Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Spring Break in Washington DC

We got off the 4 hour bus ride and started walking--  we both felt so calm and peaceful. It seems everywhere feels calm to us when compared to life in NYC!  At first we thought maybe it was patriotism, but concluded that it was just the lack of people and busyness!  Even though it was spring break.  And we all know how many school groups come through during spring break!  It wasn't empty, obviously, but we did feel like we got a break from the city.

Day 1: The Capitol, Senate, Good Stuff Eatery, The mall - WW2 memoiral, Vietnam memorial, Carousel for T, Frisbee, Washington Monument, Potomac River, Chipotle/Chick-Fil-A, Train to Falls Church, VA.  

It was pretty chilly this first day and we were really grateful we threw in our coats at the last second!  Tatum ran around the plaza shouting "WE'RE AT THE CAPITOL!" like we were part of Hunger Games or something...


Really delicious food at Good Stuff.  The hamburgers were gourmet and delicious, but it's the rosemary fries I'm still thinking about!

T thought she was a superstar on that carousel!  Big win for the two year old.
Love this one!  

Even though I was very pregnant and very uncomfortable, I'm really glad we went while we had the chance!  It was Scott's spring break and I have this weird feeling that it was easier to travel with one than two.  Tatum is such a little love, we just cherish our time with her! 

Chloe was measuring over 8 pounds at this point... theres a reason I'm wearing stretch pants and tennis shoes.
Day 2:  The National Zoo, Georgetown for lunch and DC Cupcakes, Arlington Cemetary- Changing of the guard, eternal flame, dinner with friends, shopping the Baby Gap sale!

The zoo was a big hit, and we were grateful for the advice to walk to the end of the zoo (bottom of the hill) first, then work our way back up the hill stopping to see animals as we came. 

We thought DC Cupcakes was really good.  Not quite as good as Sprinkles, and dependent on the flavors, but still really delicious.  People waiting in the 12 minute line with us were so impatient-- but it felt short coming from NYC!  Our city has really changed us!
Then to Arlington Cemetery!
In retrospect, this would probably have been a good time to pay for the audio tour/golf cart ride to get us to the top of the hill in time for the changing of the guard.  But we didn't.  We ran up the hill- I was literally holding onto Scott's belt loops to pull me up.  We did make it in time, but hardly saw anything between all the 8th graders.
Our friends who hosted us in Virginia also met up with us for dinner!  It was so fun to visit and go to a place they recommended! The food was from Mozambique which is where they are moving next month!!
(Sorry the pics are out of order...)
For lunch, we went to the deli found on Yelp and located in Georgetown. 
HUGE pastrami sandwich and they even let Tatum use their staff bathroom.  Twice!  The sandwich was, dare we claim, better that Katz' Deli! 

Bumpin' "pack packs" with Erica!

Day 3:  White House, American History Museum, Eastern Market, We the Pizza and shakes from Good Stuff, Library of Congress, Bus ride back to NYC!

Tatum really just loved being home and playing with her friends and their toys!  DC highlight for her!
A classic "will you take our picture" result. That darn finger.
We really loved the National Museum of American History!  Every exhibit we saw was really really impressive, but one we both loved was seeing a replica of Julia Child's kitchen!  The rest of the exhibit was about the progression of food in America, which we learned a ton about!



We also saw the REAL Star Spangled Banner, all the dresses worn by the first ladies at Presidential Inaugurations, and even a sun stone from the LDS Nauvoo temple!

Because of commuting to/from Virginia, we had our luggage (backpack) with us the first and third day.  We got really creative with how to stow it in the stroller with Tatum.  We reclined the seat and put it back inside with Tatum sitting on the edge of the seat for most of the time, but here are two other configurations:


I feel like this pic below really shows  how big I felt this trip!

My friend Angie recommended the fried green tomatoes to us, which we never would have ordered on our own, and were maybe our favorite thing from the whole trip!  Really bright, crunchy and flavorful!
Back to Good Stuff for a shake on our way out of town.
And a stop at the Library of Congress to kill 20 minutes before our Bolt bus back to the city!  It was really big and really impressive.  As was the family restroom!
I think part of 3 days was the perfect amount of time.  Thanks DC for a wonderful stay!

5 comments:

Tara said...

Ah so fun! DC does feel so open and spacious compared to new york :) I think it's the mall that does it, all that green space! well, plus the heigh restrictions on the buildings. We lived a block from eastern market and spent so much time there, not really eating, just wasting time :) so glad you got to go see so many sights!

Noelle said...

Yeah 12 minutes is nothing where you come from! I sitll can't believe I waited in the line at Magnolia's for cheesecake when I could have gone straight to the counter. The DC trip looks like a blast. I love the shot of Tatum looking up at the monument. Bravo to you for doing it so pregnant. It is a lot of walking!

Noelle said...
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Noelle said...
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Noelle said...
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