DC Trip
Just let me say that the quick and dirty summary of our DC trip was "Whew!" Man did we cram a lot into just 4 days. And didn't get to see half the things we wanted to see. I will say however that I really love that town. The Wife was sorry to leave and with the exception of my hurting feet, I could have stayed longer as well. Here's the quick blow by blow of what we did:
Arrived Friday 4/11: Got into the hotel and grabbed some dinner at a great resteraunt called Cosi. It was a pizza/deli/coffee bar sort of place and it was just grand.
Saturday: Arlington Cemetary in the morning. Saw the Kennedy Grave, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Arlington House. Went into the city and had lunch at the McDonald's at the Air and Space Museum. Ran up to Catholic University to see the Basillica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Took the tour and went to Mass. Went back to hotel for dinner and were exhausted.
Sunday: Air and Space Museum in the morning. They had a small exhibit from the Museum of American History which is currently closed. Boys saw the ruby slippers. Wife loved that exhibit a lot. Had lunch at the cafe at the Museum of Natural History. Great food. Toured the museum after lunch. Boys really liked it, especially seeing the Hope Diamond. Not so interesting for the Wife and I, but we dealt. Dinner that night back at the hotel.
Monday: National Archives in the morning. Got to see Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Grasshopper was really keen to see these since one of his classmates claims his great-grandfather was a signer of the Declaration. Went to the Old Post Office Pavillion next and went up to the tower to get one of the best 360 degree views of DC. Very cool up there. Had lunch at the pavillion. Went to the Navy Memorial after lunch and checked out the new Navy center briefly. Then went to the National Art Gallery and saw a DaVinci, Monet, Gaugin, Picasso, Pollak, and lots of other cool art. Dinner again back at the hotel.
Tuesday: Monument day. Saw the Lincoln Memorail, Korea Memorial (very cool), Vietnam Memorial (deserved a B-), WWII memorial, White House center, Boy Scout Memorial, Union Station (had lunch there), Jefferson Memorial, and FDR memorial (also very cool). Had enough time to go back to Arlington and tape changing of the guard at Tomb of the Unknown. Dinner again at the hotel.
Wednesday: Travel home
I must say, probably the highlight of the vacation for me was something I was only neutral on doing when we planned it, the view from the Old Post Office Pavilion. The Wife said we should do it so I was cool with it, but the view was totally awesome! And the building itself was ultra-fab. The most disappointing thing on the vaction was our hotel interent access was SO FUCKING SLOW! I swear it was like dialup or something. Luckily, it didn't really have an impact. This trip really rocked.
Our hotel was the best. The Wife picked it due to the reasonable cost and the kitchenette in the room. We figured we'd save on meals by making out own. As it turned out, we used it once. The hotel offers free breakfast, which instead of the usual coffee and danishes, was full buffet breakfast, with scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon, home fries, oatmeal or grits (of course, it's the South), pancakes or french toast, and an assortment of breads plus friut cocktail. Our hotel amenities sheet said "light dinner" Monday and Tuesday. When we checked it out, it was nothing but light. First night was steak tips, mashed potatoes, and brocoli, second night was meatloaf also with all the trimmings. Let me tell you I never ate so good on hotel food and it was all free!
Anyway, I could go on for pages with all the little detail of how things went. Suffice it to say we basically did everything we wanted to do, the boys had a blast and took pictures of almost everything they saw (I swear Grasshopper would have taken a picture of EVERY painting we saw if I let him). The boys behaved resonably well on the trip, and besides tired feet, the Wife and I managed not to feel like tired old people. We looked a bit touristy with our fanny packs, but fuck it cause at least we knew how to get around with no sweat. We may even go back next year to see more stuff. Right off the top of her head the Wife came up with enough things we didn't see to pack another 4 days.
Like I said. "Whew!"
Arrived Friday 4/11: Got into the hotel and grabbed some dinner at a great resteraunt called Cosi. It was a pizza/deli/coffee bar sort of place and it was just grand.
Saturday: Arlington Cemetary in the morning. Saw the Kennedy Grave, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Arlington House. Went into the city and had lunch at the McDonald's at the Air and Space Museum. Ran up to Catholic University to see the Basillica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Took the tour and went to Mass. Went back to hotel for dinner and were exhausted.
Sunday: Air and Space Museum in the morning. They had a small exhibit from the Museum of American History which is currently closed. Boys saw the ruby slippers. Wife loved that exhibit a lot. Had lunch at the cafe at the Museum of Natural History. Great food. Toured the museum after lunch. Boys really liked it, especially seeing the Hope Diamond. Not so interesting for the Wife and I, but we dealt. Dinner that night back at the hotel.
Monday: National Archives in the morning. Got to see Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. Grasshopper was really keen to see these since one of his classmates claims his great-grandfather was a signer of the Declaration. Went to the Old Post Office Pavillion next and went up to the tower to get one of the best 360 degree views of DC. Very cool up there. Had lunch at the pavillion. Went to the Navy Memorial after lunch and checked out the new Navy center briefly. Then went to the National Art Gallery and saw a DaVinci, Monet, Gaugin, Picasso, Pollak, and lots of other cool art. Dinner again back at the hotel.
Tuesday: Monument day. Saw the Lincoln Memorail, Korea Memorial (very cool), Vietnam Memorial (deserved a B-), WWII memorial, White House center, Boy Scout Memorial, Union Station (had lunch there), Jefferson Memorial, and FDR memorial (also very cool). Had enough time to go back to Arlington and tape changing of the guard at Tomb of the Unknown. Dinner again at the hotel.
Wednesday: Travel home
I must say, probably the highlight of the vacation for me was something I was only neutral on doing when we planned it, the view from the Old Post Office Pavilion. The Wife said we should do it so I was cool with it, but the view was totally awesome! And the building itself was ultra-fab. The most disappointing thing on the vaction was our hotel interent access was SO FUCKING SLOW! I swear it was like dialup or something. Luckily, it didn't really have an impact. This trip really rocked.
Our hotel was the best. The Wife picked it due to the reasonable cost and the kitchenette in the room. We figured we'd save on meals by making out own. As it turned out, we used it once. The hotel offers free breakfast, which instead of the usual coffee and danishes, was full buffet breakfast, with scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon, home fries, oatmeal or grits (of course, it's the South), pancakes or french toast, and an assortment of breads plus friut cocktail. Our hotel amenities sheet said "light dinner" Monday and Tuesday. When we checked it out, it was nothing but light. First night was steak tips, mashed potatoes, and brocoli, second night was meatloaf also with all the trimmings. Let me tell you I never ate so good on hotel food and it was all free!
Anyway, I could go on for pages with all the little detail of how things went. Suffice it to say we basically did everything we wanted to do, the boys had a blast and took pictures of almost everything they saw (I swear Grasshopper would have taken a picture of EVERY painting we saw if I let him). The boys behaved resonably well on the trip, and besides tired feet, the Wife and I managed not to feel like tired old people. We looked a bit touristy with our fanny packs, but fuck it cause at least we knew how to get around with no sweat. We may even go back next year to see more stuff. Right off the top of her head the Wife came up with enough things we didn't see to pack another 4 days.
Like I said. "Whew!"
Comments