Travel Diaries: Washington D.C.
Ever since the Presidential election of 2016, Caroline has wanted to go to Washington D.C.. Naturally, she wanted to see the White House along with the city where important decisions are made for our country. We decided fall break would be the perfect time! The weather was great and it was not crowded! So, if you are planning a trip to D.C., I would highly recommend this time of year!
DAY ONE:
We flew into Reagan Airport, which was exciting because the girls were able to see so many of the monuments and building as we flew in. Shortly after our arrival, we checked into The St. Regis Washington, D.C. located on 16th Street. This hotel is in the heart of the capital and has a true historic feel. The girls were welcomed with gift bags filled with a puzzle of The White House and lots of coloring activities, all with a D.C. theme, so right away the girls were excited with the hotel. Caroline told me last night, her favorite part of the trip was walking out of our hotel and being steps away from The White House. We could not have been happier with our choice to stay at The St. Regis, Washington D.C..
We decided this would be a trip where we would enjoy just being in the city, but with Sarah's age we decided to not do any scheduled tours. We'll take a trip back once both girls are a little older, but this time we wanted Caroline to have a point of reference of D.C. as she learns about our nation's capital in school. Whenever we take the girls to a new place, the first day we typically do not plan anything except to get out and explore. We walked to The White House and The National Mall. Naturally, we found ourselves riding The Carousel a couple of times. This was perfect to let out all of the travel day energy! We walked a lot!! Then, we walked to what was probably my FAVORITE meal of the trip. Before we left, I found a little French restaurant on The Girl Guide Blog, Le Diplomate. You definitely need a reservation and it is well worth it! I took a picture of what Matthew and I had, even though I felt a little silly - it was the first time I have ever taken a picture of my food at a restaurant! :)
DAY TWO:
Day two was our busiest day. We went straight to The White House Welcome center. This ended up being one of our favorite activities. Caroline and I loved the movie about the presidents and an inside look at the parties of The White House and Sarah loved the replica of the White House (it looked like a doll house). We walked by The Capital then out to The Mall to let the girls run around. The Spy Museum was next on our list. This was also a favorite. With Matthew's love of Bond movies, I think it was his favorite! Caroline said her favorite was crawling through the duct work, just like spies do! Overall, we spent A LOT of time there, but it was so much fun for all of us. Lunch was spent at The Smith. We were introduced to The Smith in NYC by our dear friends and when we saw the one in DC near The Spy Museum, we had to eat there. We've never had a bad meal at The Smith! After a late lunch, The Air and Space Museum was amazing, a bit crowded, but Caroline certainly was fascinated with Amelia Earhart's red plane. It was also great for Sarah because of the interactive nature of the museum. Whew! We decided the girls needed a break from the educational aspect of the trip, so we canceled dinner at RPM DC (so sad because we love RPM in Chicago), but decided to go to Tysons Corner to American Girl! Nothing to report on dinner there (if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all)!
DAY THREE:
We woke up a little tired after all the touring from the day before and decided to spend the day in Georgetown. Matthew and I have both always loved Georgetown. He spent a summer in D.C., as well as one of his good friends went to law school at GW, plus we spent some time in D.C. prior to kids, so going to Georgetown was fun for us. It was a lot more crowded than I remember, but we had fun shopping. We ate lunch at The Peacock Cafe and hit up a cute shop, Tuckernuck and Caroline found The Lilly store. Matthew spotted Georgetown Cupcake, so yes, we waited in line (about 30 minutes) for these famous cupcakes! After changing at the hotel, dinner was spent at Old Ebbitt Grill. It is a touristy place and the food was ok, but the location is amazing and the kids loved it, so it was a win!
How cute is this shop?! I bought the red earrings on the table and wore them with DVF dress that night.
LAST DAY:
We spent most of the day in the National Museum of Natural History. Just writing this makes me miss the kids while they are at school because their curiosity and excitement in the museum is not something I can capture in writing. Matthew and I had so much fun following the girls around and watching what they were interested in. After hours in the museum, we discovered a cute pizza place, The Pi. After pizza, we needed to walk! We spent the rest of the afternoon out on the The Mall to get a close up view of The Washington Monument, The World War II Memorial, and The Lincoln Memorial. It was great to have a chance to talk with the girls about the point of a memorial and showing respect by not running around and observing without being loud. Caroline learned 405,399 Americans died in WWII, which is always hard as a parent when your child has to learn about such horrific events. As for the last night, we ate at Founding Farmers, which I also highly recommend and you definitely need a reservation there too. The kettle popcorn appetizer was amazing!
LEAVING DAY:
This was a wonderful trip that I would describe as the first of many to DC for our little family. You can't do D.C. all in one trip, but I think we did a good job of hitting the high points with the age of our children. There is definitely more we want to do and see in Washington D.C. with the girls, but for now, I was so happy they have seen some of the most special buildings in our amazing country. XOXO
