Then early Monday morning we left for DC and of course we started with a selfie (Jeff was driving so he didn't make the pic...safety first!)...
We made good time and even had 4 stops along the way. We hit road construction as we got close to DC but other than that...it was an easy (long) drive. We checked in our hotel and this was the view from our room! I think the Capitol is such a beautiful building.
We headed out on foot and went exploring next. I must say that we had originally planned out our days before leaving Pawleys Island and quickly realized that we had overbooked each day. We asked Norah what she wanted to do most and made those the priorities...definitely want to go back soon as there is so much to see and do. We were so lucky to have beautiful weather with only a short rain on Tuesday. We loved every moment and it was hard to leave! I do love a city and Washington, DC is one that I could live in...so much to do, easy to get around on the Metro, super fun...it was fabulous! We also had the relaxing time we hoped for and most importantly Norah says it was the best time ever! Warning: This is going to be long...so here goes...
I think I will break it down in categories...let's do Food first...
Jeff and I knew that we wanted a good bagel for breakfast with smoked salmon and using internet we found Bethesda Bagels in Dupont Circle. Ummmm....it was so good that we ate breakfast there each morning even on the day we left! The coffee was super delicious too. We got the Nova and Cream Cheese (actual pic below) and I think we will be dreaming of it for awhile... :) Norah had a variety of breakfasts there...a muffin, a donut, and even a mini bagel with smoked salmon too.
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We ate lunch where we were for the day...museums, zoo, or on the road so it was pretty basic. We decided to let Norah pick dinner as it was her Spring Break and we obviously gave no room on the breakfast option! So the first night she just wanted "kid food" so using the ole' internet (what would I do without my phone!) I found Capitol City Brewing Company...since we eat early with Norah, Jeff and I ordered Happy Hour specials for drinks and food for dinner while Norah ordered off kids menu. Busy with good atmosphere, casual, kid-friendly, and your typical bar food. We walked so much this first day it was crazy! The next night Norah wanted "fried fish" so I found Fado's Irish Pub where she got the best fish and chips and was loving it. Again, we went early so it was Happy Hour prices. The last night my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin took us out to eat at Carmine's which was delicious and Norah loved getting her big meatball! Again...great atmosphere and kid friendly. There were a zillion restaurants that looked awesome so it would be fun to do a "tasting" of DC tour with just adults in the future.
After dinner each night we would head to the indoor pool for Norah to swim. I think this is one of her favorite things she did...she also would meet different kids each night and immediately make friends to play with in the pool.
PLACES: We were able to see some of the sights...Capitol, Supreme Court, Washington Monument but there are some we never made it to due to time. I love the architecture of the buildings in DC they are so impressive. We also went to the National Museum of Natural History which was one of our favorites. We spent hours here and even got tickets to the butterfly room (free on Tuesdays!) that we came back for in the afternoon. Norah's favorite part she says was the gem room. She was mesmerized by all the crystals/gems/rocks. That was her first souvenir purchase. They also have the Hope Diamond and a lot of other incredible jewelry on loan from donors that was phenomenal to see. We loved all the animal exhibits there too...it was really neat to read about all of it especially the sea "creatures" since we live at the beach. I wish we had done one of the IMAX movies...as some of them looked really interesting. We also went to the Air and Space Museum and it was cool too. I am lucky that I have been to both before as a child but Jeff had never been and he enjoyed it as well. I think we would have liked to visit longer at the museums but time just didn't allow this time. So again, another reason to go back!
Tuesday was dedicated to museums while Wednesday was dedicated to the National Zoo. We loved it! We walked around the zoo for over 6 1/2 hours and thought it was fantastic. Norah really loved the seal/sea otters/sea lions and I was obsessed with the peacock. They did not have a snowy owl right now but they had some small burrowing owls that were super cute. I loved the Amazon exhibit too. Norah enjoyed getting to feed the fish and touch the animals in the farm area. Of course she loved getting her face painted and this is the other place she got souvenirs. We were impressed of how clean the zoo was, the information we got, how close you actually got to the animals...just everything. Definitely a highlight of the trip.
So if you made it to the end...wow! I post a lot of the pictures here (and believe me...this is not all the pics I took!) because this blog is my family scrapbook and I love looking back on it all the time. Once we arrived home, picked up dogs which we were so happy to see!...we all crashed. Norah woke up at 3:30 am with a 100.9 temperature so now I'm praying she is not getting sick. We all talked about how much fun we had and how we wish we could go back soon. Jeff and I feel refreshed having a break from work too. Now it is laundry, errands, and all that real world stuff that needs to be done. I'm watching Norah because we are hoping to hang out with some friends in Debordieu at the beach today/tomorrow if she feels good. Spring Break 2014 was a success! I will leave you with one more pic of a rainbow we saw when leaving one of the metro stations...
