National Museum of African American History & Culture

During personal time on a work trip to Washington, D.C., I had the privilege of visiting the National Museum of African American Heritage & Culture. I’ve taken some time to consider what to write about my experience, because I did not want to appropriate or claim a single piece of it as my own. It is not mine, and it’s an undeniable part of our history and culture as Americans. And I wanted to tell my friends, you. must. go.

It is one of the most moving museums I’ve seen in the world in my lifetime. I spent hours there yet couldn’t see everything or read every word. I cried. I smiled. And I honestly left feeling exhausted.

I started with history, and I was taken underground in one of the biggest elevators I have ever seen. I made my way up three floors covering centuries of history, learning how the economies of so many countries and the outcomes of so many wars were built and won on the backs and lives of so many black and enslaved Americans. I paid my respects at the Emmett Till Memorial, wondering if as the mother of a son I could ever be so brave as Mamie, especially as violence and racism have not ended even today. As you walk up through the history floors, you begin to see more light from above. The highest floors covering culture feel brightest, filled with optimism and pride.

I listened, and I tried to understand. I appreciated it the best I could.

If I had to pick a word that describes this museum, I would choose resilience. And if you’re ever in D.C., you absolutely need to see it.

(originally written for and posted to my personal Facebook profile)

Eating DC

I separated my June trip to Washington D.C. into three parts...  DAR, White House, and now FOOD!  I will admit, during the busy week, I ate a lot of toaster pastries, deli sandwiches, street hot dogs... but when I did get out and eat, it was ALWAYS with friends.

My very first night in DC, my mentor and her family treated me to a burger and hard cider at Oh George! in Fairfax, VA.  I went for their Red Eye burger, because it came with an egg on it, of course!  And bacon.  For the fries, I splurged on the truffled parmesan fries.  Definitely worth the upgrade, and the fries were nicely crispy!  I hate soggy fries.

Oh George!

Later, once I was in DC proper, my friend M and I walked from our rental to Burger Tap & Shake.  Since I'd had a burger recently, I decided to go completely creative on this one, and I ordered their special of the moment: the Count of Monte Cristo burger.  Holy cow.  Swiss cheese, shaved ham, turkey, a BURGER, Dijon aioli and raspberry jam between slices of French toast.  It was a heart attack burger, but the combinations of flavor just made it work perfectly.  Oh, and fries.  I didn't have the heart to get a shake (or the stomach) but those looks fab too.  It was a casual, order at the counter, have them call your name for a tray of deliciousness kind of place.  Perfect for the college student crowd in the area.

Burger Tap & Shake

Confession: I have loved Milk Bar from afar, mooching cookies and cakes off people who've actually been to one.  So when I was near one during a walk around DC, I picked up a slice of crack pie and some corn cookies.  Every bit as indulgent and good as I'd imagined.

The crack pie was my favorite, but that might be because I ate multiple sweet, corn cookies.  The crack pie reminds me a little bit of a Paula Deen recipe, because it's just butter and sugar magically coming together to make something really, really, tasty.

I was blessed to see a couple of old high school friends.  Yay!  Non-food pic because people > food.

K & E... and me!

One night, my friend K and I went to Elephant & Castle, a great pub!  I had a pasta dish and we people-watched folks viewing sports on TV.  I hear it's a great pub for watching football, the one Americans call soccer.  I have no idea why American football is called football, it only gets kicked a few times!

Another night, my friend E and I went to Ambar, a Balkan restaurant where we ordered ALL THE THINGS.  So much deliciousness.

We started with the strawberry kajmak bar (with prosciutto and basil) and hummus.  They gave us two types of bread for dipping, one that was fried.  So good!  I love hummus, and the strawberry dip was so perfect with the salty meat combo.  LOVE.  Beautiful.

For our food, we ordered the Ambar fries, Balkan kebab, meat pie, and cinnamon sweet sourdough with Nutella for dessert.  They even gave us a little more dessert on the house.  YUM!  I find that when I share small plates with others for a meal like this, I don't leave the meal feeling completely overstuffed.  The pacing was great, and the plates a good size.

On my last night in DC, my friends J&N indulged with me in a little dim sum in Chinatown at Ping Pong.  We ended up at a restaurant that was a little more fusion/trendy than traditional dim sum, but we enjoyed it!  I can't recall which drink I had, but I remember it had boba and a straw for the pearls! I think it was their Ping Pong signature drink looking at the menu now, but not sure.

We went the shared route with this meal too, and it was a smart move.  I'll be honest with you, looking at their menu now, over a month later, I can't remember what we ate.  I do know we had the five spice pork belly fried rice, because I think that was the spicy bowl pictured below.  And we had mochi.  But the exhaustion of the week just kind of blurred it all together for me, and the drinks to boot.  Let's just say we had a good time, ate good fusion dim sum, and called it a night.  :)

There are definitely more places I want to hit up the next time in DC.

Where should I go next year?

The White House & Eisenhower Executive Office Building

While I was in D.C. for my DAR trip, I had the opportunity to tour the White House... TWICE!  The day before my trip, a hometown friend on assignment to the White House offered up a West Wing tour to my friend and me, and we couldn't say no!

Standing outside the West Wing door

Our visit happened the day after the tragic shooting in Orlando, so we were delayed a bit due to the President's press conference.  We could not access the White House for a while, and we were not allowed to take the usual photo op and visit the Press Briefing Room, because there were very important things happening in the building, obviously.  So we spent some time exploring the Eisenhower Executive Building, next door.

Eisenhower Executive Office Building

One of the coolest rooms in the EEOB was the Truman Bowling Alley, located down a seemingly dingy basement hallway.  The inside is a pleasant surprise!  Super nice.  There's another single bowling lane in the basement of the White House residence, but this one is supposed to be the nicer of the two.  Staffers can reserve it for parties and things, or to play a quick game during the day.

The EEOB was truly grand.  Since we were there on a Sunday, it was super quiet.  Very ornate and cool.  Doors automatically open as you walk in. So much beautiful decorative elements and architecture, too1

We visited the Indian Treaty Room, where Eisenhower held the first televised presidential press conference.  It has been used as a library, and currently is more of a meeting/reception room. It cost more to construct than any other room in the building, and I can see why... so ornate!

We also spent a good deal of time waiting (while the press conference was going on)  in what I think were the Secretary of War rooms, another long sequence of ornate rooms that were really unique and special.  I took a ton of pics, but I know you're in it for the White House stuff on this post, so I won't post them all here.

Where are the West Wing photos?  Well, you can't take any inside!  It's super secret-y in there, but you can see everything we saw here.  I liked seeing the West Colonnade and Rose Garden glimpses, as well as looking into the Oval Office.  It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be (the Oval Office, I mean), but sooooo cool to see!  You can't actually go into any of the rooms, but you can be a total looky-loo and geek out over it a bit.

Then, two days later, my friends and I attend our scheduled East Wing White House tour, which is open to the public (with a reservation and background check in advance).  It's actually part of the National Parks Service, believe it or not!

The East Wing tour is self-guided, and you get a brochure to help you along.  It's so beautiful!  You go from room to room at your own pace, and under President Obama last year they starting allowing photographs.  Love it!  They hold a lot of official events in these rooms, as well as tons of visitors traipsing through.

And some of the room names are quite obvious, LOL. (Blue Room, Red Room, etc.)  It was kind of cool knowing how many important people had been in these rooms, on the furniture, and all that.  It was kind of cool to see that despite political differences, there are many portraits of Presidents and First Ladies still hanging throughout the White House, regardless of party.  So even though the Obamas were in the building when we were visiting, there were still portraits of George W. and Laura Bush hanging, among others.  Very classy.

It had been on my list since childhood to go inside the White House, and now I can say I've been in there TWICE!  In the same week, seeing completely different sides of the building.  It was definitely memorable.  Now to figure out what's on my list for next year.

Interested in visiting the White House?  PLAN AHEAD.  For the public East Wing tour, we worked through our Congressman *six months* in advance.  You have to provide key data to them for the security check, including your social security number.  Tours can be cancelled on a moment's notice.  For the West Wing, you need to get an appointment through a Secret Service or White House staffer that you know, it's much tougher to get.

2016 DAR Continental Congress

This site is not an official NSDAR Web site, and the content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of the NSDAR. The President General is the official spokesperson on issues that have not been addressed as policy of NSDAR.

The Daughters of the American Revolution, as an organization, has become a big part of my life.  It is my way of giving back to the local community and beyond, and building bonds with some pretty incredible women.  (Read my post on why I joined, and my trip to last year's Continental Congress in Washington, D.C.!)

I spent a full week in June in Washington, D.C., for the 125th Continental Congress, our annual convention.  With it being an anniversary and DAR election year, there were a record number of ladies present!  As you can imagine our Opening Night ceremonies were pretty magical.  I jokingly called it patriotic prom on Facebook, because the spirit of the events are just so moving... and AMERICAN!

I think one of my favorites parts about Continental Congress is getting to represent my Chapter at the National gathering.  I loved the Tennessee Dinner, because we got a photo of our members together!

I also enjoy that I get to cross paths with fellow Tennessee daughters, especially fellow Juniors and pages, from across the State who attend as well.  It's a wonderful mix of new friends and old friends, and it makes you feel united in your work.

Tennessee Pages

I worked for the week at our Junior Shoppe, one of our fundraising efforts for charity.  I won't go into detail here, but it was a cause I really enjoyed supporting these past two years!  I was on my feet a ton, and it was exhausting, but so worth it in the end.  There was so much hustle and bustle, tons of projects.  We accomplished a ton as a Society during the week, including a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORD title for “Most letters to military personnel collected in one month” with a total number of 100,904 cards!

Another perk?  I spent all day in our beautiful DAR buildings, a block or so from the White House, which are a wonderful part of our legacy.

Continental Congress is a blur, and it's hard to describe here in a post.  But I had to share some of my favorite snapshots.  I loved sharing a house with four of my Tennessee girlfriends.  I loved meeting new women, including one who is my distant cousin!  I loved doing something for a good cause.  Paging is hard work, but it's definitely good work.  I'm proud to be able to give the time, because I get just as much out of it as I put in.

2015 DAR Continental Congress

This site is not an official NSDAR Web site, and the content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of the NSDAR. The President General is the official spokesperson on issues that have not been addressed as policy of NSDAR.

Last month, I attended my first Continental Congress, the annual convention for the Daughters of the American Revolution, held in Washington, D.C.  (Read more about why I joined the DAR here!)

The events were split between a beautiful hotel and the DAR's Constitution Hall, with the White House about halfway in between.  I made the journey back and forth between the two daily, either by taxi or walking.  I also attended a couple of luncheons during that time, but mostly I was paging and fundraising for our DAR schools.  We worked long days, but it felt good to work hard for a good cause!

Beautiful scenery, and meeting up with my mentor

It definitely struck me how clean and beautiful D.C. is; I never thought about it much, but being in the heart of the city really reminded me of that!  I was able to see one of my longtime mentors (photo above) and roomed with another DAR mentor and my DAR BFF.

One of my favorite experiences was watching the Opening Night ceremonies with my chapter.  I'd worked too late into the evening to page the event, but I made it in time to watch the flag unfurl.  It was definitely a patriotic night!

Opening Night

There were a number of fellow Juniors from Tennessee as well, paging and experiencing the event too.  It made me really happy to see them at events!

Tennessee Juniors, of course my DAR BFF/roomie in there too!

One of the highlights of the events for me was winning one of the national essay contests.  I was honored to have leadership from both my state and chapter there to see me receive my certificate!

Receiving my certificate

The one downside to being super busy throughout the event is the lack of downtime to see friends in the area... but I learned quickly that you can make it work!  My old friend from middle/high school KB stopped to see me for a drink on her way home, and two families that I know from the Army came to meet me for some delicious Shake Shack, babies and all!

Friends and Shake Shack

Overall, it was an exhausting and exhilarating experience.  Truly a sleep-deprived blur... my feet hurt for a few days afterwards too!  But it was worth the money we raised for good causes, the fellowship with other Daughters, and seeing some beloved old friends.  I'll be back next year for sure!