On our way back to Michigan from Myrtle Beach, we decided to stop in Washington, D.C. Mike and his parents had never been there, and I hadn’t since I was in 8th grade. The time of year we went was perfect – very little tourist traffic because their peak season was just ramping up. We were there a short time, Tuesday-Friday in the second week of March.
Originally we were only planning on touring for one day because that seemed to work best with our schedules, but I knew we wouldn’t be able to see everything. Once we got there, we decided to stay an extra night after all! Depending on how much of D.C. you want to see and how long you want to stay in all the museums, you can see the sites in as little as 2 or 3 days, but I could easily stay a full week and not see everything D.C. has to offer.
Because I was the only one of us that had ever been to the area before, I kind of volunteered to be the tour guide, even though my memory wasn’t perfect and I was actually on a guided tour my first time I visited. Overall, in two full days our touring, we were able to see all the major monuments, visit Arlington National Cemetery, see the Changing of the Guards, visit the house were Lincoln died (Ford Theatre was closed for a private event), visit the Air and Space Museum, the National History Museum, and the Holocaust Museum.
On our first day, I figured it was worth getting guided bus tour tickets, where busses would stop at every major stop in D.C. every 15-30 minutes and you could “Hop On, Hop Off” whenever you wanted. Because we only planned on being in town for one day, we opted to ride the Metro the second day, because it was less costly than buying another tour bus ticket.
One awesome thing we got to do was go to lunch at Bobby Flay’s restaurant downtown called Bobby’s Burger Palace. Mike is a definite foodie and if any place specializes in burgers, steak, or BBQ, he’s in. The architect in me was intrigued with its unique interior. The seating was relaxed and fun, and the bright colors made it a really fun place to grab lunch. Burger choices were great; I had a burger with avocado relish! Among our group, we also devoured onion rings, sweet potato fries, and two milkshakes (we walked a lot that day so we didn’t have to feel guilty, right?).
Overall we had a great time, got a lot of walking done, and enjoyed our first real glimpse of nice weather this year!
If you want to see a post with more tips about traveling to Washington, D.C., click here!
Layna O'Connor 