DC.

I've had the opportunity to go to Washington DC three times so far this year for work. The first two were for meetings that lasted only a couple hours before turning around and flying home, but the third was for something pretty cool that I got to be a part of.

Two of my co-workers (Alana & Erinn) and I went to DC this past week for DoubleTree by Hilton's "Socialite Camp." Pretty much two full days of social media training and brainstorming with the top "social media champions" among all 300+ DoubleTree properties. And for a social media nerd like me, it was a blast. I learned a lot and got to present my first in-person social media training for our client. It was actually a really big accomplishment and a step forward in my career. Pretty big moment.

Me, Alana, Erinn on our long trek home from DC.

But aside from the work aspect of it all, this time around I actually had some down time (late at night) to explore a bit of the city. The first two times I went to DC this year we're so short it was literally in and out in less than 24 hours. But being there for a couple days this time was a much different experience.

After the first 16-hour day we decided to cram in a little trip to the National Mall so I could see the Lincoln Memorial for the first time ever. Talk about an awe-inspiring moment. I was stunned. It really was one of those moments where you can't believe you're actually standing in front of this giant thing you've seen millions of pictures of for your entire life. It was so much bigger than I imagined and so much more triumphant. Standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the memorial and seeing Lincoln through the pillars was unreal. But getting up close? Almost emotional.

Not to mention when you turn around you're standing directly in front of the Reflecting Pool and Washington Monument. A little dark, but I'm adding to my bucket list: Watch the sun rise over the Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

We also made our cab driver drive us past the White House (because duh, Obama) but unfortunately it's pretty hard to see it from the road. Covered in trees and kinda far away. Still got a glimpse, but that's about it. We also made a quick drive-by of the Smithsonian & Capital - two SUPER cool buildings.

The following day of training wrapped early and we had some time to kill before leaving for the airport so we decided to soak up our last moments in DC and see as much more as we could (as tired as we were, it was worth it). So we wound up at the Arlington Cemetery where we got to see the infamous Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier & Kennedy Gravesite. Another super cool experience.

Of course, the time change REALLY screwed with me and I'm running on fumes at the moment (it's just past 9pm on a Friday night and I'm in bed already.. holler!) but it was totally worth it to have crammed in as much as possible. Lots of hard work, airport delays, and a trash bag full of barf next to my face later (oh yeah, did I mention as our plane landed in Vegas a lady almost puked on me?) I'm home. I'm inspired and ready to keep tackling the next phase. I feel quite lucky.