Oh look - it's another absolute dump of photos! Tis' the season, am I right? One of the things about growing up is that your family may end up all spread out... for the last three years, my sister has lived in England (a literal whole other country). And this year, she does live stateside once again, but she's in Washington State! So - we celebrated Christmas with my parents this weekend - and we started our festivities with some time spent in DC on Saturday!
The Union Station Christmas tree has been a gift from Norway for the last twenty five years (since 1998) as a sign of the friendship between the two countries. This year it's got some extra special meaning since my husband and I were gifted a trip to Norway from my parents - but we'll get to that in more detail later! It's always the most beautiful tree though - I love it!
The Capitol tree hails from the Monongahela National Forest, which is in the great state of West Virginia and so the tree is covered in ornaments that showcase West Virginia! The tree this year looks pretty good - it was certainly nicer getting up close than a few years ago, when I walked through mud puddles in the rain! The weather on Saturday in DC was gorgeous!
The US Botanic Garden always does a trainset-up and each year has a theme - this year it was pollinators! A little different but I suppose perfectly on brand for a botanic garden, ha-ha! I have to say - I've enjoyed the train display a little bit more when it's indoors as there is a little bit more of a crowd control. Regardless of the location - it was another really fascinating and unique set-up yet again!
Everything in the displays is made from plant materials - and that theme carries over into the actual gardens interior portion, where the models of the US monuments and buildings like the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and the Capitol are on display. They are beautifully showcased surrounded by poinsettias that are in stunning shades of red, pink and white. I love seeing this clever models each year - I guess it's become something of a tradition!
After exploring the orchid collection and the giant main greenhouse - where I swear it was 90 degrees -we wrapped up our visit to the Botanic Garden and caught an Uber down to a location closer to the National Tree. We popped into the Willard Intercontinental to see their tree but couldn't find the gingerbread house anywhere - oh well! After a quick trip to the roof of the Washington Hotel and a pop into the White House Visitor's Center, we headed toward the National Tree.
I have to confess - it looks a little scraggly this year! I heard one woman; in a much scandalized voice, say "I can't even believe they put that nasty thing up"... and while I agree that it does look worse for the wear - you just have to have a National Tree! This one was also from the Monongahela National Forest, but I think it might have lost a branch or ten en route to DC, ha-ha!
We had dinner on the way home at the Cheesecake Factory in Fairfax - always a tasty time to be had at the Cheesecake Factory! We watched a little football on Saturday night and Sunday, after a lovely church service we headed to Hunter's Head Tavern for Sunday Brunch! The food was delicious as always but the service... well, perhaps they will work on that before we go again. *shrugs*
We opened gifts and we were wildly blessed this year - as we are every year! Our stockings were stuffed and the gifts were lovely! We discussed earlier in the year with my parents and they agreed that we weren't really in need of "things" but we'd always be up for experiences - and they'd like if we could all take a big family trip every year.
So - our main gift from my parents is that we will be taking a trip to Norway in 2024! We are so thrilled and cannot wait to explore the beauty and majesty of Norway next year! We are blessed indeed!
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