We're here and i am in love with this city! Washington D.C. is beautiful and breathtaking and this girl who is used to the slow pace on the central coast of California is loving the big city!

We ( my boyfriend and I) flew into DCA on Thursday late afternoon, bought a MetroCard and took the blue line straight to our hotel... no problem. We changed for dinner and headed to Dupont Circle for a quiet dinner before joining family. We chose to eat at Pesce', based on a recommendation from a friend who travels here frequently and our dinner was delicious. We shared appetizers of oysters and a ceasar salad and then greatly enjoyed scallops and penne pasta with shrimp in a white wine -parmesan sauce that was the best thing I've eaten in ages. I highly recomend this restaurant. Not pretentious, very good service and just an excellent experience.

Even though we had woken up at 3 Am to make our flight out of LAX , we still had some life lieft in us, so we headed back on the Metro to see the Capitol Mall at night. it is simply stunning. We saw the Washington Monument, walked to the World War II Memorial and then headed out to the Lincoln Memorial. It was so surreal for me to see in person the history of our nation that up until now I had only seen in pictures. They are quite amazing to see in person. For me, the WWII Memorial was the most meaningful and moving. The concept of including all of the states, the gold stars representing the fallen, the quotes, the battles... it just seems so complete and so comprehensive.

The Vietnam Memorial and Korean War Memorial were impossible for us to find at night, we were tired and disoriented from flying in and taking the Metro all day. We did have a map but it is DARK out there! And it is a long, long walk.

To be continued...

Very nice start!!

Looking forward to more!

Loving hearing visitors view of DC.

Great start! It is an amazing city!

I completely agree with you. DC is an amazing place. If you are still there and still have time, do not miss the Korean and Vietnam Memorials. The Korean War Memorial is particularly impactful at night. More so than during the day.

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

I hope lynn I comes back soon...I keep checking back. I LOVE real time trip reports!!! It's like "24 Fodors."

Maybe I should back up for a moment and give you the " who, what and where" for this excursion because it is a mish mash trip and may seem disjointed without some sort of an explanation.

My boyfriend has business in Richmond, Virginia one day this week and invited me to accompany him on this trip and make a long weekend out of it, since I've never traveled to the east coast before. Of course, I accepted. As it turns out, his niece and her family ( her husband and two adorable boys, ages 2 and 5) live in North Carolina and thought it would be fun to meet us in Washington DC! When said nieces Mom ( Boyfriends sister) found out our plans, she decided to join us and then at some point invited my boyfriends daughter... so we are one big family party! ( which has its ups and downs, as you may well imagine.)

Day two coming up soon...

The most frustrating thing about DC is that there is so much to see and do that it's overwhelming, and you will leave feeling like you didn't even begin to see it (and you haven't). It is one of my favorite cities, and I love reading trip reports about it.

The monuments on the Mall have a different personality in the day than they do at nigh. I find the WWII Memorial majestic and symbolic of how huge and global that war was. As gardendiva said, the Korean monument is more impactful at night, almost eerie. If you see the Vietnam Wall during the day, look for the reflection of the Capitol Building in the granite~I have read that the artist put that there purposefully.

Enjoy the rest of your stay. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your report!

The first time that I saw the Korean Memorial was at night and it had been raining. There was a mist coming up off the ground. Very eerie.

Thanks for the tip on the Vietnam Wall. I will be visiting next week for the 3rd time in about 10 years. There always seems to be something that I did not know prior to my visit.

That's how I first saw the Korean Memorial, gardendiva~after a light rain and in the mist. It also struck me that as you walk by the wall with all the etchings near that memorial, they disappear as you walk past.

I learned that tip from a Vietnam vet who was a docent at the wall. There is also a reflection of the Washington monument. He said the height difference in the wall signifies our involvement in the war, that it started out small (wall low to the ground = beginning of the wall) and grew until we were literally in over our heads (about a third of the way down the wall). I find this one particularly haunting, probably because the names make it personal.

The Viet Nam memorial is just across the street from the Lincoln Memorial and to the left on the walkway. If take the walkway to the right instead, it will lead to the Korean War Memorial.

Our buses were parked near the Korean War Memorial and we walked to the other two and back to the bus.

Day Two:

The tour of the Capitol is truly inspiring. The art, the attention to detail and the obvious pride in the heritage of our nation was evident in each point of the tour. Before our trip, I wasn't sure that it would be "worth" the effort to contact a congressman's office and jump through the hoops to get the tour but it was totally worth it. I was a proud Californian to see the statues of Father Junipero Serra and President Ronald Reagan on display, especially Reagan's with pieces of the Berlin Wall as part of the artistry.

Our group had tickets for the Big Bus Hop on Hop off bus for 24 hours and we got on at the Capitol stop to start our tour and went straight to lunch at the Shake Shack across the street from the Museum of American Art.( A recommendation from the Capitol Hill Staffers that gave us the tour.)Best burger and fries EVER... WAY better than In and Out Burger, although a few loyalists in our group declined to comment. I thought it was super for a fast meal with kids and the service was wonderful.

Back to the Lincoln Monument, Korean and Vietnam War Memorials during the daytime. I much preferred viewing these at night... the crowds were distracting and too noisy for my taste. The highlight of the daytime visit though, happened that there were many honor flight veterans from WW11 and Korea being honored and we were able to shake many hands and thank the men and women for their service. ( I believe Ronkala and I were therre at the same time, the same day!) It was very moving to see them honoring their brothers in arms and also to see the warm reception they got from the crowds.

Arlington National Cemetery has a nice, small visitor center and the property is beautiful. We were able to observe the changing of the guard and also saw where President Kennedy is buried. The reverence and care that is given to these fallen soldiers and their families and to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was a highlight of our trip for many in our group. The cemetary is on a gradual hill and it involves a lot of uphill walking.

Lastly for the day, the American History Museum holds both the original flag that inspired Francis Scott Key's Star Spangled Banner and an exibit of First ladies dresses.

The flag exibit is extremely well done and moved me to tears. A highlight of the trip for me. The dresses were fun... I only wished they would have had more on display! They say that it is one of their most popular exibits so i think it should be expanded to include dresses from state dinners and what not.

In the evening we accompanied my niece to Gaulledet University for a tour of her campus, the classrooms and where she will be living for the next two years while she earms her masters degree in deaf communications. The school has an incredible history and is celebrating their 150th anniversary this year. The campus is beautiful and we enjoyed our time there greatly.

I was unable to fit in a stop at the 9-11 Pentagon Memorial, the National Archives and the Air and Space Museum. I hope to return next year with my sons, so those will be on the list for next time!

A few other random DC Notes: The Metro System is incredible, easy and inexpensive. Easy to navigate for us for our entire visit.

As others have already noted, there is no possible way you can do and see everything so make a priority list and stick to it. be reasonable with your times. if you are walking, add extra time, if you have small children, add extra time. take deep breathes and be kind. I was so happy that I had determined before we left that I would just be happy if I could see the Monuments at night... and I wasn't disappointed.

Day Three:

Mount Vernon was a short, easy drive from Washington and a highlight for me. The building are kept very well, the museum is very well done and there is much to see. It would be easy to spend a half day there... we spent about three hours and missed the slave life tour that I had wanted to see, but we needed to get on the road.This was a way to learn about the building of the day, the cooking and food preparation techniques, family life, etc. I simply loved it and am so glad we went.

Fredricksburg: We drove straight to the Fredricksburg Battlefield and toured the small museum , watched the video and walked through the cemetery. So sad to think of all of the lives that were lost in that one battle.

Drove on to Glouchester to the Inn at Warner Hall. We wanted to get there before dark to be able to see the area and were not disappointed. The property is lovely and our entire stay was just perfect.

I remember your trip planning from your very first post, Lynni. I am so glad it all came together and you had a good time. It's hard to run out of things to see in DC and the area around it. If you ever have a chance to come back, try to visit the Library of Congress - in my opinion the most beautiful building in Washington. The Inn at Warner Hall sounds like a good find.

It sounds like a great trip. You will find that almost every trip to DC is different and just as exciting - be it new exhibits at the museums or just finding something new at an old stop! IE: it taking me 3 times at the WW2 Exhibit to find the Kilroy was Here marking.

http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/im...c-6ff398052e87

I have been to DC 5 times in the past few years and it is still an amazing city!

Enjoy Warner Hall! I have to get there sometime.

One small correction: it's Gloucester without the "h" and it's pronounced GLOSS-ter, unless you're Guinea.

Warner Hall exceeded all of our expectations. It is by far the nicest bed and breakfast/small hotel I have ever stayed in. A quick history of the property is that it was owned by George Washington's great, great, great grandparents and there is a small family graveyard on the property and it overlooks the river.

We arrived after three whirlwind day of sightseeing in Washington DC and that morning had toured Mount Vernon and the Fredricksburg Museum and battlefield.

The public rooms are warm and welcoming with as much history and character as you can imagine, the bed and sheets were luxurious and the staff was incredibly helpful and kind.

Some nights they serve dinner but since we were there on a Sunday night, we arranged to have their " box supper!" Best decision ever! For starters, cold marinated shrimp and cheese and crackers, Cold roast chicken, good wine, and brownies with caramel sauce for dessert! We should have ordered only one dinner, it would have been the perfect amount for the two of us. It was truly a gourmet picnic.

I wished we would have had an extra day and night to enjoy the property. It rained so we were unable to take advantage of using the kayaks from the boathouse, as originally planned.

The location is just a short drive from Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg, which we rushed through because the weather was not conducive to walking around.

In the morning, we had the opportunity to chat with the owner. It is clear that they love the house and seem to understand that they are caretakers of a special piece of history. It is said that George Washington danced in the drawing room! It doesn't get any better than that!

Breakfast was scrumptious and we enjoyed coffee on the enclosed patio as the rain poured outside.

if you have a chance to go, do it. Go for dinner, go for night or go just to take a peek. i cant say enough good things about it!

Thanks for posting your trip! I am planning a trip for August and love reading from people that have been there.