With only a few days to see everything we could, I tried to book as much as possible into each of our days. Each morning, we began our day with a Lyft ride into the capitol, and ended each day with a ride back to the hotel. From early morning until mid evening, all activities from meals to tours to sight seeing were done on foot. As we averaged over 15,000 steps a day, we needed a great relaxing place to rest. We stayed at the Hilton hotel in Arlington, VA, a mere 15 minute drive to DC. Tuesday, September 4th, 2018, we lyfted into the city and were dropped off to the steps of the National Archives off of Constitution Avenue. After 39 steps to the top, we arrived to the gargantuan famous doors. At 38 feet 7 inches tall and almost 11 foot wide, standing next to these doors is pretty comical. Not only are you dwarfed by the large doors, but you're surrounded by 72 columns at 53 feet high and almost 6 foot in diameter, making anyone feel like an ant. (see photos below)
The National Archives is easily one of the most famous tourist spots in Washington DC. That, coupled with it's major role in my favorite movie, made it a definite must on our tour. Besides being home to some of the most important documents in the world, let alone the country, the National Archives offer countless resources for research and even offers specialized classes and events. After snapping some photographs outside of the Archives, we stood in line and waited until the doors (not the bronze ones, unfortunately) opened at 10am to begin our exploration. With only an hour and a half to explore before our tour at the capitol, we soaked in as much as possible with America's founding documents and their Vietnam exhibit. Time flew by and soon we were power walking our way to the Capitol Building. We decided to eat lunch in their cafeteria before our tour. A quick tip for first time visitors to DC, no matter your timing, always be early. Luckily, the Capitol has tours running every 10 minutes. You can book yourself a tour online, or through your local legislation. Reservations are recommended, but not required. With a quick video on the Capitol and its' history, we were then handed our own listening devices and lead from room to room to see the historic beauty that the building holds. Not only was the inside magnificent, but the architecture and grounds surrounding the building were as well. In fact, that was one constant that DC's buildings all held. The historical and architectural elements of each location we visited were amazing, especially due to the age of most of them!
Following the tour, we explored the grounds before circling back and heading towards a few of the Smithsonian museums. We had planned to hit up the Smithsonian Zoo, among a few other museums, but our plans went slightly awry. Three major points were not in our favor when exploring a busy city in September. One- temperature. It was warm and humid for September (high 80s, low 90s Fahrenheit), which made all the time outdoors seem endless and tiring. Two- timing. After getting out of the tour at the capitol, we only had a few hours before the museums were going to close. We clearly were not going to have enough time for all museums, so we had to pick and choose which ones to visit. Three- human nature. Between the heat wave and the effort of power walking in such conditions, it was tiring. We could only go so fast, even while power walking, so eating up the distance between all points was especially difficult.
We stopped at the National Museum of the American Indian on 4th street and explored the three floors of history, before heading to the National Museum of Natural History before they closed around 5pm. We made our way back towards the National Mall to catch some pictures of the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial and a few shots of the Lincoln Memorial reflected in the Reflecting Pool. While nanny took a rest to get some more photos, PawPaw and I headed over to the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Park. I highly recommend a visit if you're over by the National Mall. A quick walk across the mall leads you to souring rocks that make up the memorial Park. Besides MLK Jr, there are quotes from numerous others. Located on the outskirts of the Tidal Basin, we were able to snap a few photos of the Jefferson Monument as well. After a few camera clicks, we hailed our Lyft driver and headed back to the hotel to relax in some AC and decide where to go for dinner- Tuesday evening we ate at Rocklands. Rocklands BBQ had a laid-back relaxed atmosphere, and was a short drive away from our hotel. Full from dinner, we headed back to catch some Z's... much more was in store for Wednesday!
Comments