Super American, no?

The morning after we ventured through the Seven Kingdoms, we woke up early for a scheduled appointment at Washington National Cathedral. I had never seen the cathedral before and I was immediately blown away by its size, detail, and grandeur. It reminded me of many of the impressive Gothic churches I've seen in Europe and the interior was absolutely breathtaking. Everywhere you looked there was an incredible stained glass window or gorgeous sculpture to admire. One of those aforementioned windows even has a piece of moon rock embedded into it.

Though I absolutely loved the architecture, history, and gardens, the purpose of our visit was actually to see a couple special people. Wheat's grandparents (on his dad's side) are interred in a private columbarium in the basement of the cathedral. So, we scheduled an appointment with someone who led us downstairs and into a private room to see their resting place. I never had the opportunity to meet them, so it was an honor to finally visit some of the people who helped make Wheat the incredible man he is today.

Surprisingly, Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan are interred about ten feet away from his grandparents in the same room! Oh, and President Woodrow Wilson is buried upstairs. Some pretty good company, eh?

Woodrow Wilson's tomb.

After a couple hours of wandering around the cathedral, we made our way to Georgetown for lunch. This was also my first visit to the area and let's just say - it COULD NOT be more charming. We strolled along the main drag, checking out the restaurants and shops before settling on Old Glory BBQ for lunch. More importantly, I made Wheat wait in line with me at Georgetown Cupcake...because duh. This place is featured prominently on TLC's DC Cupcakes and with good reason. There were so many tempting options to choose from, but we eventually went with mermaid vanilla and strawberry lemonade. So delicious.

We enjoyed our cupcakes in Francis Scott Key Memorial Park before heading to the infamous Exorcist steps. Guys, let me explain something really quick. I'm a horror movie fanatic. Simply seeing (and walking down) the ridiculously steep stairs that are featured during the climax of The Exorcist threw me into ultra geek mode. Okay, that might be my default mode, but still. The power of Christ compelled me to take unlimited pictures.

Although our feet were already threatening to close up shop (Pro tip: Don't wear Old Navy $1 flip-flops while touring around Washington DC), we forged ahead and stopped at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. We were mostly killing time before our scheduled visit to the Holocaust Museum, but highlights included:

• The enormous, tattered flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner
• A replica of Julia Child's kitchen!
• Some of Thomas Edison's light bulbs
• A First Ladies exhibit that included several inaugural ball gowns
• The top hat worn by Abraham Lincoln when he was shot
• A damaged filing cabinet from the Watergate Hotel

Though we had both been before, we decided to visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum because it is so well done and we thought it might be interesting after having seen Dachau last year. Sure enough, it was just as emotional and sobering as my first visit. When you arrive, you are given an identification card for someone who spent time in a concentration camp. As you go through the museum, you learn more about that person and, ultimately, their fate. We were happy to find that both of our people actually survived the Holocaust, but the pictures, videos, and displays throughout the museum were overwhelming, especially the musty room filled with the shoes of those in the camps.

In an effort to lift our spirits after the museum, we decided to do a quick blitz through all the memorials and monuments on the National Mall. Pro tip: There is no such thing as a "quick blitz" through the National Mall. However, we did our best and only missed the FDR Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and Vietnam Veterans Memorial. By the time we gave up, we had dragged ourselves from the Washington Monument to the World War II Memorial, past the reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial, over to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and finally to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. This was my first visit to the MLK Memorial and it set the stage beautifully for our museum experience the next day.

As we limped our way into the hotel, the sky burst open into a massive thunderstorm and we took that as a sign to take it easy for the rest of the night. We ordered some Greek food delivery and promised to pack better shoes for our next trip.