Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with the Hunger Games series. So, I highly anticipated this last movie in this beloved series. The last movie in a series has a lot of big expectations to fulfil. While I'd read the books and knew what was going to happen, I wasn't sure how the series would tie up everything together. I also knew some super sad stuff happens in the last book and for that I wasn't ready.

Last weekend, I saw it and here's what I've come up with. It was a good end to a beloved series. Like in life, not everything ends like a fairy tale, but you make choices and you live with them.

The movie opens with Katniss after the last movie ended with Peeta strangling her. She's bruised and struggling to live with life after Peeta has been brainwashed by the Capitol.

To get revenge, Gale helps develop bombs. A first wave a bombs will panic people and the second wave would get the rest of the people. Katniss doesn't like how cruel that is, but the Capitol has made Gale harsh.

She gets her way into the fight against the Capitol. They want her just to shoot film for film clips against the Capitol, but that's not Katniss, she can't stay away from the fight. Peeta gets sent along to be filmed and of course Gale is there. too. The Capitol is as evil as ever. As expected they face lots of traps and monsters from the Capitol. So the "sewer monsters" were scarier than I'd envisioned and as a result, I screamed the whole time they chased Katniss and company. Everything happened so quickly, it was hard to figure out who had died. I thought some of the losses would be focused on more in the movie than they were; that was disappointing. They eventually find an ally within the city in the form of a lady named, Tigress who has surgically changed her appearance to look like an actual cat/tiger.

Katniss's goal is to make it to the capitol to kill President Snow. She makes the trip from Tigress's store to President Snow's mansion where all residents are being ordered to come for shelter. Gale makes the trek with her, but he gets recognized and captured before arriving there. As Katniss gets closer, a bomb goes off. People rush in to help and there she sees Prim helping. People are encouraged to bring their kids to safety in the mansion. As she gets closer to the front, another bomb goes off. We know who it kills...and we know who created it. Her relationship with Gale ends with him apologizing and her ordering him to leave.

She finally gets her chance to execute President Snow, but instead chooses to take out President Coin who has vastly overstepped her role and has become part of the problem.

Katniss returns to her former District 13 and tries to live. Peeta returns to and they spend time together. The movie ends with Katniss and her family with Peeta. #TeamPeeta

While the movie was full of action, I wish there'd be more about her relationships; with Gale, Peeta, and Prim. She felt disconnected and I didn't feel the love.

DC, Part 4

On that same busy day that we were in DC, we also checked out the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. It was across a body of water and shimmered in the distance. It was a balmy day and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial gave us respite from the sun, heat, and a lovely breeze. I so appreciated the wonderful quotes from Thomas Jefferson featured on the walls of the memorial. His words remind us of the strong Christian values that our country was founded on. This was one of my favorite sites in DC!

DC, Part 3

Next, we checked out the Lincoln Memorial. The statue is so much larger than I thought it would be. Sadly, the memorial was crazy crowded, but I did walk away with some good photos. Also, the memorial has a cute little gift store. I took this terrific photo there:


From the Lincoln Memorial, I was able to take several great photos of the Washington Monument. Here are my favorite photos of the Monument:

Here photos from the Monument:

A fun panoramic shot from the Washington Monument:

DC, Part 2

We checked out the outdoor Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. It featured lots of his famous quotes, which were nice to read again.

Here my group was posing at the memorial.

Next, we made our way to the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial. It, along with the FDR Memorial, I was told were the newer memorials.It featured many of his most famous quotes.

I'm glad I could finally see these memorials for myself. Pictures never do the places justice.

DC, Part 1

I had such a great time in DC!

First night, we visited friends and had dinner in Springfield at Mike's American Grill. It's such an impressive-looking restaurant, but unfortunately for us, the service was awful and the food was pretty good, click here to see my more of my thoughts.

The next morning, we hit the sights in DC. I was warned that DC is extremely hot and humid, but wow very unaccepted!

The first stop was the poignant Arlington Cemetery. I knew I had to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during changing of the guard. I wasn't sure what to expect. It was solemn and still as we watched the lone soldier keeping guard. The changing of the guard is a must see with the beautiful military traditions I've come to love! It was hard to believe that there were 150,000 graves!

Such a wonderful start to my DC trip!