D.C. Vacation

I received a message today from one of my dearest friends telling me how much she missed me.  I never talk to her anymore, but I know that when I see her again it is going to be so great!  We were college roommates,   and after graduation she moved back home to Washington D.C.  I have seen her once in the last four years. 

So with that being said, I am officially starting plans for a trip to go visit her!  (I hope that's okay honey!)  I have been to D.C. a few times.  Once was a great trip sponsored by South KY Rural Electric where I was able to see tons of places.  All my other trips to D.C. were with the roommates; so they were filled with shopping, family, and fun!  So my goal this time is to see all the girls that I miss so much, eat a lot of great Ethiopian food, and revisit some of the great historical aspects that D.C. offers. 

I for see two problems with this trip.  One is talking my husband into a vacation that does NOT involve the beach!  We do really love the relaxing nature that a beach vacation offers, and a trip to D.C. will be a much busier vacation. 

The other problem is where to begin on the list of things to do.  Tim and the kids have never been to D.C. so there are so many things that they have to see.  We have to see the Capital, The White House, The Smithsonian, The Holocaust Museum, The Washington Monument, The Lincoln Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, The Korean War Memorial, The JFK Memorial, the Library of Congress, the National Cathedral, and the list goes on and on.   Seriously, I can think of so many more places that I want to go.  I want to go to The Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, Arlington National Cemetery, Ford Theater, and are you catching on to where the problem is!  There is so much to do and so little time to do it all! 

In addition to seeing all the awesome things that D.C. offers, I really want to see EVERY person in these pictures!  All these people mean so much to me!  So I think my vacation is going to have to be like a couple months long!  :)  I wonder if the Army will let Tim off work for that long! 

Any suggestions on how to pack all of this stuff into a normal 4 or 5 day vacation?