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We are here in Washington DC. We have been here twice before for long weekends with the kids. We took an Uber from the airport to our Airbnb in the Capital Hill area. Our Airbnb is across the street from Lincoln Park. Our first order of business is finding a store to buy cereal and milk for breakfast. We find a store a short walk away. DC takes some planning, contact your representative 90 days in advance for free tickets to the Capital and White House. We only started planning 60 days in advance. We got tickets to the Capital and on the waitlist for the Whitehouse. A few weeks before we arrived we found out we got tickets to the White House. The Smithsonian Museums are free but some need reserved timed tickets. So figure out which museums you want to see and check out their websites to determine if you need reservations. We got reservations for the Air and Space Museum and the African American Museum.
We started the trip with a full day on the Mall checking out all of the Monuments. We downloaded the app for Capital Bikeshare. The bikes can be found in locked bike
racks around the city. We found a rack of bikes two blocks from our Airbnb. Most of the bikes are manual bikes but sometimes you can find an electric bike in the rack. We used the bikes to ride to the museums and to ride to the metro station.
We spent a full day walking the Mall. So many memorials to see like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, World War I Memorial and World War II Memorial. We spent a full day walking the Mall. There is no fee to walk the Mall. You do need a reservation for the Washington Monument and we were not able to get a reservation.
We we were in DC on Memorial Day. We watched the parade which had a lot of bands from all across the country we saw Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna in the parade. It was no problem finding a spot to watch the parade. Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna hosted the National Memorial Day Concert which was free to attend. We watched it on tv because we did
not want to wait outside waiting for the concert to start.
We got tickets for a morning tour of the Capitol. The tour is very organized with people split up into groups. Interesting but not a great tour, we did not get the see most of the Capitol but it is a free tour so you might as well visit. We followed the Capitol tour with our White House tour. A family behind us were not allowed in because they had a baby stroller. You cannot park your stroller outside so be careful to read the restrictions. The White House tour was really good. The people who work in the rooms we visited shared all sorts of information with us. You are not rushed, it was not crowded and you can take pictures. After our tours we had lunch at Ebbitt’s Grill. It is a beautiful famous restaurant near the White House and not too expensive. The patrons were a mix of tourists and Washington movers and shakers. We had reservations but I don’t know if it is required.
Visiting the Smithsonian Museums is our main activity in DC. We made reservations for the Air and Space Museum and
the African American Museum. Part of the Air and Space Museum was closed for renovations so we spent about three hours visiting. We bought lunch from a street vendor and visited the National Gallery of Art. It is huge and we may have seen 40% of it.
The African American museum was not here the last time we visited DC. We spent all day here. We ate lunch in the museum and we ate Southern food. The museum has a large section on music. Sports stars and movie stars are also covered.
The US Botanical Gardens was a nice change from art and history. It is not real large but it does cover different eco systems. Mark and I tried guessing what the names of plants were.
The National Portrait Gallery was our last museum. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, most Presidents and famous people‘s portraits are here.
I have always wanted to visit Mt Vernon. We do not have a rental car so I book a tour that leaves from DC. We ride bikes to Hyatt Regency to meet our tour mini bus. The driver gives us information about the areas
we pass on our way to Mt Vernon. When we arrive the driver buys our tickets and tells us what time to be back. The property is huge but we had time to see everything. There are restaurants on the property so we were able to have lunch. I enjoyed the visit to Mt Vernon very much.
Our last day in DC we decide to travel to the Arlington Cemetery and Alexandria. We took the metro to both spots. We decide to walk the Cemetery, buses are available. We took the tour of Lee’s House and we learned a lot about slavery. We saw all the famous headstones and monuments. We took the metro to Alexandria a cute colonial town. We had seafood on the river. We ate ice cream and visited George Washington Masonic National Monument. We learned all about the Masons and George Washington.
DC is a great place to bring a family. With all the free museums it is a reasonable vacation. I am glad we came back.
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