A Washington D.C. Fourth of July

A life long dream of mine was fulfilled this weekend. We went to Washington D.C. for the Fourth of July! On Thursday the 3rd, Lowell and I finalized the plans for our adventure and were ready to hit the road for a funfilled day at 5:30 am the next morning.However, our car had different plans....

When we went to start the car - the battery was dead. Who on earth was awake at 5:30am on a Federal holiday??? Lowell spent the next 45 minutes wandering our apartment complex to see if someone was awake - however there weren't any takers. Finally he crossed the street to the local pub - "The Blarney Stone" or as Lowell calls it, "The Lucky Shamrock" and found a kind soul who jumped our battery for us. Then we were off.
After parking our car in Maryland Lowell and I had our first Metro experience. After we figured out how to use the farecards we were good to boot. :)

First stop - the National Archives. We were in line before they opened to see the Declaration of Independence.
Fourth of July kick off celebration with a reading of the Declaration by Thomas Jefferson, and special guest Benjamin Franklin. :) Please note where the speakers are located at the top - that is important later.
Waiting in line.
The Declaration - fuzzy because flashes are NOT allowed. Oops!
Yes - I even took a moment to sign the Declaration myself.
The Fourth of July Parade. At the beginning a tractor thing drove by and dropped a cooler full of ice. Several local officials went running to clean up the mess before the Color Guard had to walk through it.
That is an Army band playing in the background.
Please note the pile of ice in the middle of the road.
When our seats on the stairs to the National Archives got too hot, Lowell went scouting and scored us seats under the shaded pavilion where the local dignitaries and Thomas Jefferson had been sitting earlier. So much cooler! (in both meanings of the word). I even sat in the chair of the "Archivist of the United States" - yes that would be an AWESOME job! I later took the sign as they were cleaning up.
Lowell's cool spot to view the parade.
Right before the final police car - a Penske truck joined the excitement of the parade. Gotta' love the Penskes.
The Surrat Boarding House - which we stumbled upon in our excursion of Chinatown.
The United States Capitol Building.
Our seats on the stairs of the Capitol Building - while airing out after the first rainstorm that left us soaked.
The ever studious Lowell. (Sorry I have no idea why this picture is flipped funny and can't get it to turn.)
Our amazing view of the National Mall. The fireworks went off just above the Washington Monument. I think we had one of the best views in the city - except for the floodlight that illuminated the audience for television production, that did put a little damper on the brightness of the fireworks.

"A Capitol Fourth" - yes we were serenaded by the PBS Fourth of July concert. We were also drenched in a second more severe rainstorm and didn't fully dry out until we reached our hotel in Maryland after the fireworks.
Lowell dancing to the music.
Fireworks!

Exhausted after a long day. Our ride back to our car and hotel on the Metro. It was packed and people were about to get stuck in the door at each stop. Luckily we got on at the first Red Line station in D.C. proper heading out of the city and missed much of the madness at stations further into the heart of D.C.
The annual Fourth of July Flag cake. I am eating some as I type.
Happy Fourth of July everyone! Hope yours was as wonderful as ours.
Love, Lowell and Elise