My DC trip report

[KrisM]

Thanks to everyone who had input into our DC trip! I think overall it went well. The kids all had a great time.

Here is what we ended up with:
Day 1 – drove to Annapolis to SIL’s house. Kids were amazing, really. They did not know SIL at all. The last time we saw them was almost 6 years ago! They were clearly bored at times, but were polite and read, played games, etc. I was very happy J

Day 2 – we toured the Naval Academy. It was a bit cold and quite windy. We had a good time and got to see quite a bit. BIL teaches there.

Day 3 – the prediction was a rainy afternoon, but otherwise the warmest day we would have all week. So, we moved plans around and drove from SIL’s house to the New Carollton Metro. We went into DC from there and did the trolley tour of the city. We got off at Union station for lunch, got back on and visited the Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln, Vietnam, and Korean War memorials. We forgot to walk to the Albert Einstein memorial, which bummed DS2 out later on. But, the kids enjoyed the memorials for the most part. DS1 had the most interest in all of them. We then took the trolley to the Natural History Museum and spent a couple hours there. It had just started to rain, so it was good timing. Unfortunately, when we left, the IRS building had a fire, so roads were closed and trying to get to a Metro station was tough. That end of the grassy area of the Mall is under construction and a couple sidewalks are closed. We ended up walking all the way to L’Enfant Plaza. We went back to the car and drove to the hotel – Embassy Suites in Alexandria. We made it just in time to enjoy the snacks and drinks!

Day 4 – I had forgotten to get timed tickets to the Archives and I’d read about horribly long lines to get in. We were going to go later in the week, but decide to try it today to have an option for another day if the line was super long. We planned on getting in line early, but it was cold. So, we got in line about 9:55. We were in by 10:10. Not bad! Kids LOVED this. We spent quite a bit of time there and really enjoyed it a lot. Seeing the documents was great and the rest of the exhibits were very interesting to everyone. We went from there to the American Indian museum for lunch. A longish walk, but it was a nice day by then. Most of us enjoyed the café, but there wasn’t much that DD would eat. She had fries J. From there we went to the Capitol for a tour. I knew the outside dome was being worked on, but did not realize the inside was as well. So, much of it was covered unfortunately. Our guide was great! She was very easy to listen to and we enjoyed it. We went from there to the Library of Congress, which was not a hit at all! Kids were bored. We had hoped to be able to look up DH, who has copyrights there. But, I couldn’t find out how to do that before we went. To get into that other side, you need to be 16 and have a library card. Kids were bummed.

[KrisM]

Day 5 – We started with the Spy Museum and were in line at 9 when they opened. It was a huge hit! The kids really enjoyed the exhibits and the activities for kids, including crawling through ducts over our heads! They have enough to make it interesting for adults as well. It is a lot of reading, but my kids enjoy that for the most part. We were there for about 3 hours. We had lunch at Matchbox Pizza near Chinatown and that was good. The afternoon was at the American History Museum and we all really enjoyed the Star Spangled Banner exhibit. I was surprised how small many of the areas were in general. DS2 really enjoyed the Spark Labs. We had a 4:15 tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. We got there a bit early and liked reading about the history of money. The tour guide was not the best, but we liked the tour regardless. For some reason, DS2 had it in his head he needed to TOUCH the Washington Monument. We walked there after the tour. It was closed, so very few people. Kids had a good time seeing it up close, counting the flags, etc. They ran around and just had fun.

Day 6 – a rain out. We drove to the National Cryptologic Museum at the NSA. Clearly, few know about this. But, they have a working Enigma machine! So very cool! There were about 10 people in the entire museum. Seriously. The exhibits are super cool and DS1, DH, and I really liked them. Fortunately, they had clues/question around the museum and the kids had to use a cipher wheel to decode the answers. This saved it for DS2. DD was in between and liked some, but would have been done well before the rest of us. They had other activities to learn about types of codes, too. The kids took turns using the Enigma machine to write codes to each other. Again super cool! We were there about 2.5 hours. DS1 rarely spends money, but he liked it enough that he bought a shirt, pen, and mouse pad! Haha. A sure sign it was a hit The museum covered from the Navajo Code Talkers through current technology. It was very interesting if you have any interest in it at all.

After that, we drove back to the hotel and took the Metro to the Air and Space. We were there about 2 hours. It was easily the most crowded place we saw all week. I was surprised how much the kids enjoyed it, as it’s not really their interests.

Day 7 – our last full day. We got to Air and Space to finish it up and were in line when they opened (we are good at that!). Crowds were very low first thing, but picked up an hour in or so. We did the space side. The kids did enjoy it. We went to American Indian to see the museum, but the kids found it completely boring! Too much behind glass, I guess. We then walked up to the Capitol building on the west (?) side and looked at the Mall from there, took pictures, etc. We went to the Postal Museum next, despite the kids telling me they did not want to go. But, they enjoyed it. DD had wanted to buy a calligraphy kit at the Archives, but since no liquid could go into the Capitol and the tour was that day, I said no. So after the Postal museum, we went back to buy it. We took the Metro and then we ran! I was literally the last person let in for the day! She was happy.

We finally left the hotel and had dinner in Alexandria. We ate at the Hard Times Café and it was pretty good.

Day 8 – was supposed to be Mount Vernon, but it was 35 and snowing. We skipped it and drove home.

[KrisM]

Overall, we really enjoyed it! The hotel worked out well. The Metro is right there. We liked having the snacks in the lounge as we liked having a place to sit and relax. A couple times the kids went back to the room and DH and I stayed and talked. It was nice to have somewhere other than just the room to be in. The room was fine and big enough for the 5 of us. No complaints and I would stay there again.

DH was worried that DS2 was too young for the trip. He’s 7.5. But, he did great and enjoyed it. He says he is looking forward to going back in 8th grade! He was a trooper on the day with the longer walks. We did try to minimize as much as we could and did do a few 1 stop Metro rides, as they seem to save walking even when they probably don’t. It’s all about perception J. Walking from American Indian to Postal museum is far, but stopping at the Capitol made all the difference and no one complained. DS1 loves museums and will happily read ever display there is, so he was just thrilled. DD has her things she likes and is very into them. She likes all the active learning opportunities and takes times to figure out what is really going on, instead of just “doing”. So it was good for her as well.

For costs, we debated on the hotel. It cost more to stay in DC, by about $120/night, including parking. We spent 5 nights in the hotel, so that is a lot! We went with the further out location. At the end, we ended up with $200 in Metro charges. So we did come out ahead. Staying at the Embassy Suites saved us on food, too. We were at about $300 for 5 days for 5 of us. That’s $12/day/person. I’m good with that.

Crowds were not bad at all, I thought. The Air and Space museum was the only place they were really apparent. Yes, there were people everywhere, but we never had to wait to see something and we never felt rushed through an exhibit. But we tend to be in line when things open, so that helps. Crowds would pick up an hour or so later, but we’d be well ahead of them.

The weather could have been better, but it wasn't awful. Most mornings were in the mid to upper 30s and most days got to 50-55. We all had fleece jackets and were fine. I brought stretchy knit gloves and that was good. They were just enough to keep hands warm on the chilly mornings. We only got rained on one afternoon and it was on our way to the Metro, so not bad. We were done for the day.

[TwinFoxes]

I'm glad you had fun, despite our crazy weather! I love the Postal Museum, I'm glad you guys did too. It sounds like it would be boring, but it's more like a history of US expansion more than anything. Also glad you got into the Archives. There's nothing like seeing the actual Declaration, Constitution, and Emancipation Proclamation. Even better that there was no wait!

I'm going to have to look into the Cryptologic museum. I think my girls would be into it. I've got three months of summer to fill up. :)

[american_mama]

Wonderful trip report! MIL lives in Alexandria, so we are up there for a weekend somewhat often, and your report inspires me to do more. I especially like your description of the decoders at the Cryptological Museum, as that might appeal to DD1, who is into codes, and maybe everyone.

I also like the point about Embassy Suites. We're also a family of 5, and DH has sworn us off hotels on vacation as he always feels cramped. We do VRBO instead. But the food offerings, and ability to be in a lounge, might make me re-consider the benefits of an Embassy Suites style hotel. The kitchen at a VRBO always seems like a plus until you have to grocery shop, cook, and wash up while on vacation.

[KrisM]

We most often do VRBO as well. We've had very few hotels as a family. I would do this again. The lounge was like an extension of our room - kids would be upstairs watching TV and DH and I could stay down. We don't have cable at home, so the Disney channel was a bonus :). Next time, we'd bring some quiet games with us - card games maybe. We could do those in the lounge as a family.

It was a tight room when we were in it. We had a bedroom with 2 full beds and a living room with a pull out. You have to push it in daily or there is no place to walk. One bathroom is a negative. but, for a trip when you are gone most of the time, it was a good option.

[KpbS]

Thanks so much, Kris! Great detailed trip report! If you just had two days (presuming good weather), which activities would you have done? Our kids are similar ages except my youngest is a good bit younger than yours.

[KrisM]

Thanks so much, Kris! Great detailed trip report! If you just had two days (presuming good weather), which activities would you have done? Our kids are similar ages except my youngest is a good bit younger than yours.

The Spy Museum, Archives, monument tour, and then either the Capitol tour or Am. History Museum. I think though for the youngest, it would be tough for many of those things. Am History has fun activities, so that would be good. And if you could put a parent with DD, much of the rest would be good. We found if we did one-on-one with DS2 he really enjoyed it. DS1 and DD could go on their own more and enjoyed looking/reading about everything.