Trip to Washington DC - Day 1

We returned yesterday from a wonderful week in Washington DC. It was a great trip, and the girls had a fantastic time. EJ is such a history and politics buff that she is at a good age for this trip!

We stayed at the fabulous Tabard Inn, an historic hotel just south of Dupont Circle. It was a great location, just six blocks from the White House and very close to a Metro station. We had the penthouse suite, which was enormous - 700 square feet! And it was about half the price of most in-town hotel rooms. It even included breakfast in their restaurant every morning. The downside was that the penthouse was on the 4th floor, and due to the historic nature of the hotel, there was no elevator. And the staircase was twisting and steep and narrow! It really is a beautiful old property. The first night there, the inn was hosting a beautiful wedding. We also noticed that a lot of young professionals seemed to gather in the bar for after-work drinks, and the restaurant was VERY popular!

We bought weekly subway passes and used them several times a day, but we still walked a LOT. We probably averaged 4-6 miles a day. The girls were troopers and never complained about being tired.

We drove down on a Saturday and arrived in about 8 hours of driving. We just relaxed the first night and wandered around the neighborhood looking for something for dinner. We ended up at a great Irish pub called Mackeys for some crab cake sliders and potato soup.

The forecast for the first few days included a lot of rain. Our original plan was to go to the zoo on Sunday, but we decided to stay indoors instead and headed to the Museum of American History, where we met up with the D family to do some touring. We saw Abe Lincoln's top hat that he wore on the night he was assassinated:


Julia Child's kitchen:


EJ taking a stand behind the presidential podium:


This museum has a wonderful exhibit featuring the First Ladies that I had looked forward to seeing. Here's Michelle Obama's inaugural gown:

Hilary Clinton's (left) and Laura Bush's (right) inaugural gowns:

Archie Bunker's and Edith's chairs:

Kermit the frog:

Apollo Anton Ohno's Olympic speed skates:

Judy Garland's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz:

Sophie in the playroom:

EJ and her friend M in the science center:

We had lunch at the American History Museum and then decided to head over to the Museum of Natural History. When we stepped out onto the Mall, we were surprised that it wasn't raining, and it was VERY warm! There was an Earth Day-related event in progress - the Climate Rally. Sting was the featured artist, but we didn't see him. We decided to look around at some of the displays.

We finally made our way to the Natural History Museum:

This museum is famous for its dinosaurs, which were featured in Night at the Museum 2, Battle of the Smithsonian:

The Hope Diamond is also on display:

Sophie fell asleep as we left the museum. We strolled through the Smithsonian Sculpture Garden and stopped to have an ice cream treat before our next tour at the National Archives. No photos were permitted here, but we did get to see the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

We had a reservation for the tour and didn't need to stand in the long line, but the crowds inside were a bit unorganized. Instead of going around the room in a line, most people just headed across the room to view the important exhibits, which slowed down everything.

The National Archives keeps immigration records and copies of all correspondence to presidents, so Sophie has information there, as does EJ (she wrote a letter to President Bush and received one back).