Washington, D.C.

For my birthday present, my husband took me to Washington, D.C. for the day.

Tours:  I’m usually a fan of hop-on-hop-off buses, but D.C. is very walkable and the tourist attractions are fairly close together, or you can at least visit several locations within an afternoon by walking.  One fantastic thing about Washington is that most of the tourist attractions are free of charge!

We visited:  The Smithsonian Museum of American History http://americanhistory.si.edu/.  The Smithsonian has many museums – it would take more than a day to see all of them.  The American History Museum has clothing and artifacts from every American war, pop culture and social events.  Highlights included George Washington’s outfit that he is wearing in one of his better known portraits; Dorothy’s ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz; Archie Bunker’s chair; Julia Child’s kitchen; the actual drugstore counter where in the 1960s 4 African-American youths sat down and refused to move to the black section of the drugstore; a collection of First Lady gowns; an actual pioneer covered wagon; metal beams from the World Trade Center, as well as a crushed AirFone from one of the planes.

The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, World War II Memorial, Reflecting Pool, Women of Vietnam.  Each very powerful. 

Arlington Cemetery – http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/ Eternal flame by the graves of JFK, Jackie and two of their children.  All three of JFK’s brothers are buried nearby.  We caved and took a tram bus for $9 each.  We were so tired after walking across the Arlington bridge from the Lincoln Memorial – a much longer hike than it looks! The $9 tour was no big deal, considering we had barely spent any money all day with so many attractions being free.

Hotel:  We were only there for the day, but if I went back, I would want to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn-Downtown http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/district-of-columbia/hilton-garden-inn-washington-dc-downtown-DCACHGI/about/index.html or the Willard Intercontinental http://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/washington/washa/hoteldetail.  Both are right in the heart of everything – short walking distance to all the major attractions. 

Restaurants:  We had breakfast at Ollie’s Trolley.  http://www.olliestrolleydc.com/  Kitschy place with antiques everywhere and very good food.  Note, they only accept cash, no credit cards, but they have an ATM on site.  The meal was enough that we weren’t hungry for lunch.  We had a beer nearby the Vietnam Memorial, right in the park.  Dinner was at the airport – the National Airport Grill – http://reaganfoodandshops.com/directory/1-terminals-c-bc-b/82 good beers on tap and great food.  I had the fish and chips and my husband had a Philly cheesesteak. 

I’m not sure if my kids would enjoy D.C. at their age.  (8 and 9 and autistic)  Maybe when they’re older.  There were so many museums we didn’t get to see – so many it will take several trips before we see them all!