Judith was quite excited on our trip going to Washington DC. After meeting my relatives in New York, it is now her chance to meet her relatives in US.
Before leaving New York, Tito Bobs bought us food from NY Chinatown for baon in our bus trip. As much as we would like to bring all the food, we brought fried rice, chicken and pork asado. We ate some during the bus stop over somewhere in Maryland.
After a 4 hour bus ride, we reached DC and just like in Boston and New York, once we alighted from our vehicles, our relatives are already there, ready to welcome us. Judith's cousin Karen and her husband Bodgie helped us with our bags then asked us where do we want to go first. Our answer: SHOPPING!
Our schedule in DC is quite limited. Karen and Bodgie have been lobbying for a longer stay for us, but we can only stay there for 4 days and 3 nights. Judith and Karen have not seen each other for nearly 4 years. They are quite close, like sisters, practically growing up together in Pinas. So after leaving our bags in their home, we went to go shopping. Bodgie drove us to an Outlet Store in Leesburg, an hour's drive from their home. We reached the place at around 6PM, we left when they closed at 9pm.
Judith and I were surprised how low the prices on these stores. The stores are branded stores but the prices are really low. Judith's smile never left her face, as if she hit jackpot in a casino. She knows the range of prices in Manila, so the items she bought (shoes and bags) were really priced better compared to those back home. After a 4 hour bus trip, 3 hours of shopping and 2 hours of car trip in DC, we were all hungry and tired going home. We were planning to buy food then eat back home, but, as if a bad joke was done to us, ALL food places that we visited was closed or closing. So, when we reached home, we ended up eating the food Tito Bobs gave us from New York! Buti na lang marami talagang pinadala si Tito, masarap pa. Tawanan na lang kami habang kumakain.
The next day was TOUR day. We went to the National Mall of DC wherein we visited the National Air and Space Museum, National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of Natural History, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, World War II Veterans Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, the Capitol and the White House. Pictures galore on every stop, as we were accompanied by Karen and Bodgie. The National Mall was really a tourist haven for all the famous landmarks of DC. As usual, Judith and I enjoyed the artworks from the museums. The Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials were magnificent structures. The Washington Monument was very imposing, along with the Capitol Building, but the White House is really an awe-inspiring building.
We capped the day by going to the nearby National Harbor, a newly built marina where shopping and dining places are present. We were feted by Tita Raquel (Karen's mom) to a hearty Chinese banquet. The servers on that restaurant were quite queer-looking since most of them were chong-sam wearing caucasians! However, the food and the service were excellent. Then we watched an open-air jazz concert nearby. Coolness! Upon reaching Bodgie's home, we played some Wii Sports games in their den.
The next day was again shopping day. We went back to Leesburg for another round of Outlet Store buying spree. This time, the whole day was alloted for shopping alone. We bought stuff for the kids and for pasalubongs back home. We ate dinner in a Cheesecake Factory restaurant, again for free courtesy of the Dioquinos.
In our last day in DC, we were a bit sad because we will leave Karen, Bodgie and specially Roen, their cute daughter. During our stay, she would love to show us her stuff, her shoulder bags, her toys, her make-up, her toy car, her shoes, her room, etc. She reminds us of Zia. There was an instance when we were talking with Zia via Skype, Roen was smiling when she heard Zia singing one of her favorite songs as well. Actually, Zia has many similarities with Roen, hopefully someday they would be as close as their mothers.
We left DC with many smiles, many shopping goodies and many good memories.
To view our pictures, please click HERE
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