East Coast Road Trip: Washington DC with Kids

January 23, 2013 · By ·

 


Let’s revisit our East Coast road trip from November in the spirit of getting caught up, shall we? If you’ll recall, we started our trip in Florida, visited with Mr. B’s grandparents and then drove north with Washington DC as our final destination, staying in Savannah, Charleston and Richmond each for a night. Mr. B’s extended family all lives in the Washington DC area. I love DC. Since we’ve been married, a number of our close friends have moved to the area as well, so when we’re in DC, we not only spend time with family, but we get to see good friends, too. We spent 5 days in Maryland with day trips into DC, and we could have used 2 more to see all the people we wanted to see even once, but we made the best of it. This trip was different from our previous DC trips because on top of seeing a lot of family, we wanted to do a lot of family friendly activities. So here’s a recap of our Washington DC with two kids itinerary. 
 
We arrived in Silver Spring, Maryland around 4:30 in the afternoon on a Wednesday and just spent the evening decompressing from three days of driving and sightseeing while visiting with Mr. B’s aunt and uncle. His family is so lovely and B’s aunt puts us up every single time we come to town. She’s the ultimate hostess. We put the kids to bed after a delicious dinner and stayed up late drinking great wine and talking about anything and everything – history, kitchen remodels (they completed a gorgeous kitchen remodel over the summer), politics, Irish Catholic baby names, you name it – with B’s aunt and uncle. 
 
On Thursday, we drove into the city. The only thing I requested of the DC portion of the trip was some sightseeing. The last time B and I were in DC, Thomas was 7 months old and it was cold and we were there for a short visit, so we spent our time with family and friends instead of out sightseeing. B and I had done the sights when we were engaged and went back to meet his family, but I wanted to do them again. So on Thursday, we planned to go to the National Zoo, but a cooler morning changed our plans to the Museum of Natural History. And it was awesome. Thomas is at such a fun age for museums where he’s fascinated with pretty much everything you point out to him. He’s also at a big “What’s that?” or “Is that (insert exactly what he knows what he’s talking about here)?” age.  ”Is that a big dinosuar?” “Is that a walrus?” It was a perfect stop on our itinerary. 
 
After the museum and lunch, we returned to B’s aunt’s house for the kids’ naps and to decompress before meeting Mr. B’s best friend/college roommate and his girlfriend for dinner. Thomas adores “Uncle Matt” and immediately fell in love with his girlfriend (as did we). 
 

 
The next day was our big DC day. We woke up and started heading into the city, realized the weather was beautiful and decided it was a great morning for the National Zoo. We got there early and headed straight for the Panda Bears, then moseyed through the whole zoo, stopping to see Thomas’s beloved gorillas eat lunch.  After the zoo, we met another of B’s best friends – and another of his college roommates – for lunch at District Taco and touring – starting at the Washington Monument and making it to all of the memorials on the National Mall. Then, we drove around in circles because Thomas fell asleep in the car while waiting to meet up with one of my best friends and her fiancé for dinner. It was a busy day but an awesome one, and it was so fun to see our good friends while we were in town. 
 
On Saturday, B’s cousin arranged a big party for all the cousins and their kids to get together. This family is wonderful – so loving and welcoming, and we love spending time with all of them. 
 

Sunday, we drove about an hour north to meet up with Shannon, John and Sir Gabe in Bel Air, Maryland. Shannon and I go way back (to April), but when she heard about our trip, she informed me that we were only going to be 2 hours away from each other and we had to see each other. And I obv agreed because Shannon and me? We were cut from the same cloth. Except she was cut from a slightly craftier cloth. But from a snakiness perspective? We’re one and the same.
 
Anyway, it was wonderful to meet my favorite blog husband, John, in real life. And Thomas and Gabe studied each other for the first two hours before deciding they could play ball together. Shannon covered it in far better detail – and on a far better time table – on her blog. 
 
After parting ways with the Wellingtons and agreeing that we’d meet again in Maine or Colorado – because those are near each other – I stuffed my face with a Philadelphia pretzel and we drove back to B’s Aunt and Uncle’s for our last night.
On Monday, we packed our bags, had a leisurely morning at the house and then drove to Dulles, stopping first at the Air and Space Museum at Dulles. It was awesome, Thomas loved the big airplanes, and B and I both loved the history. It was a fabulous way to finish off our trip, and a wonderful stay in DC. And then we had a ridiculously long delay as our flight was just about to take off for home, but we managed.

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Comments

  1. Kim @ NewlyWoodwards says:
    January 23, 2013 at 2:53 pm

    This looks like such an awesome trip, Emily. And you did so much. I’m thrilled to see that, because I’m a bit of a sightseer and I wondered how things will change with Henry-boy. But, I’m refreshed to see that you can still do lots of kid-friendly sightseeing with kids in-tow.

    I love Washington, D.C. I was there for the first time two years ago and fell in love. I’d love to go back and stay longer.

    Also? When you decide to meet up in Colorado or Maine? Don’t forget to tell your buddy Kim. Mmkay? I love you two and your snark.

  2. Jennifer says:
    January 23, 2013 at 2:57 pm

    That looks like a great trip! I need to visit D.C.!!

    Ramblings of a Suburban Mom