




So we decided to do a family trip to Washington D.C. I hope this post helps you if you are thinking about this venture!
Overall...we had a wonderful time!
Where did we stay?
The Marriott Residence Inn at Rosslyn (right next to Arlington VA.) the metro was only 1 block from the hotel which was very convenient. They offered a wonderful FREE b.fast every AM which is so great when traveling with kiddos. Also , our room was a suite with a full kitchen so you can bring stuff to keep cold, etc. You could also take some fruit with you for that mid morning snack from the buffet too~! The rates where very good ...we stayed Thursday - Sunday. Always pick a weekend as weekday rates Mon-Wed are ridiculous.
So...this was the first time traveling solo without Grandma with all 3 kiddos. We did bring my new Bob revolution Stroller Strides Stroller and my Babyhawk Mei Tai and a Wrap or two!
The first 2 days I pretty much wore Sam (2yr old) on my back as we were not sure about getting on and off the metro and some museums do not allow Strollers. Needless to say...I am glad we did not bring it becuase it was easy to really get around and Sam is always happy on my back! On Day 3 we decided to take the Stroller not so much for Sam but for my 5yr old who started complaining of long walking ......yes, the 9yr old did too! So we brought the Stroller and tested it to the limit!! I had both big kids in it at one point! It really moved around the city beautifully and is so easy to collapse. Sam did get an occassional ride too!
We all packed our Sigg water bottles so we could avoid paying 4.00 a bottle for water! Glad we did that! We filled them up in the AM at the hotel and at Restaurants.
So we arrived on Thursday at about 1pm and was able to check into our room. We got settled in and let the boys stretch and Sam walk and butt scoot around the hotel room for awhile as the car ride was long...about 6.5hrs with stops.
Then we were off .........Metro to Air and Space Museum (Free to get in)......we spent about 2hrs in there. Then we walked down "the mall" area to the Washington Monument for awhile. Then we walked over to some memorials..etc...this made it a late evening....we then took the metro back to Rosslyn where there was a Ruby Tuesdays that we ate at for dinner then went back to the hotel.
Friday----took metro (by the way..kids loved to navigate the metro...what a learning experience) to Union Station where we bought tickets for the open top sightseeing bus which was a 2 day pass ( you can get on and off at all the attractions anytime). Before getting on the bus we went to the National Postal Museum. This was great! Very interactive. Highly recommend it! Also, Free. We then boarded the Open top bus..yes we rode on top...kids loved that. The day was beautiful but breezy at about 74degrees. We got off our first stop, kids had a snack at a vendor then went to the White House. We did not go in but looked from afar. There is a beautiful park right there...open grass and we sat there for awhile. We knew something was going on because security was scrambling and they gated off certain areas........all of the sudden Airforce 1 came in and we saw the motorcade as well. The kids loved that. So then we WALKED AND WALKED and ended up at the WW2 memorial then over to the Vietnam Wall then the Lincoln Memorial. We then hopped on the bus and went over to the Museum of Natural History..spent about 1.5hrs there. Then we WALKED to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner....whew...my feet were feeling it then....yes, Sam was still on my back! Took Metro to hotel from there.
Saturday------Metro to Alington National Cemetary. Very moving there I must say. We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and watched the changing of the guards. Very awesome! WALKED all around the cementary..........JFK .......saw some funerals going on (new soldiers from over in Iraq :( ) One woman said to me " they really don't want us to focus on that." I said to her " yes, but it is reality". Ok..anyway........from there we tried to board the open top bus but it was packed ( thats another blog in itself) so off to the metro. We went to the National Zoo. We wanted to go to the Museum of American History but it was closed until late summer this year. The National Zoo was nice but alot of it was under construction. At this point when finishing up the zoo the kids were beat.....we did bring the stroller to help out a bit. We decided to go back to the room and chill out for dinner.......order in! The kids loved that!
Sunday- We took our time getting up and then packed up our stuff.......we didn't know what we were going to do and saw so much the first couple days......so drove over to the Iwo Jima memorial and then around D.C. and saw a million bikes for some event going on for the Memorial day holiday. We then decided lets head back home.......driving time home 6.5hrs with several stops!
So...there it is folks!~ We had a great time..nice little getaway! OH....I want to mention we brought our Phil and Teds Me Too chair for Sam ( hooks onto tables at restaurants). It is so compact and light to bring...we put it in our backpack very easily! Everyone commented on it and we loved it becuase Sam could be right at our level at the table! Needless to say.....it was clean! We do have them at Papoose!
I must have given away a dozen cards from me wearing Sam...lots of looks and inquiries about that and the Mee Too chair!~
Namaste'
Holly




