can you see the rain spots on me? There were a bunch of people trying to get pics with the WH, but I crammed my way in there, Sandy stepped back, focused the camera, and we got this great pic:

Immediately after we sprinted for shelter.


We went to the WWII Memorial that I accidentally disrespected because Sandy told me to,

 

 And we saw that the reflecting pool was ripped out. It wasn't very inspirational. Supposedly they are making repairs, but I can't be sure. We walked a good long way, and were basically exhausted, so we decided to go to Arlington Cemetery and watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

We walked and walked and walked and walked and walked. And we didn't find the Tomb. How is that possible? We did find John Hancock, though. If you are looking for him, he's in the opposite direction of the Tomb. 

Once we found the Tomb, we dragged ourselves over to Hearst Castle (or the amphitheater) and enjoyed a snack and mostly sat there while our legs and feet throbbed. They were tired.  We made jokes about calling a cab to come get us, but they weren't really very good jokes. They were mostly sad realization of truth that we would have to walk back to the Metro with our own feet. Interestingly, I wore crocs because they are closed toed (for airplane dress code) and because they are comfortable. End of day blister count? Seven. 

 After some Taco Bell, we went to the temple. Turns out it's gorgeous.

 The next day we went shopping and I got some awesome items. Items I've never found before. Items I have wanted, but have never found, and finally did, so I bought them. Later that night in Chicago my suitcase was stolen. I mourn the loss of those clothes. And makeup brushes. I don't know if you are like me, but I go to bed and dream up knew outfits I can put together. Last night I was thinking of all the ways I could wear my new clothes when it hit me that I never get to wear them. The crocs I can do without.

Drinking something. 

 It was a really awesome weekend. I really enjoyed myself. It was great to see Sandy's stomping grounds, hang out in an El Salvadorian hammock, see the monuments of this great country, and laugh with my good friend Mark.