KatelynOctober 8, 2021 – October 11, 2021
Where We Stayed: Grand Hyatt Washington
Trip Highlights:
- We’re engaged!
- Taking engagement photos
- Exploring and Geocaching near the Capitol
Favorite Restaurants:
While Sam and I had decided to get engaged prior to this trip, we decided to make our engagement “official” in Washington DC, a city that was special to both of us. Not only was DC the first place we traveled to together (almost exactly three years before this weekend) but we also had continued to travel there every year of our relationship since that first weekend trip.
Our travel out to DC was slightly more chaotic than we had intended. We were originally supposed to take a flight out to DC on Friday evening, with our original itinerary containing a layover in Orlando. The flights were changed at the last minute, making our connection incredibly close. Southwest Airlines was experiencing widespread cancellations over the few days leading up to this, and we were feeling a little uncomfortable with the flight schedule. Luckily, we found a combination of flights that worked with our schedule and changed our plans with less than 24 hours to spare. This worked out for the best, as we discovered later that evening that if we had kept our original schedule, we would have ended our night stranded in Orlando! Thankfully, we made it to DC with no issues.
We arrived in DC, checked in to the hotel, and waited for Shannon, Sam’s sister, to arrive. We had already told my mom that we were engaged the day before, but planned to tell Shannon once she arrived and Sam’s parents over the phone that evening. While we were able to tell all of them that evening, the story itself of how that happened is pretty chaotic and funny, but much better told in person than over a blog post.
The next day, we took took engagement photos at the Jefferson Memorial. We chose this location because of its big columns, fewer crowds than the main monuments across the Tidal Basin, and the great views of the Washington Monument in the background. We got a few great photos – thanks to Shannon for being our photographer!
We went back to the hotel to change and relax for a bit before getting lunch at Nando’s and going for a walk around the neighborhood nearby. We also indulged in some gelato from Dolcezza, had dinner later at a British pub, and late night snacks and drinks downstairs at the hotel.
Our hotel was in the heart of downtown DC, just a few blocks down from Chinatown. This is our favorite Hyatt to stay at in DC, as it’s walking distance to a bunch of things we like and the hotel is attached to the DC Metro, so we can easily catch a train to other places as well.
On Sunday, we explored the area near the Capitol. Typically when visiting DC we spend most of our time near the National Mall and museums, so none of us had spent much time in this area before. We did a little geocaching in the area, sat and chatted outside of the Capitol, and saw the steps of the Supreme Court before heading back to the hotel.
After another lunch at Nando’s (whenever we’re in DC or Chicago we tend to eat a LOT of Nando’s) we spent the rest of the afternoon playing Sushi Go Party in the hotel before Shannon had to head off to catch her train back to Philadelphia. Sam and I had a couple last snacks and drinks downstairs (including the crazy deviled eggs in the photo below) at the hotel and went on one final walk through the neighborhood for gelato under these fall lights before heading in for the night and flying home the next day.
Once we headed home the following day, we announced to rest of our close friends and family that we were engaged before posting it on Facebook to tell the rest of our world. We were so happy to have this weekend in DC, both because we love this city, but also because we were excited to include this place that is special to us in our engagement in even this tiny way.
