Chivalrous Deeds Challenge update and pics from the DC trip

The participants in the Chivalrous Deeds Challenge have been questing through history for a little over three months now. Some awesome reviews have been posted for the challenge (you can get to them by clicking on the challenge button in the sidebar) and I thought it was time to check in. Here are the current standings:

So far Heather from The Maiden's Court is in the lead!

Courts visited so far:

• Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
• Margaret of Anjou and Henry VI
• The Stuart Court (William & Mary/Anne/James)
• Elizabeth I
• James IV of Scotland and Henry II of England
• King John of England
• Edward the Confessor and King Harold
• Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine
• Henry VIII
• Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart
• King Baldwin of Jerusalem
• Henry I of England
• Abulhamid II (Ottoman Empire)

I have been playing along too and have visited 11 courts so far this year: King George V, Helen of Troy & Menelaus, Alexander the Great, Llywelyn ap Iorweth of Wales and Joanna, Napoleon, Stephen & Mathilda, Alfred the Great, Charles II, Maeve of Ireland, King John, and William the Red.

Great job everyone! Keep those reviews coming!

And now for the highlights of my trip to Washington DC. We went during the Cherry Blossom Festival and it was gorgeous. If you ever go there while it is going on the best place to see the blossoms is down by the Jefferson Memorial. There were two areas I would have loved to get more pictures of-the Library of Congress which is every book nerds dream and has the most beautiful interior of a building I've ever seen and the other is the Vietnam Wall. Unfortunately since I went at night the photos I took of the actual wall did not turn out (it was pitch black out and the wall is black so go figure..). This makes me sad because the wall holds a special place in my heart because my dad was a Vietnam vet and I lost him a year and a half ago. I am a veteran of Iraq so soldiering is something we shared and it is one of the few places I still feel a strong connection to him. On the bright side this gives me yet another reason for a return trip to DC in the future. Now for the pics (unfortunately my background is showing through on some of these so sorry if some are a little hard to see):

US CAPITOL AND WASHINGTON MONUMENT

THOMAS JEFFERSON MEMORIAL AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS

LINCOLN KOREAN AND VIETNAM MEMORIALS

WORLD WAR 2 MEMORIAL AND MISCELLANEOUS

I do have one more slide show from the trip that I will share later this week. It is of the FDR Memorial which was one of my favorites. Seriously, if you have not been to DC area consider going. There is so much to see there, many of the restaurants in the area are phenomenal, 90% of the attractions are free and the ease of using the public transportation there can't be beat.

Just a quick side note: the promised review and giveaway of To be Queen by Christy English will be up Tuesday. I had planned on having it up yesterday but a massive migraine changed my plans so please stay tuned for that. Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!