early June DC trip report
 

Family of 4 took a non-stop Southwest flight to BWI. Arrived late so we took a taxi to our downtown DC hotel. Fee was $65 with husband giving a $10 tip. We stayed in the Doubletree Suites, which I would not do again. We chose this establishment was because of the advertised "full kitchen" (which turned out to lack an oven). However, after cooking one meal (bacon and eggs), a foul, stale odor remained in the room for the entire trip. We didn't cook another meal there, mainly because the smell was so unappetizing. The bottom line is, there are better locations so I would choose something more centrally located.

The first day we toured the monuments by walking to the Lincoln memorial, then working our way toward the Washington Monument. At the Lincoln memorial, the kids (11 and 13) found a "plaque" marking the spot where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous speech, and they got a kick out of that (gave me goosebumps).

We saw the Vietnam Memorial, which I find overwhelmingly moving, but the kids were not as moved. Let's just say they seemed unaffected, which ticked me off. But I digress.

We also saw the Korean and WWII memorials.

We arranged the White House tour through our congressman but it was not what we were expecting. (We didn't realize it was self-guided.) It was still a must-do if you can, but I would have boned up more if I had known.

The kids loved eating at Union Station so we took several trips there. The best meal my husband and I had was at the Musuem of the American Indian. We shared a salmon sandwich, grilled salmon and several side salads. Our son's bison burger was very dry; he could not eat it. (Buffalo is very lean so you cannot cook it a lot--would think they would know that there!)

Actually, the best meal of the trip was the brunch at the Kennedy Center. It was fabulous! My son was reminiscing the other day about the unbelievable selection.

Nice report - thanks for sharing.

I've never heard of a "self-guided" congressional Capitol tour. The congressional staff person almost always give a TOUR of the Capitol. Shame on them for giving you the brush-off.

Others future DC vistors should discuss this with te staff of their cngressperson and both Senators beforehand to confirm that they actually get a guided tour. Pick the one that actually confirms this first.

Bardo, her tour was of the White House, not the Capitol. I guess because they have limited the number of people who can tour the White House, the S.S. no longer conducts tours.