I just got back from Philadelphia yesterday, and I must say the city of brotherly love has some of the nicest people! I stayed in an old historical hotel formarly known as the bellevue stratford, which opened its doors in 1904.

Any native Philadelphian will tell you that this is where Legionnaires' disease started in 1976. Its namesake is because they were attending an american legion convention. Of course its all cleaned up now and is a great place to stay! Here is photo of the restaurant:

Im in Washington DC and were supposed to have a big snow storm last night and today, so Ive done my best to get out and about the last few days. My first night here I went to a brilliant place: Coco Sala

The whole menu seemed to have chocolate incorporated...see the crispy coco nibs on top of the scalops? The chocolate deserts were probably some of the best Ive ever had here! 

Yesterday was fairly warm(50's?), so I went out for a walk to find the Vietnam war memorial and got an eyeful of much more than that! 

Dont ask, but I have a personal connection to this place;-) It was so beautiful out, and I enjoyed the people watching. Washington DC is supposed to be one of the fittest cities in the US, and all walks of life were jogging, biking, and just enjoying being outdoors. 

I noticed the authorities were getting ready for a big day near the white house...I should have know I was going to see some action! Ill save that for latter though, as I was still enjoying the calm and peaceful morning.

I headed past the white house and onto a beautiful tree lined trail to find the memorial I came to see and pay my tributes to those that made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today.

I could see the huge wall from here, and already a strange feeling set over me. I stopped to my left to observe the Vietnam women's memorial, which I hadnt known was there.

I felt like I could really feel the way they felt by this sculpture...a fitting memorial indeed! Next I walked closer to the Vietnam war memorial, and was amazed by the size of it. The whole wall was filled with names of soldiers that lost their lives over there. Not to mention the ptsd, suicide, and agent orange deaths that also occured because of the war.

I found the name I was looking for, and a little old lady came up to me and asked if I wanted a rubbing( where you rub graphite on a peice of paper over the name). I thanked her and realized my hands were shaking as I tried to get the name copied. It is that emotional a place! After this I had to take a little break off to the side to put it all in perspective, but it still seemed impossible to fathom. I think it makes us stronger to know where we came from, and hopefully we will never forget this event in history. I am forever changed...