When you live your entire life two hours away from our nation's capital you get a chance to both see a lot of the attractions over time but also take it for granted or feel it isn't worth the hassle. The thought of navigating red brake lights and traffic coming to random, grinding halts can do that to you. However, a couple of days with my son and $40 roundtrip Amtrak tickets can quickly make you change your mind.
Going up the Sunday of Columbus Day Weekend we caught the train out of Richmond make the nearly 2 1/2 hour journey as expected and stopped right in the heart of DC at Union Station. The train deal was too good to pass up as it was cheaper than parking itself let alone plus the relaxation of having someone else do the driving.
The first stop in DC as chosen by someone with a great love of history and interest in US presidents -- The White House. While you can go on the South Lawn side toward the Washington Monument and see glimpses through trees from a distance, the best view comes from the north side adjacent to Lafayette Square. Here you see visitors from all over the world snap their pictures with the White House in the background. Sneak your camera phone through the openings of the protective fence and you can get a clearer shot of the home of every US president except George Washington. Maybe one day a tour of the inside awaits! In the meantime, a trip to the White House Visitors Center just across 15th St NW will suffice. The Visitors Center does a great job of highlighting the human element of the people that have lived and worked there.
The next stop was about a 15-20 minute walk away at the popular International Spy Museum. Tickets vary in costs with larger savings the further in advance you book. It was a good thing we did because the next available time to enter when we arrived was several hours away. Once inside the museum, you could see why so many people wanted to check it out. We spent close to three hours in the museum and you probably could have stayed for longer. The five floors of the museum has a good mix of history and artifacts, stories and secrets plus interactive activities for children.
Our stay was the Courtyard by Marriott -- Navy Yard because of a reschedule of an earlier trip that was to include a baseball game at nearby Nationals Park. It is a great location for anyone going to see the Nats play. The Navy Yard neighborhood had plenty of restaurants and was easy to walk and get around and the hotel was just what we needed.
To start day two, we decided to take a chance and hustle over to the Washington Monument to see if we could get "day of" tickets. A limited number of tickets are available each day at 8:45 am at the Visitors Office. Getting them online ahead of time proved to be a challenge. Even though we were probably close to 60th in line, with some people arriving close to 7, we were able to get two tickets to the top.
After a quick run through security you are sent up a fast moving elevator with about a dozen people to the top where you can get some fantastic views of the surrounding DC area. The on-high sightlines of the White House and looking down the Mall to the Capitol Building were phenomenal. You look out the observation point on the other side with a clear view of the World War II Memorial past the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial. It is a very unique look at so many recognizable sights all at once.
The last stop of the day was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Free reserved time slot tickets are required and available well in advance. Much like the Spy Museum it is a good thing we did because as we left just after lunch time, they were full for the day and those that were waiting had at least a block wait ahead of them. This is another well done museum that fascinates children of all ages. With a big exhibit of the Wright Brothers and their first flight, complete with one of their airplanes to exploring outer space anyone with a love of science and flying would love their time here and easily spend half a day and we did!
Of course, the list of sights and museums to see in DC can take you weeks if you tried to do it all. Maybe more trips to come in the future!
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