Gettysburg and the Perfect Time to Visit Washington, DC

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oh, the east coast! so different than the west coast and so much to explore. as mentioned before, my husband was speaking in pennsylvania this past weekend (thanks again for a great weekend district 38!) and during the friday night conference, there was a real life philly cheesesteak bar complete with tastykakes (only available on the east coast)!

IMG_6631this was an extra special event because ravery got to speak with his mentor-turned-family mr. randy harvey (2004 world champion of public speaking) for the first time together! loved seeing ryan’s new book next to randy’s book!

IMG_6666we have a few days in between events so we figured instead of flying all the way back to oregon, we should continue enjoying the east coast. ravery’s second favorite city in the united states (after portland, OR of course) is washington, DC!

gettsyburg, pennsylvania is only about an hour away from philadelphia and on the way to DC so we wanted to pass through. it somehow kicked off with us drinking guinness at lunch (when in gettysburg…perhaps?) this is the only beer either of us like-so strange.

chelsea avery gettysburgsince i’m married to a professional speaker, one of the most important points in gettsyburg was to stand where president abraham lincoln delivered the gettsyburg address. it was quite moving and powerful. did you know president lincoln left the stage feeling disappointed in his delivery and it wasn’t until months later word spread how powerful his brief but impactful speech truly was to everyone!

ryan avery gettysburg address

walking through this civil war town made me reminisce about creating an “a+” diorama with my dad while studying the civil war. so much history happened in this town and we already decided we are going to take our future children here and have them teach us more about it when they go through it in school.

washington, DC is about 2 hours from here and since we’ve already eaten donuts in the pentagon, we went straight for the lincoln memorial. we were pretty pleased with the full circle around president lincoln. this is about our 5th time in this city together and somehow it still seems new and worth exploring.

chelsea and ryan avery lincoln memorial 2014

sitting on the steps of the lincoln memorial is one of our favorite spots to both sit silently and reflect as well as discuss the monumental accomplishments that have been started on these steps.

washington monument relationship blog

seeing where martin luther king, jr. stood and delivered his “i have a dream” speech moves deeply within me. i had not yet been to his memorial so i was happy we were able to do that too. what an incredible person who fought and died for civil rights.

mlk jr memorial washington dc stone the new wifestylei am not sure that i have read this quote before seeing it at his memorial (don’t mind the sun spot) but it could very well be my new favorite…

IMG_7095we wandered around the beautiful city of washington, DC and if you do visit, i highly recommend going in the month of may! the weather is perfect. when i first visited as an adult, it was at the end of july and it put a very horrible (and sweaty) taste in my mouth because of how awful it was was to walk outside in 100 degrees with 100% humidity.

this colorado lady is not cut out for air with that much liquid in it but may has the perfect amount.

mlk jr memorial washington dc flowers

of course we had to stop by and say hello to president barack obama. he says to tell you all ‘hello.’ my husband posted this picture (with my face looking HUGE) on facebook and asked what people would do first if they became the president of the united states. quite interesting answers…

chelsea and ravery white housei can see why people like it here…

lincoln memorial at sunset relationship blogand now we are off for a 4.5 hour road trip to see someone extremely important in my life in a very crazy city for lunch and i CANNOT wait!

the new wifestyle: find places that inspire you and people who spark motivation for you to take action

questions:
1) copycat questions…what is the first thing you would do if you became president?
2) how much do you love or hate humidity?
3) what’s your favorite thing to do in DC or would you like to do if you visit?

4 Comments

  1. Austin McCracken

    May 21, 2014 at 3:53 am

    Wonderful to read of your travels and speaking experiences.
    Hope you don’t drink and drive – thinking of the time after having a Guinness.
    Every blessing, safe travelling and much continued success.
    Austin.

    • chelsea

      May 23, 2014 at 3:03 pm

      thanks for reading AND commenting, austin!! and of course we never drink and drive-we actually split one between us 🙂 hope you are having a great day!

  2. Kimberly Myers

    May 21, 2014 at 12:23 pm

    1. I am really not sure because I am sure I would not want the responsibility of being president.
    2. I hate humidity. I can stand DC and Maryland, but I thought I was going to die in Florida.
    3. My brother and I visited the new annex to the Air & Space Museum at Dulles last October – the day after they opened the government up again. We spent hours up close and personal with the Concorde and Discovery. I had seen the shuttle land at White Sand New Mexico once from a distance, but wow.

    I go to the east coast every other year and spent time with my brother and sister-in-law. They live on the eastern shore of Maryland so we visit Virginia, Maryland, PA, New Jersey, Delaware, etc. I used to travel to Boston once every other month for business and I loved walking everywhere! But I prefer the fall when the trees are turning and it is cooler (less humid). Bonus, I go in October so my brother and I can celebrate our birthdays together.

    • chelsea

      May 23, 2014 at 3:13 pm

      ohhh man i feel you about that humidity kim-so bad! also feeling ya on the responsibility on being president-YIKES! so happy you get to visit the east coast frequently to visit your brother and sister-in-law! sounds like they live in a great place for walking and traveling. give me fall on the east coast any time too, kim! thanks for your comment!