Washington DC during the cherry blossoms

We were so excited when we booked our spring break trip to Washington DC, and little did we know, after making the fourteen hour road trip, we'd be arriving just in time for cherry blossom season!

We arrived on the outskirts of DC around noon the second day of driving. We were DONE with the car. We couldn’t wait to get checked into our hotel…that is until we saw the sign to Mt. Vernon. “Should we go check it out kids?” “Yes, yes we should.” We decided to make the detour to check it out. We spent several hours wandering the grounds. We saw George and Martha’s tombs, and the slave quarters which really was the most moving part for us. The house was undergoing some repair work so we chose not to wait in line for that tour opting instead to focus on the grounds

And then there were the sheep. These sheep baaaahhd like maniacs, much to my kid’s delight. Sound on!

Listen to these sheep, you must!

After several hours of exploring we headed into the city to visit the National Portrait Gallery. Earlier in the spring my son had learned about how Dolly Madison had saved a portrait of George Washington so he was pretty keen to track that painting down. We also made stops at Michelle and Barack’s paintings too. At this point the kids were getting tired so we headed to our hotel.

We made our home base at the Marriott Tribute hotel on Embassy Row, just two blocks from the DuPont Circle metro station. I lived in DC many, many, many years ago and DuPont Circle was my absolute favorite neighborhood. As we walked around, we pointed out the embassies and took the opportunity to explain the concept of diplomacy to the kids. There were plenty of amazing restaurants nearby but they were all pretty expensive. A delightful ice cream stop at Larry’s Homemade added a final, sweet touch to our day.

The next morning we grabbed fresh donuts, coffee, and apples from the nearby farmers market and took the Metro to the Farragut West station. We started our walking tour at the White House, followed by a visit to the Washington Monument, which stands as a tribute to the nation's first president. We continued our journey with stops at the WWII monument where there were several veterans being honored. The must have been about 100 years old. It brought tears to my eyes. I remember when the last WW I died and we need to appreciate the lives and sacrifices of the WW II veterans while we still have them.

We then took a leisurely walk along the reflecting pool to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and eventually to the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial. After a day filled with poignant moments, we enjoyed a meal at George Washington University Campus before heading back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest.

The second day commenced at the Smithsonian, where we strolled along the tidal pool to the Jefferson Memorial. The highlight for me was the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, especially enchanting during the cherry blossom season, featuring inspiring quotes and tributes to peace. We concluded the day with a visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Our visit to the Natural History Museum was another highlight of the trip. The children were captivated by the dinosaur exhibit, which sparked their imaginations and curiosity. Meanwhile, my daughter was in awe of the stunning gem collection. Although we could have easily spent the entire day exploring the museum's treasures, we ultimately had to cut our visit short due to the exhaustion of mom and dad.

Lastly, we visited the Smithsonian Zoo, where we were eager to see the pandas, although they were not present during our visit. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the small mammal exhibit, observed the playful primates, and marveled at the majestic elephants. Each experience added to the tapestry of our trip, leaving us with lasting memories of our time in Washington, D.C.