Washington, DC – April 2023
April 14, 2023 | Travel Photography
It’s been 13 years since I last visited Washington, DC. This time I was going with my 2 kids as well – so this was going to be a different experience. If you’ve never been to DC before, prepare to do a lot of walking or finding Ubers/Lyfts/taxis. I guess there’s mass transit but with a stroller, I didn’t feel like dealing with mass transit.
My family stayed at a family-friendly hotel in the city center area, but honestly it was a bit of a hike to most things. It like 10-15 minute walk to the White House and a lot farther than other monuments and museums. We quickly learned that things are a lot farther away then we remember and how they are on the map. I remember hurting badly from walking back in 2010, but 13 years later – ouch. It’s like Disney World amount of walking, and it was just as hot as well. The weather was actually perfect. Sunny and warm all week, with the first day being the coolest but still comfortable 65 degrees.
The first day, we arrived to the hotel, had a late lunch and then visited Planet Word. After relaxing at the hotel for a few, we went back out to walk around the White House area. The Egg Roll festival thing must have gotten out right as we did since thousands were pouring out of the southern lawn. I guess you can’t get too close to the White House anymore. Gates everywhere.
The next day we went to Natural History museum, took an Uber to Ted’s Bulletin in southeast DC which reminded me of Brooklyn. The food was really good and there’s another location north of where we wee staying too. After that, we went to the Air and Space museum and waited on line for half hour to get in. You need a timed entry pass to get into the museum – still free though. The museum just needs to add some shading or covering especially when the sun is out or when it’s raining. They changed a lot since last being there. Both museums had different things there the last time we were there.
After relaxing at the hotel and getting a second wind, my family went to the Lincoln Memorial and it was the perfect time to go. The sunset was incredible and lasted that way for an hour it seemed. We walked along the reflecting pool after the Lincoln Memorial, saw the Korean War memorial. Then I finally got to see the impressive Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial which wasn’t completed in 2010 when I went the first time. Nice view of Jefferson memorial but no way I was walking out that far again. We ended up at the WWII memorial, and that was even nicer to see at night than in the daytime. You can see Lincoln just looking at the capital from his spot. Very cool to see.
The next day was the Zoo, which took awhile to get to because of the traffic. The day was hot so there was only so much we could do there. Pandas were too busy eating and hiding in the shade/or sleeping to get a good spot to take a picture of them. We took a ride to American History museum which is always one of the best museums to see. I really like seeing the war exhibits again, liked seeing stuff on Blackbeard. I can’t remember if this stuff was there the last time. The original Star-Spangled Banner was a sight to see, and of course seeing President Lincoln’s hat. I enjoyed the more modern stuff like C3P0 and R2D2, Captain America’s shield, Kermit, etc. When I saw the 9/11 stuff, I lost it. I’ve been to 9/11 stuff in NY and lived in Jersey City for years but seeing photos and some things from it in a museum, I couldn’t take it.
Going to too many museums with children is a bit much, but if you space them out it’s doable. That was about all we could see in a few days. If you travel there with children, make sure to get hotel closer to museums and monuments and pace yourself.
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Tags: american history, DC, Lincoln Memorial, martin luther king jr memorial, monuments, natural history, smithsonian, vacation, Washington DC, Washington Monument, zoo
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