Inspiration for family travel around Florida and the world!
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My husband and I have always had a deep love for traveling! Before A and K were born we went on vacations at least a couple times a year. For the majority of 2013 to 2015 we lived near Denver CO. Luckily for us, the Denver Airport was the home base for Frontier Airlines. So we were constantly finding flights we could take for CHEAP! And by cheap, I mean $15 one way and that’s included taxes and fees!! I’ll wait while you pick your jaw up off the ground 😉
So when we saw a flight where we could fly to Washington DC round trip for only $90 (family of four w/one lap baby). We jumped on the chance and flew out 24 hours later since a trip to DC was something we had always talked about. And who can argue with $15 tickets?
We started our Saturday morning around 4:30 to catch our flight at 7:15 AM. Since we were only going to be gone until Monday night we decided to pack minimal, so we were able to fit everything we needed in three “personal bags” (no bag fees, score)!
Now keep in mind, we were traveling with an 11 month and an almost 3-year-old. So when I say “minimal” packing, that still meant three bags, an infant car seat, a toddler convertible car seat and our double stroller! I wish I took a photo of our stroller set up to get through the airport. It’s always comical with all our bags and car seats piled on top with Faith in the front seat. And Alexander snuggling with Mommy in our Ergo Baby Carrier (I can’t recommend our stroller and the Ergo enough, they are auh-mazing!! If you have little ones, you will not want to attempt DC without a stroller and/or a carrier.)
P.S. When you’re done here, check out my post Tips for Flying with Babies and Toddlers for lots of helpful air travel tips we live by! I’ll share all our tried and true air travel hacks we used on this trip and share them in that post.
After our little over 3 hour flight, we landed at DCA and caught a shuttle to pick up our rental car for the weekend. Besides what I think was about a couple of hours waiting for our car to be “washed”, the whole rental car process was great. For less than $90 we had the car all weekend, not bad.
After that, we checked into the Double Tree Hotel which was amazing and located under 10 mins from most of the landmarks, just across the Potomac River! It was really nice and modern. Plus our room had an awesome view of the city including The Pentagon (practically next door) and the National Mall including the Washington Monument! A loved the free cookies at check in…
We spent the rest of the day walking around the city and exploring on our own. Starting a couple blocks north of The White House, it was our first stop. But let me stop and add this in here so you can learn from our mistake… (don’t laugh) So just because the address for The White House is on Pennsylvanian Ave, doesn’t mean that the FRONT of The White House is located there. After spending some time checking it out, taking pictures and talking about how we were surprised at the nice landscaping it lacked for being “the most important house in the US”. We figured out later on our walk it was because we were looking at the BACK of the house *facepalm*. In case you wanted to know what the back of The White House looks like, here you go…
We walked West along Pennsylvanian Ave to 17th ST NW where we walked around The Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Formerly known as the State, War and Navy Departments. It was a pretty cool building to walk past because of the interesting French Second Empire Architecture which was finished being built back in 1888. It currently houses the Executive Office of the President, such as the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council.
South of the Eisenhower building is the First Infantry Division Monument. It was originally built to honor the valiant efforts of the men that fought in WWI. Between 1957-1995 there were three additions to pay tribute to the men that fought in later wars.
Whether you are only in DC a short time or for an extended stay I would highly recommend DC by Foot! It is a company that offers FREE (donations accepted) walking tours around DC depending on what you want to see. We chose to do the “All in One” Tour which was about 4 hours long and we were able to check off 13 landmarks and monuments! Definitely, the way to go, to check off a lot in a short time period! Make sure to wear comfy shoes, you’ll be walking just over 2 miles! If walking that much isn’t doable, they also offer free guided food, bike, bus and photography tours. Note: Although it is free, they require reservations to participate. You can click here to book any of their tours.
This was one of the “Must Do’s” of our list for DC. So we were excited that our tour started here near the base of The Washington Monument. Standing at just over 555 feet tall this one is definitely a sight to see! We didn’t have time, but a fun activity you can do is take an elevator 500′ up to an observation deck. Which gives you a 360-degree view of the Nation’s Capital! (Unfortunately, it is currently closed for refurbishments until the Spring of 2019).
It was constructed to honor our First President, George Washington. Something new I learned on our tour was that it was done in two phases. The first between 1848-1854 and the final phase 1879-1884. At 150′ up you’ll notice it’s actually two different colors. Which is a result of the time difference and weather erosion. Plus in 1879 when the second phase began, they used marble from a different quarry.
This is one of two monuments on the tour that you will view from afar. So while we can’t actually say we were close enough to touch it. You do get an awesome view of it from The Washington Monument.
This was a really beautiful memorial that honors the 16 million people that fought in WWII including the over 400,000 people that gave their life for our country. When you walk in you’ll find a large fountain that is surrounding by 58 tall granite columns that symbolize the unity between the 48 states, seven federal territories and the District of Columbia. Also adorned with two large 43′ tall arches. The Northern arch represents the victory in the Pacific and the Southern arch represents it in the Atlantic. We spent a fair amount of time here admiring the beauty and architecture.
This is the long iconic pool that sits East of the Lincoln Memorial in The National Mall. And has been home to numerous historical events over the history. It is approximately 160′ wide, 2,100′ long, 18′-30′ deep and holds 6.75 million gallons of water. It really is one of DC’s memorials you can’t miss!
Located on the NW side of The National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and The Washington Monument is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Which was completed in 1982 and was the first National Veterans Memorial. This Memorial is made up of 74 granite panels, standing 10.1′ high, consisting of 58,272 names of the men and women who served in the Vietnam War.
When we got here, the tour guide shared some history with us about the Memorial. And gave us a good amount of time to self-explore the site by ourselves, get some lunch, then meet back up to continue our tour. This is definitely one to cross off the bucket list! With 6 million visitors each year, it is the most visited memorial in The National Mall! It sits on the East side of the Reflection Pool. Housed inside is the famous statue of Abraham Lincoln. If he were to stand, he would be 28″ tall.
Next on the tour, we saw The Korean War Veterans Memorial. This is made up of “A Wall of Remembrance” and 19 stainless steel statues. It’s dedicated to the millions of Americans and Allied Partners who sacrificed themselves in the Korean War.
The MLK Memorial covers four acres, including the giant granite statue “Stone of Hope” and it’s located at the NW corner of The Tidal Basin. Which I really enjoyed the views of including The Thomas Jefferson Memorial.
The Tidal Basin is a semi-man made water reservoir, situated between the Potomac River and Washington Channel. This is the perfect place to see The Cherry Blossom Trees if you visit DC in the spring. It covers an area about 107 acres and is 10 feet deep. A fun activity you can do with or without kids is renting a paddle boat. We didn’t know about it at the time, but it would provide a different perspective and a fun little adventure for your trip.
Surrounding the Tidal Basin in DC are Cherry Blossom Trees. You probably have seen or heard about them before, they are quite popular. If you plan your trip right and are there in the Spring, you can participate in The Cherry Blossom Festival. There are lots of events to view or participate in, many of which are kid-friendly. Like The Blossom Kite Festival.
This wasn’t one of the stops on the tour, but it is along the way so if you wanted, you could easily check it out and catch up to the group at the next memorial. It’s small compared to the other memorials you can see in DC, but one still worth seeing if you’re trying to see as much as possible.
George Mason is an important founding father in our history and was the author of the Virginia Declaration of rights. Which later served as an inspiration to Franklin Roosevelt when he wrote the famous Declaration of Independence.
I remember this memorial very well. Partly because it was so large compared to the other memorials we visited on our tour. It is comprised of four “rooms” covering 7 acres near the Tidal Basin. The four different areas represent President Roosevelt’s four years in office. I also remember it well because there were so many statues and pretty waterfalls/features that Little Faith had lots of fun taking pictures. She is definitely my “Mini Me” when it comes to a love of photography!
We didn’t have enough time before planning our DC trip to book a free tour to view the Pentagon. But if you have at least two weeks (and less than 90 days) you can request a tour for free online by booking here. While you are there you can also visit the…
This memorial was opened to the public seven years after 9/11 in dedication to the 184 lives lost at the Pentagon that morning. You can tour this memorial for free like many of the memorials and landmarks in DC.
This was the last stop on our walking tour so we were able to explore this one for as little or long as we wanted. This was definitely a memorial that you have to explore to appreciate the beauty and architecture. From the road, it seemed kind of small, but when we finally got here at the end of our tour we realized how vast it really is. In order to get inside of the memorial, you can climb the front staircase or walk around to the accessible ramp/elevator. Which was really convenient since we were pushing our kiddos around in our double stroller.
There are so many great and interesting things to do and see in Washington DC! A nice feature is many are free! While I listed a majority of the memorials and monuments we saw on our trip above, I couldn’t possibly name them all or you’ be here all day 😉 If you are flying for your Washington DC trip with kids, be sure to check out Tips for Flying with Babies and Toddlers to help make your trip to and from DC is a great one!
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