Family Travel: Washington DC Part 2 of 3

Continuing with part two of the Washington DC series and hopefully you already read all the fun from day one here, we go on to all of what we did on day too. After a long night of editing we woke up to go downstairs of Embassy Suites Hilton hotel to have their continental breakfast all included with our stay; omelette (cooked how you want it), fruits, cereals, pancakes, sausages and more! After a good breakfast we headed to the train station, which by the way was amazing! Super clean and on time.

One museum we knew we HAD to visit was the National Museum of Natural History— it was the first Smithsonian building constructed exclusively to house the national collections and research facilities. Everything from the earliest Mammalian ancestor, our evolution, display of animals, marine life, dinosaurs, rare jewels/gems and more. The exhibits were more inviting (display wise), spacious and seemed to carry more than New York’s Natural History Museum. Besides seeing the history of what once was, we got to really relish in the moment that “The Night at the Museum” featuring Ben Stiller was actually filmed there. We made it our mission to watch all three series before going to Washington Dc. Ziana remembered what was what, who was who and we had a fun time capturing other “ah-ha” moments. We were also on the hunt for the tablet– which yes, I know doesn’t exist, but it was still fun trying to hunt it down. Would I visit again? Absolutely! The exhibits are always changing.

After a tour at National Museum of Natural History we walked, to what we thought was going to be a short walk, to National Air and Space Museum taking us about 30 minutes to walk to in the scorching hot sun. This museum was particularly cool because it maintains the world’s largest and most significant collection of aviation and space artifacts, with earth and planetary exhibits. It was insane seeing these huge planes, rockets all in your face as you walked around. My two favorite exhibits was seeing all that went into creating the first plane; the trial and error of the Wright Brothers. The next one going into the small rocket ships seeing how astronauts eat, shower and do their studies from outer space. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the planetarium show due to time constraints, but for sure something we will visit next time.

Lastly, we took the DC Circulator because after a grueling walk earlier in the day, we knew walking in the sun was something we were NOT going to do. The bus driver was so sweet I really wish I got his name to give him a shout-out, because he waited for all of us to get on and had the only patience one could have on this hot day. Our destination was to the Lincoln Memorial. Last time I visited Washington DC with my family was when I was about 5-years-old, a trip I took with my grandparents, a trip still in my memories. I wanted to do those picture-reenactments where I was standing with my grandparents some-odd years ago. We took a great time lapse and of course captured it all on the vlog. We walked over to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which is close to my spouse’s heart since his dad fought in the war– thankfully not killed during war, but we had to pay respects to all of the 58,000 veterans who lost their lives.

We called it a day, enjoyed complimentary evening hors d’oeuvre and drinks from Embassy Hilton then had dinner at Clyde’s. Seriously THE BEST American food restaurant in the metro area. The decor was old-century pub,which showcased sporting sculptures, collectible prints and original works of art featuring sports legends. The two-story restaurant had beautiful wood bars, wood pillars and a calming ambiance. The food hit the spot for all the adults and kids. It was pub-like food, but upscale– if that’s even a thing. Makes me upset that there isn’t a Clyde anywhere near us here in New York. While we would have liked to get a dessert at Clyde’s, it’s in our nature to hit the streets in search of the sweetest, most sought after snacks every place has to offer. Unfortunately, being that mostly everything shuts down early in DC, we trekked quite a few blocks down 7th St to Pitango’s. It’s a small, but BUSY Gelato shop with some of the BEST homemade Italian gelato. Since my spouse and I have a thing for sweet fruits, it was a no brainer we dove into some passion fruit and mango mix. I kind of regret not trying some of the other non-traditional flavors they had to offer. It was the perfect way to cap a long day.

Overall, day two was a hot, yet fun-filled day for our brains and stomachs. I honestly, can’t wait to go back and see more of what we’ve missed and re-visit the places we already say. Stay tunes for day three coming next week! Don’t forget to watch the vlog of our day–

What has been your favorite part about DC?