Visit From The Grandparents!

I recently was blessed with a visit from my Grandma and Grandpa Harker. It was so fun showing them around my side of the country! It was an epic visit in which I showed them Baltimore, DC, and Philadelphia. It was so much fun! Though I don't think either of them liked the traffic or the amount of people in the Baltimore-DC area. Thank you Grams and Gramps for coming and visiting me. I love you guys! Oh, and thank you for feeding me very, very well!
The first thing I was able to show them was Fort McHenry, here in Baltimore. Gramps loves that sort of history stuff. I think they enjoyed it. I also showed them my apartment. I think that it made them feel better about me living in Baltimore. It's amazing what a fence and a 24 hour security guard will do for a loved one's peace of mind.

Me and Grams on the earthworks at Fort McHenry. Isn't my Grams, so cute?

I always like to investigate things. It's bigger down there than you'd think.

We then went to the harbor where we had dinner and I showed them the ginormous Barnes and Noble. Well we saw the ships and stuff while we were down there too.
The next day was DC. It was so fun showing them some of my favorite things at Arlington and the National Mall. It was so funny getting them on the metro. And we did it the easy way with my SmarTrip cards.

Me and Gramps waiting for the Metro.

Me and Grams waiting for the Metro.

 So one of my favorite things in DC to show people is the view from Pierre L'Enfant's tomb in Arlington by the Arlington House. They buried L'Enfant where he could forever look upon the city he planned. I think you could do worse when  it comes to a view...

You can see the Capitol Building very well.

And of course you can see the Washington Monument. Well to be fair, you can see it from most places in DC.

I think this may be my favorite picture from this spot.

Awesome view of the National Mall.

One of the things I love most about Arlington is how the headstones are set up. They are set up so they are perfectly in line whether it be horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. It's like they are all standing at attention.

The Jefferson Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial and the Lincoln Bridge. I knew the National Mall was close to Arlington but I'm not sure that I realized that it was only a bridge away.

 The monuments were something I was so excited to show them! I love giving tours of DC! It doesn't get old showing friends and family. Maybe if the whole school thing doesn't work out I could become a guide for the monuments. Though I'd work with one of the bike or segway tours; not the tour buses. I like small groups.

We passed the mounted police and all Gramps noticed was how beautiful the horses were. Grams thought they looked out-of-place. I agree with both of them.

I thought it was really cool that you could see our reflection on the wall of the Korean War Memorial.

Grams and Gramps with the big guy, Mr. Lincoln, himself.

All of us with Lincoln.

Squirrel!!! Hahaha! I love that Grams and Gramps don't get most of my Disney quotes. But Gramps took a picture of the squirrel any way.

 So Gramps and I were discussing what monuments they could see and which Smithsonians we could go to. I got really excited when I got to Einstein. I asked Gramps in a really excited voice, "Do you want to see Einstein? He's really easy to get to from the Vietnam Memorial." Gramps made fun of my nerdiness for the rest of the day, but we did stop and see Einstein. Have I mentioned that this is probably my most favorite thing to show people when they come to DC?

Me and Einstein! I love this picture! Thanks Grams and Gramps for putting up with my nerdiness!

The White House though I think Gramps was most interested in the Flaming Sword monument right before it.

Ah, the Washington Monument! I didn't realize that you could see the damage from the earthquake until I got up close to it. So sad! It's closed till further notice.

 Grams and Gramps thought the monuments were pretty cool but the thing they got the most excited to see was the DC temple. I must admit; it's a beautiful temple.

The temple from the 495. All you can see is trees and then you come around a curve. And Bam! There's the temple!

Temple up close.

Grams and Gramps in front of the temple.

Close up of Grams and Gramps in front of the temple.

All three of us in front of the temple!

Well now you can see the temple.

The temple all lit up for the evening! It's so beautiful!

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The DC temple is one of the most beautiful temples I've seen at night!

The next day we went to Philadelphia where we mixed history with a little pop culture.

Me and Grams and the Fanatic, the mascot for the Phillies. The Phillies are one of my baseball teams. I was rooting for them this last post season.

Me and the Fanatic!

I'm pretty sure if I had stood on the base, me and the Fanatic would be about the same size.

Grams and Gramps with the Liberty Bell.

tv show for giving me ideas! I didn't try it bytheway. It was just a small urge.

Ben Franklin's grave! It's a local tradition to toss a penny onto Ben's grave for good luck. Why a penny? Because of Ben's quote, "A penny saved, is a penny earned." I'll admit. I tossed a penny for luck this last time.

A random ad that I liked.

My adorable grandparents holding hands as we entered Independence Hall.

Grams and Gramps in front of Independence Hall.

The famous love statue!

A very appropriate statue for the City of Brotherly Love.

Grams and Gramps riding on the top of the double decker tour bus as we were touring Philly.

 Philadelphia is home of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is an iconic location for all Rocky fans. Me and my friend, Matt, have had an on-going battle. Matt says that any one who wants to call themselves a real boxer will run the steps of the museum just like Rocky. Well, Matt, I was a real boxer before I did this and I'm a 'real' boxer still. The tour guide was kind enough to wait for me to run up the steps. I think he made the two men on our tour feel bad because it was the girl who was the one running up the steps.

Me running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; just like Rocky.

Me at the top in my best Rocky pose.

It felt awesome to run up the steps! I wanted to do it a couple more times.

My post steps run victory pose.

Me and Rocky in our victory poses.

The Rocky statue by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

 You can't go to Philly without trying an authentic Philly Cheesesteak. Oh my heavens, they are so good! Campos is the place that all the locals recommend and they know where to get the best cheesesteaks. You don't mess with the cheesesteak in Philly.

I love cheesesteaks and I love the Flyers! Win-win situation, I think.

Grams outside of Campos.

My beautiful Philly Cheesesteak. It only took me a little over 2 minutes to down this thing. I should have gotten two because it was SO good!

The Home of the Flyers. I've been there for a game! Awesome! Philly maybe the City of Brotherly Love but when it comes to their sports teams, they turn into the City of Brotherly Hate.

The Philadelphia Skyline as we were driving away.

It was so awesome to get to show my grandparents around! I miss them terribly! Thanks for coming to see me!!! I love when family comes to visit. So who's next? I'm really good at giving tours now!