The BIG American History Road Trip - Philadelphia & Washington DC - April 2022

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Lindsk

I’m definitely going to follow your adventures! It sounds like an amazing trip!
We (DH and I) are hoping to go to Washington DC for a week in sept for our 50ths.
Hadn’t really planned anything other than the main sites in the city, but now Harper’s Ferry is on my list (love zip lining and the video was really cute)
Have an amazing time, I’m looking forwards to following your girls’ trip 😍

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Thank you for reading! I’ll try and get the trip report up as quick as I can so it will hopefully help with your planning 😃
Harpers Ferry looks like such a cute town, really looking forward to visiting

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by sparklegirl

It will be a walk in the park if you are used to London. It was insane! One final thing is get the train in Arlington because its actually really hilly inside and very steep in bits. The metro is brilliant and you can actually get it out to Tysons as well. Its really efficient and I felt very safe on it even when I travelled as a lone female.

You will walk for miles but I felt like I was on a film set as everything was so familiar from movies or tv shows. I cant wait till I am back in early November please add pics here when you go so I can live another trip through your guys ha ha

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I think we will get the train in Arlington as Mums knees aren’t always great with loads of walking up hills!
I will really try to get out to Tysons, especially if the Metro goes straight there.
I will be taking plenty of photos so will hopefully keep you going until your trip in November 😃

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Goldia

This looks like it's going to be a fab girls road trip - will you watch Thelma and Louise before you go?

Seriously, you're packing a lot in, but then I wouldn't expect anything less. I love the itinerary for DC, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, it's a shame you can't book up the Capitol tour though, we really enjoyed it. I'm also interested to see your report on Philadelphia as it looks like a great city.

I bet the weather will be fab at Easter too, I'm guessing similar to the mild temps we had in October.

DC is such a walkable city and so much to see and do. I can't wait to read all about it

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Thank you Abby! Haha, let’s hope it doesn’t end the way that film does 😂

Oh you know me, never one to sit back and relax on holiday 😆

I’ve reread your trippy about 3 times looking for hints and tips so thank you for writing such great detail! I’m hoping they reopen the tours before we leave but not holding my breath, it’s ok though we are packing a lot in already!

I’m hoping the temps will be mild and not wet but really looking forward to seeing the cherry blossoms 😃

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by florida addict

Looks like my May work trip to DC may now expand to Philly as well. So interested in your updates to help me with things to do
Thanks

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Philly looks like a really great city, will try and squeeze as much in to our very brief time there.
Thank you for reading!

[Sparksy72]

Alicia this trip looks fantastic! I love that your Mum is coming now too, what amazing memories you will be able to make together. 💝

You have an action packed itinerary- to be honest I would not expect anything less. 😆 I love the sound of the wild horses on the beach, such a different experience to visiting Washington! Nice to see there is time for some shopping and some great dining choices too - who doesn’t love Cheesecake Factory and Bahama Breeze. 😉 I am so excited for you, it’s been a long time coming. Xxx

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Sparksy72

Alicia this trip looks fantastic! I love that your Mum is coming now too, what amazing memories you will be able to make together. 💝

You have an action packed itinerary- to be honest I would not expect anything less. 😆 I love the sound of the wild horses on the beach, such a different experience to visiting Washington! Nice to see there is time for some shopping and some great dining choices too - who doesn’t love Cheesecake Factory and Bahama Breeze. 😉 I am so excited for you, it’s been a long time coming. Xxx

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Thank you Michelle! We can’t believe we go in less than 6 weeks, my biggest fear now is testing positive before we go. Nothing we can do about it though but I’m going to try and be a bit more careful in the week leading up! I will celebrate the day these damn tests are dropped 😂
So as is usual with me I have changed the plan yet again, I need to update this with our new and (hopefully) improved itinerary 😉

[smithlane]

Update - 26/02/22

Hello everyone!
I have made a few adjustments to the itinerary which will hopefully be the last bit of tweaking I do as we are now less than 6 weeks away!
I have cancelled the hotel in Chincoteague, taken a night off of DC and instead booked 2 nights in Harpers Ferry which is where we are going to do the zip lining.
I realised the drive to Chincoteague was a big detour and we won’t get to see much in our time there so it didn’t seem worth it in the end.
Even with the one less night in Washington we still actually have the same amount of time there, it also means we have less to pay for car parking as it is $$$ in DC 😳
This way I also get to see where my friend lives on our way from Philadelphia to Harpers Ferry. We practically pass her front door so it makes sense and saves her having to come into the city to meet us.
Another reason I had is I didn’t realise just how close Shenandoah NP and the Skyline Drive are from Harpers Ferry so I have naturally added some time there to see some of the amazing views and do a few trails.

I have booked 2 nights at the Towns Inn which is right in the centre of town. This hotel is over 200 years old which in American terms is positively ancient so is very quirky but will be interesting to stay in a historic building.

So new plan looks like

Philadelphia - 2 nights
Day 1 - Wednesday 6th
Travel LHR-PHL
09.15-12.15
Reading Terminal Market
Dinner @ Iron Hill Brewery
Club Quarters Hotel

Day 2 - Thursday 7th
Breakfast @ Morning Glory Diner - 25min walk
Liberty Bell - 20 min walk
Independence Hall - 11am tour
Big Bus Tour
Rocky Steps
Dinner @ Hard Rock Cafe
Club Quarters Hotel

Harpers Ferry - 2 nights
Day 3 - Friday 8th
Breakfast @ Starbucks
Pick up car from Convention Centre
King of Prussia Mall
Lunch @ The Cheesecake Factory
Meet with Henna and Co in Columbia
Drive to Harpers Ferry
Towns Inn

Day 4 - Saturday 9th
Breakfast @ Battle Grounds Bakery
Drive to Front Royal
Shenandoah National Park
Skyline Drive
Stony Man Mountain Trail
Lunch @ Skyland Resort
Drive back to Harpers Ferry
Dinner @ The Rabbit Hole
Towns Inn

Washington DC - 3 nights
Day 5 - Sunday 10th
Breakfast @ Battle Grounds Bakery
Zip-lining - River Rapids 10AM
Drive to Washington DC
Check in to hotel
White House
Dinner @ The Hamilton
Monuments by Moonlight tour - 7.30pm
Beacon Hotel & Corporate Quarters

Day 6 - Monday 11th
Breakfast @ Founding Farmers
Self walk (WW2, Korean, Vietnam, MLK, Lincoln, Jefferson)
Walk to Arlington
Arlington Cemetery
Georgetown
Dinner @ Clyde’s
Beacon Hotel & Corporate Quarters

Day 7 - Tuesday 12th
Washington Monument
Museum of American History
Lunch @ Tune In Diner
Capitol Building
Library of Congress
Supreme Court of USA
Beacon Hotel & Corporate Quarters

Day 8 - Wednesday 13th
Breakfast @ Lincoln’s Waffles
Drive to Philadelphia
Queenstown Premium Outlets
Lunch @ Bahama Breeze
Drive to airport
Flight PHL-LHR
18.35-06.45

[jocat]

Sounds like you’ve planned a fabulous trip! Interested to read about Philadelphia, as we’ve not been there. Loved our time in Washington and would love to go back. It’s a shame that some of the tours aren’t back open again yet though. Hopefully that will change before you go. 🤞

[Goldia]

The changes to your plan look fab! Although I think you forgot one tiny detail on day 2 - the running up part of the Rocky Steps has been missed out on the plan.

[OB1LukeLucas]

How exciting to be off on a girlie trip, not sure how I have missed this but have thankfully spotted it! I look forward to following along…like Abby I wondered where the running up the steps was in the itinerary!