The Fourth of July is one of the largest celebrated holidays nationwide. Whether you celebrate with a big cookout on the lake surrounded by all of your friends and family, by attending your hometown baseball game, or watching the fireworks, it is always a ton of fun. This year, my family and I decided that there was no better place to celebrate the Fourth of July than the capital of the USA, that is, Washington D. C. It was one of the most incredible weekends that I have ever experienced. If you were ever wondering what it would be like to celebrate Independence Day in the Capital, I'll tell you this: it is anything but ordinary.
Obviously, several other families had the same idea, and there were people from not only all over the nation, but all over the world. That was my first time seeing such a variety of cultures all in one place. Traveling to the monuments was made a little more difficult because of the crazy amount of people there, but it was definitely worth it.
I'll admit, I'm a bit of a history nerd, so being able to visit the monuments in the National Mall for the first time on Fourth of July weekend was so exciting. I knew that the monuments had to be incredible to see in person, but I had no idea just how remarkable they would be. On top of it all, there was something about seeing everyone wearing red, white, and blue while paying their respects to all of the stops in the Mall. The Lincoln and Jefferson memorials had quotes on display that the famous former presidents had said, and the Washington Monument was much larger than it looks in pictures. Here's a picture of me trying to be artsy with that very monument.
Despite the fact that walking all of those miles from our hotel to the Mall, and then all around the Mall, was utterly painful and exhausting, I wouldn't have done it any other way.
The second day we were there, which was the actual Fourth of July, my family and I were pleasantly surprised by an Independence Day parade. We probably should have assumed that there would be one, but for whatever reason we didn't think about it, and only discovered it on our walk to the Smithonian Museum. Hundreds of people lined the streets waiting for the parade as vendors camped out nearby, attempting to sell food and water to any pedestrian they could find. We found a spot right outside the museum (so we could tactfully dart inside after the parade before the line got too long) and watched the remarkable parade featuring dozens of marching bands, some singers, giant balloons, and even Teddy Roosevelt riding his famous horse. Nothing makes you feel more American than waving to the one of the most famous presidents in history while decked out in red, white and blue outside a famous American history museum with the aroma of hot dogs in the background.
Once the parade began wrapping up, my family and I immediately ducked inside the Smithsonian American History Museum and began to tour it. There were so many interesting artifacts and information in that museum, that the history nerd in me was jumping up and down with excitement. The museum was so much bigger than I thought it would be, and unfortunately, (due to stopping every now and then to rest our feet and eat) we were unable to view everything in the museum within the four hours we were there. It was an incredible way to spend the 4th during the day, however, especially because it had been down pouring rain ever since we had gone inside.
When we left, we immediately began to head for the open lawn between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, because the fireworks were being held over the Reflecting Pool. It began to rain, which lead to my family and I throwing on the ponchos we came prepared with and attempting to make a personal tent out of them while the rain continued to fall. It lead to a lot of laughs and a great memory.
Luckily, the rain ceased just as soon as the fireworks were supposed to start. Live music that was being held behind the Washington Monument was being blasted through the speakers while we waited, so the two hour wait before the fireworks began was anything but uneventful. The fireworks went off, and they were so beautiful, including my favorite, which was a firework that spelled "USA". Fun, firework-themed music was playing the whole time, and even though they only lasted roughly 20 minutes, they were some of the most fantastic fireworks I had ever seen. Having the Lincoln Memorial in front of us and the Washington Monument behind us was just icing on the cake. Proud to be an American!
Overall, the experience of visiting Washington D. C. for the Fourth of July was one to remember. Although it was packed and the weather wasn't the greatest, being in the Capital during our nation's birthday is a truly remarkable time.
