DC Trip Part 2

We are finally home but not without a bit of drama of course. I swear I am like a magnet for it

The rest of our week was just as chaotic as the first few days. We were going non stop from about 6AM to 8PM each day. When they said we would be exhausted by the end of the week they were NOT kidding

The days are starting to run together so I am hoping I get this right. Wed morning we toured this random little jet called AIRFORCE 2!! That was SO.FREAKING.COOL!!! We got to sit in the cockpit, and in VP Biden's seat on the plane. While we were there at the base we also saw Airforce 1 come in to land but President Obama was not on it.

From there we went to the Pentagon and had a tour there. The coolest part of that was being able to spend some time in the 9/11 memorial there. It was very serene there, from the outside we could see the side of the building where the plane crashed, we stood in the area that was covered with debris

We also went to Arlington Cemetery to get a VIP seat for the changing of the guard. That was cool but even COOLER was getting to go into their quarters where they get ready to go out to the tomb. We got to see them get prepped to head out and talked to them a bit too.

Thursday was random do what we wanted day! Our escorts took us to see the White House and then over to the Washington Monument. We also spent about an hour in one of the museums...saw some cool stuff there. Thursday night was the formal banquet where the 6 winners were given a HUGE brass statue that had to be shipped to us, and some other award type things. The banquet was nice but I thought I was going to puke when I had to "escort" Joe down the stairs, through the entire crowd and up on the stage to be introduced.

Friday morning we got up at 4:15 to catch our 5:30 flight. Which got delayed. 4 times. Then got cancelled. Seriously...by this time I was SO tired that I just wanted to get home to my kids. So. We rented a car and drove 6 hours home. Seeing as I don't like to fly anyways it was not a bad deal for me.

This trip was AWESOME. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I am not sure I can ever go back to DC and just see it as a civilian. It was so cool to get the VIP treatment all week. I am so so proud of Joe for being one of the top 6 Airman in the Air National Guard.

That said....It was a long week of being nice to everyone, watching my mouth and kissing the butt's of super important people. That is exhausting. I told Joe that once we got back into Ohio that "The Week Of Joe" was over and all attention was to be focused back on ME. We have been married for 6 years and he had 6 days of all about him. That is an average of 1 day a year. Not too bad right?

Joe coming off of Airforce 2 pretending to be the President

Airforce 1 landing

If you look close you can see the difference in the coloring of the wall, that is where the building had to be rebuilt
More awards

Abe Lincoln's hat on display at the museum.

THE Ruby Slippers Some important guy lives here
So the squirrels in DC are super nice. This little guy was eating a snickers bar out of my hands. So very cute. Much nicer than geese.