Last year’s trips had us in South Lake Tahoe (during winter and again in fall) which is not too far from home, so it has been awhile since our last plane trip. This flight was much shorter than the 5 hours + overnight stay in Hawaii + 10 hours –> Australia for our last vacation. A few weeks ago, we flew from one side of the United States to the other to Washington, D.C. It was quite the whirlwind of a trip because, like the Bay Area, there is so much to do and see and EAT! Below is some of the places we visited and the restaurants we tried, but we will add the links and details as we share the blog posts about each day’s activities. (If no meal is indicated, we did eat! We probably had some energy bars or something from the sundry/convenience store in the lobby or 7-Eleven down the street.)
Airline: Southwest
Hotel: Courtyard Washington DC/Foggy Bottom
Day 1 – Monday, April 10
– Lunch from Subway at the airport
– Departure from OAK after noon
– Stop in MCI
– Arrival in DCA at 10PM
– Taxi to Courtyard by Marriott Washington, DC/Foggy Bottom
Read about Day 1 HERE.
Day 2 – Tuesday, April 11
– Memorial Loop Trail
– Lunch at Thomas Jefferson Refreshment Stand
– Tidal Basin Trail
– Dinner from Grilled Cheese DC (GCDC) Bar
Read about Day 2 HERE.
Day 3 – Wednesday, April 12
– Metro to Capitol South
– Supreme Court
– Library of Congress Tour
– Lunch at We, The Pizza
– Emily + Joyce –> James Madison Memorial Building
– U.S. Capitol Tour
– Dinner from Crepeaway
Read about Day 3 HERE.
Day 4 – Thursday, April 13
– Brunch at Founding Farmers – DC
– National Gallery of Art
– Snack at Pavilion Café
– National Archives Building
– Dinner from Shake Shack
Read about Day 4 HERE.
Day 5 – Friday, April 14
– Lunch from Subway
– Smithsonian Castle
– Bureau of Engraving and Printing
– Dinner from Custom Fuel Pizza
Read about Day 5 HERE.
Day 6 – Saturday, April 15
– See the White House
– Lunch at McDonald’s and CHOPT
– Melody + Joyce –> World War II Memorial
– Emily + Norm –> Penn Quarter for Penny Presses (International Spy Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Ford’s Theater, Madame Tussaud’s)
– Dinner from Chick-Fil-A Express
– Night shots of National Mall monuments
Read about Day 6 HERE.
Day 7 – Sunday, April 16
– Metro to East Falls Church
– Easter service at The Vine Church in Dunn Loring, VA
– Easter meal and hang out with cousins
Read about Day 7 HERE.
Day 8 – Monday, April 17
– Check-out: 7AM
– Taxi to DCA
– Breakfast from airport
– Departure from DCA at 9AM
– Stop in MCI – we were supposed to stay on the flight as through passengers to OAK, but because it has been rainy in the Bay, they wanted to land a plane with better anti-skid brakes
– Lunch were sandwiches we bought at DCA
– Finally homeward bound an hour later than expected!
– Arrival in OAK at 2:30PM
Read about Day 8 HERE.
We’ve had quite a start to our year – travel for Norm, health stuff, medical appointments, lots of academic tests the last month, and the usual stuff of life had us all ready for a break from our routine. Traveling can be a challenge, but we learn a lot about what or who (or Who) we can depend on to stick with us and it also gives us time to reflect on where we’ve come from and where we’re going back to. Again, we will add links to this post as we do reviews and daily recaps.
Have you traveled lately? Where have you been? What should be our next destination? Where would you like to go? What are your best travel tips?
(It was super overcast (it rained while we were in the building and then was sunny and hot the rest of the day) resulting in us squinting for the camera, but we really were excited about our first stop of the day!)
Moy Chronicles 