Kyle and Shan: Fourth of July

Well, July 4th in the Nation's Capitol. What more could we want? Right? Wrong... If anyone knows me very well, you'll know that I have some anxieties about large groups of people. And then combine that fear with public transportation and I'm a nervous wreck, literally. So this year for the 4th of July, I did not want anything to do with going down to the Mall or any of the festivities in that general area. Well, Kyle, my fearless husband, thought I was being ridiculous and really wanted to go. So we went...

We left at about 9am and made it to the National Archives for a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Very cool, but we didn't actually get to see anything, we just heard Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and various others. Luckily, we were able to snag some prime seating for the Parade. Lots of fun, too. I haven't been to a big parade with big inflatables and a dragon with men running underneath it to make it wave. The parade was very entertaining but the sun was not. We were so hot! It was actually a relatively cool day, in the lower 80s, with a nice breeze, but the sun was killer. We had the umbrella out quite a bit for shade.

After the parade, we went to our new favorite sandwich shop, Potbelly. Thanks, Jenni for introducing us. Kyle was just about ready to call it quits, and head in the direction of home, (yeah!), but we received an inspiration call from Mom and Dad Griffith. There were lots of good reasons why we shouldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate the Fourth in downtown DC. So we ended up going back to Ford's Theater. This time we got a tour of the theater and got to see the museum under it. So glad we went a second time.

After Ford's Theater, we headed to the Capitol building to get a spot for the concert to take place later that night. We had heard that only so many get in, and so if we weren't able to get it, we were going home (I was crossing my fingers!) Well, we were literally the last few to get in. Which of course, made me the most pleasant person to be around. (I was so anxious about the crowds on the metro later that night.) We found a spot for our blanket and settled down for the 3 hour wait till the concert started. Right? That's just plan crazy! But we made it and the concert was super fun. I was so glad we had stayed. We ended up not really being able to see many of the fireworks, so Kyle was nice enough to let us leave early. (we still had to beat the mobs on the metro). But, of course, there were no mobs on the metro. We beat everyone there, and the ride home was pleasant and easy. Overall, it was a super fun Fourth. We slathered on sunblock, so we made it through without being fried or even too tired. Kyle was right, it was so worth it. :)