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Old 30 Oct 19, 04:45 PM  
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Goldia
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Washington DC - Memorials, museums and more Day 1 23/10/19

Day 1 – Wednesday 23rd October 2019

So, no surprises really we woke up super early, given we went to bed at 8.15pm we were hardly going to sleep in . I woke at about 3am, I tried to dose but wasn't really successful. Dave was awake from around 4am, then Max woke up at 4.45am and once Max was awake Kate woke up as he can’t seem to walk quietly to the toilet without disturbing his sister .

I started looking around for somewhere to go for breakfast and spotted there was a Cracker Barrel and Bob Evans about a 20 minute walk away and figured these would be a good start to the day. We got up, showered, got ourselves ready and were out walking to the restaurant before 7am.

It was still dark!





Dave had The Everything Breakfast with coffee.



Max ordered had chip hot cakes, with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a side of bacon, he also had a hot chocolate with whipped cream.





Wow that’s a lot of chocolate and cream, we did try to counsel Max away from this choice and suggested a slightly less chocolatey breakfast would be better but he wanted what he wanted.

Kate had The Original Farmer with fried eggs, bacon and hash browns and a side of pancakes she also had a hot chocolate.



The kids declined refills of their drinks instead opting for water.



I had Banana Berry Pancakes which came with fried eggs, bacon, hash browns and coffee.





This was a really tasty breakfast, I loved it. Of course, it was too much food and Kate couldn’t eat all of hers, we should have shared.

Unfortunately it turned out Max’s breakfast was a bit too much for him as he ended up being sick (in the restroom, but still ). We quickly paid the bill, which was $52, and slowly walked back to the hotel and he had a little sit down.



A couple of photo's of the hotel room, it was cheap and nasty but as we were in the room for barely 12 hours it was good enough.





Max said he felt fine, now, but clearly it was a way too sweet breakfast for him. Originally I had planned for us to get the train, but after looking on Lyft I decided we should get a Lyft from the Baltimore hotel to the hotel in Washington DC as this was coming out at less than $50 and would save us having to get to and from the station at each end, the train fare would have been more expensive for the four of us.

I waited about 30 minutes to check Max wasn’t actually ill and the sickness was just a reaction to the sweet food. We gathered up our bits and bobs which essentially was just toiletries and PJs as we hadn’t bothered unpacking the night before.

The Lyft was really good and it was only about 45 minutes door to door. Our hotel the Hyatt Place was in the NOMA area of DC which was the right side for travelling between Baltimore and DC and meant the car didn’t have to go across town.

Thankfully Max was not sick again either so bonus

We checked into the hotel, the room wasn’t ready, which was fair enough as it was only 10.30am. We left our luggage at the hotel and then started our day of sightseeing.

We walked down towards the Capitol building.



We got ridiculously excited about seeing a yellow school bus!



It was starting to warm up nicely, the sun was out and we looked to be in for a good day.



We took lots of photos of all the statues on the way.







After stopping at the Capitol for more photos we looked down the Mall, which is 2 miles long, towards the Monument.







The Monument is sort of central in the Mall with the White House to the north, Capitol to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west. There are lots of other war and president memorials along the way.

We walked towards the Monument, stopping at interesting looking museums on the way, not to go in just to admire the buildings.



There were some fountains that the kids enjoyed.





They decided they wanted to climb up to the top of the steps.







All the flags were up at the Monument and we enjoyed a look back to where we had walked from and where we were going to.







It was midday and we decided a brief sit down was in order. The Monument honours George Washington, the first president of the United States. It was completed in 1884 and back then was the tallest building in the world, standing at 555 feet 5 and a half inches tall, there are no buildings taller than the Monument in DC.

The first memorial we came to was the World War 2 memorial. You really shouldn't miss it if you are in DC and as long as you head from the Monument towards the Lincoln Memorial then you won't!



There are pillars for each state around the edge and two arches inscribed Pacific on the southern side and Atlantic on the northern side.











I found the Freedom Wall on the west of the memorial very moving, there are 4048 gold stars each representing 100 Americans who died in the war.








From the WW2 memorial we walked up to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.





There are many of these signposts along the way to help guide you.



The Vietnam memorial was very busy and I didn’t take photos up close.



There is a book where you can look up a loved one to find out the section of the wall that bears their name.





Afterwards we walked to the Lincoln memorial, this was the site of the famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech by Martin Luther King Jr.



Another photo of the Monument it was just so stunning.



Max was curious as to why Lincoln was so important, we explained that he led the Union through the Civil War abolishing slavery, other than that we were not wholly sure as we’re not fully up on our American history.





I took another photo for dibber goodevans. Quick recap in case you didn't read the travel day post. I’d seen her thread on the dibb where she asked for help to put together a photo album for her daughter as a wedding present. The album will include lots of photos from around the world wishing the happy couple well.



Next up we walked to the Korean War Memorial.







The final memorial of the day was the DC Memorial.





We wanted to see the White House, but Max was starting to feel really hungry and I was now convinced that the sickness earlier was not an illness and was just a reaction to sugar and chocolate and syrup and cream.

We stopped off at one of the little snack vans and bought a couple of small magherita pizzas to share.



I really wasn’t hungry yet so only had a little taster, it was pretty rubbish and we vowed not to get it again, but it filled a whole.

A final photo of the Monument, well for today anyway





Onwards to the White House. You can’t get very close to the White House and it ended up looking really far away in my photos.



I took another well wishes photo here too as I figured it was an iconic sight and so this way she could take her pick of the best of the bunch for the album.



We then had another rest up on a bench, just sitting in the sun and enjoying being there. By now we were all feeling a bit weary and like we could do with a proper rest and drink.











We walked up to Logan’s circle and went to the Logan Tavern.
Both the kids had cokes. Dave had an Old Fashioned and I had a gin and tonic.



We looked at the menu and decided on having a very early dinner, it was only just 4pm, but we were tired and hungry and our feet were aching! Dave’s Old Fashioned went down very well and he ordered a beer.



Max had a burger and fries.



Kate had fajitas.





Dave had a cheeseburger and fries.



I had the Lunch Platter which had a mini burger, buffalo wings, 2 dips, celery, fries and vegetable spring roles. This was lovely and I really enjoyed the selection I got.



We settled the bill, which was $120 and headed back to the hotel as by now our room would be ready for us.



Our room was on the 7th floor. We were really happy with the room.



There were floor to ceiling windows which didn’t have a great view, but Dave and the kids enjoyed spying on the people in the apartments over the road!

We had two queen beds and a separate sitting area.





This had a double sofa bed which Max was happy to use, Kate refused to sleep on the sofa bed.

The bathroom was nice and spacious.





I was pretty happy with this as it was just £160 a night and included breakfast, many of the other DC hotels I’d seen had been upwards of £250 per night with a smaller room and no sitting area.

Dave and me just collapsed on the beds, too tired to unpack or do anything, the kids watched TV – they found a channel with the movie Guardians of the Galaxy, this was followed by Thor. In the end we went to bed around 8.30pm and made the kids turn the TV off, as we were so tired from our early start and all the walking. The kids were not impressed with the idea of an early night .

It had been a great day with lots of monuments and memorials, lots of walking and some fab food.

Steps 30,980 - phew no wonder we were worn out

Coming soon

Next up, on our 2nd day we go to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History as Max was very keen to see this. Then we walk around the Tidal Basin to see the Thomas Jefferson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorials. Finally, we take a walk over the river to the Arlington Memorial where we see the JFK Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
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2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
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2021: Jamaica. Rome.
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Old 30 Oct 19, 04:59 PM  
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DisneyDaffodil
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I have only just found this so I had no idea you were in Washington. What a nice surprise for me 😀

I look forward to following your trip. Max sounds like Georgia, she can never resist a chocolatey breakfast, such a shame it made him sick, but I bet it won’t put him off eating a similar breakfast again 😂

You did pack a lot in for your first day, it all looks very interesting and enjoyable though. The weather looks good too.

I do like the look of your meal too, I love celery sticks and a dip with a meal 😀

No wonder you were tired by 8.30 after all those steps. Hope you got a good sleep ready for the next exciting day
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Old 30 Oct 19, 08:00 PM  
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Goldia
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Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil View Post
I have only just found this so I had no idea you were in Washington. What a nice surprise for me 😀

I look forward to following your trip. Max sounds like Georgia, she can never resist a chocolatey breakfast, such a shame it made him sick, but I bet it won’t put him off eating a similar breakfast again 😂

You did pack a lot in for your first day, it all looks very interesting and enjoyable though. The weather looks good too.

I do like the look of your meal too, I love celery sticks and a dip with a meal 😀

No wonder you were tired by 8.30 after all those steps. Hope you got a good sleep ready for the next exciting day
I'm glad you found it, we only got back on Monday so it's a recent trip. I'm keen to write it all up while it's fresh in my mind as I didn't make many notes.

Max did say he'd be a bit more careful and next time just have chocolate chip pancakes or hot chocolate for breakfast and not both. In fairness to him he does eat the Disney choc chip pancakes without any problem. I guess it just didn't sit right. No lasting damage though so it didn't really cause us any problems.

The weather was fab for the whole trip, just a bit of rain on the last day but we hunkered down in the hotel before checking out. Its a very walkable city and we enjoyed our tours. We did sleep well most nights actually!
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New pre trip report - Summer 2024

Link to all my completed trip reports
2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
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Old 1 Nov 19, 09:17 AM  
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I need to add Washington on my cities to visit. So many iconic sights.

I am glad that Max recovered quickly and it didn’t put a dampener on the day!
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2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg
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Old 1 Nov 19, 11:05 AM  
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Goldia
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Originally Posted by Melbatb View Post
I need to add Washington on my cities to visit. So many iconic sights.

I am glad that Max recovered quickly and it didn’t put a dampener on the day!
Yes, we barely scratched the surface I think. There's so much to see and do in DC. Max was fine, the chocolate syrup, cream and pancakes combo was just too much for him
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New pre trip report - Summer 2024

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2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
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Old 2 Nov 19, 01:39 AM  
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What a fantastic day!
I love a Bob Evans breakfast, you can't go wrong. Well apart form poor Max. Sam is exactly the same, when will these boys learn from us eh! I'm glad he was ok in the end though.
Nice smooth travel into the city, will have to remember that if we fly into Baltimore.
The weather looks gorgeous for you, so pleased it wasn't raining as that's just miserable.
I can't believe the Mall is 2 miles long, no wonder your feet were killing you!
You got so much done today, so many iconic memorials. Dinner looked lovely too.
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Old 2 Nov 19, 10:41 AM  
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Goldia
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Originally Posted by smithlane View Post
What a fantastic day!
I love a Bob Evans breakfast, you can't go wrong. Well apart form poor Max. Sam is exactly the same, when will these boys learn from us eh! I'm glad he was ok in the end though.
Nice smooth travel into the city, will have to remember that if we fly into Baltimore.
The weather looks gorgeous for you, so pleased it wasn't raining as that's just miserable.
I can't believe the Mall is 2 miles long, no wonder your feet were killing you!
You got so much done today, so many iconic memorials. Dinner looked lovely too.
Yes, Max definitely doesn't listen! But it didn't affect the rest of the day, he must have been pretty hungry though.

I hadn't realised how close Baltimore was. The journey was good and only 45 minutes for us it was cheaper to get a Lyft than the train and way less hassle.

We were lucky with the weather all week. It was glorious for sightseeing.
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New pre trip report - Summer 2024

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2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
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Old 2 Nov 19, 12:54 PM  
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What a fabulous first day! You had lovely weather which makes for some stunning photos. Our similar day exploring the memorials was quite cloudy, so they don’t stand our quite so much from the similarly coloured clouds.

I loved the World War II memorial. We wandered around it for ages.

You did so well with your walking too! We had to have a midday rest. I thought we’d done a lot with just over 26,000 steps, but over 30,000 is very impressive. Did you keep it up for the whole trip? Our steps definitely reduced over the days we were there.
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Old 2 Nov 19, 05:56 PM  
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Goldia
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Originally Posted by jocat View Post
What a fabulous first day! You had lovely weather which makes for some stunning photos. Our similar day exploring the memorials was quite cloudy, so they don’t stand our quite so much from the similarly coloured clouds.

I loved the World War II memorial. We wandered around it for ages.

You did so well with your walking too! We had to have a midday rest. I thought we’d done a lot with just over 26,000 steps, but over 30,000 is very impressive. Did you keep it up for the whole trip? Our steps definitely reduced over the days we were there.
We were really lucky with the weather, a little overcast on the Saturday and it was only Sunday which was very wet.

I was just happy to keep going, I didn't want to stop for a rest as I was worried I wouldn't get everyone up and moving again! We did slow down towards the end we didn't quite hit 30,000 on the last 2 days. It wasn't as impressive as our first day in NYC as we did close to 40,000 that day, we can certainly walk!
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New pre trip report - Summer 2024

Link to all my completed trip reports
2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
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Old 3 Nov 19, 10:25 PM  
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Max's pancakes look amazing a shame he was sick.

You managed to get so much sight seeing in I'm not surprised you were tired.

The early dinner looks lovely and doesn't seem to badly priced based on what you got xx
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