Washington D.C. was on my list of trips to take with the kids. This year, I wanted to go on a trip right when school was out, because I usually wait until summer school is finished. I remember going to D.C. when I was in the 8th grade with my school. My mom also took me and my friends when we were in Campfire girls back in the day. Both times I loved it so much and have since been there a few times with friends. On one trip, I had food poisoning and thought I was going to die on the drive there, but it still didn’t stop me from loving D.C. This trip was no exception–we had a blast.
A week before we left, I decided to try AAA for help with fun things to do–and it worked! A travel agent set us up with a night tour of the monuments, which was the best way to see them, in my opinion. We drove around in a cute little tour bus with a glass-top roof that opened up completely and closed when it started to rain. Our tour guide had lots of fun facts to tell us about each monument and D.C. itself and gave us a little bit of time at each monument to take pictures and the view. There were a few that were new since I was an 8th grader including the gorgeous World War II monument and fountain plus my favorite, the Korean monument that was incredible at night. There were rows of bronze soldiers in ponchos and army helmets trudging through the grass with dramatic and artistically placed spotlights on the entire display. I was in awe of the artist who was able to create those sculptures and the feeling captured by the artistry. Unbelievable. The tour ended at the White House, which looked pretty lovely at night. It was a nice way to end the tour.
The four of us took a taxi back to the Hilton downtown, where we were staying, and settled in for the night. I have to say, the taxi drivers in D.C. were some of the most comforting people to take us to and from our hotel. Every taxi driver chatted with us and was extremely friendly about navigating us to and from our respective destinations.
The next day, my AAA agent found another great way to tour the rest of the city–on an all-day trolley pass. Another friendly taxi driver took us to the central trolley stop where we checked in and found good spots by the windows. This trolley took us to the Native American museum first. It dropped us off and came around to pick us up every 15-20 minutes, so we didn’t feel like we were ever waiting around for a long time. The kids and I liked the Native American museum. The interior was artfully designed. We loved the beautiful Chief’s headdress in the glass case and how the Trail of Tears was explained on tall lit-up tablets with photographs-really beautiful presentation.
We also stopped by the botanical gardens down the road, the African and Asian art museums and the Air and Space Museum. We decided to use the train to get to the Air and Space Museum and that was an adventure just by itself. We had to figure out how to buy and scan the tickets, so we could walk through to the train stop. Once, Isaac’s didn’t work and I went to give my ticket to him to get through and the workers didn’t like that. Luckily, they saw that we were tourists and one of the train station workers generously helped us, which we greatly appreciated. This is the second time we tried using the local train–we also tried it in Philadelphia. Both times the locals were very friendly and helpful.
Josie and I enjoyed the roof top pool, and the boys enjoyed the gym. I loved sneaking away in the mornings to get a cup of coffee and read my book on the second-floor outdoor seating area with lounge chairs and plants. We had a really nice time on this trip. It was a great way to start the summer season.
