Shae and I recently spent 12 days in Washington D.C. while on our 50 state road trip. Well, I say “in” Washington D.C., but we actually stayed in Chantilly, VA as hotels downtown were too expensive for our budget, but I wish we’d arranged some of that differently.
Despite staying 12 days in the area, it felt like we could’ve done with another 12 days, so we’ll likely spend at least another few days there downtown in the future, probably just before or after visiting Maryland at some point in the future.
For now though, here’s a look back at some of our favorite – and not so favorite – things from our time in Washington D.C.
Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At
Stephen – We only stayed in one place, so I’ll have to go for the Hyatt Place Chantilly/Dulles Airport South.
Shae – Yeah. Since it’s the only one… that doesn’t give us much choice. That being said, I think I enjoyed the location of some of our previous stays more.
Favorite Meal
Stephen – This is a tricky one. My favorite meal during this time was at The Bone BBQ when we visited some friends in Manassas one evening. That was in Virginia though, so I don’t know if it counts.
In terms of food actually in Washington D.C., it was a tie between Ben’s Chili and Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken.
Shae – I count whatever we ate while we were in the area. My pizza from Piccolo Pizza was delicious. My favorite is always Stone’s Cove Kitbar and I was glad to get to go back again.
Most Disappointing Meal
Stephen – Not so much a meal, but our impeachment cocktails at Capitol Lounge weren’t that amazing. The names of the cocktails were amazing though.
Shae – Agreed. The cocktails were disappointing. I was so excited about them… let down. Sigh.
Favorite Free Activity
Stephen – So many to choose from seeing as we did all kinds of free things in Washington D.C. Of all those activities, our tour of the Washington Monument was my favorite and was far more interesting and fascinating than I expected.
Shae – Hmmm… we did a lot free stuff but I think my favorite was the Air and Space Museum near Dulles. I enjoyed racing through to share stuff with my students and I always love seeing the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Favorite Paid Activity
Stephen – Our Segway tour with Bike And Roll DC. I went on a tour with them a couple of months ago for 40k To Far Away and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to take Shae along. Even better, I had the same tour guide both times – David was fantastic, so I’m glad Shae got to go on a tour with him too.
Shae – I definitely enjoyed the Segway tour despite being very cold by the end. I thought it was only an hour, so 2.5 hours without gloves and a proper coat was a rookie mistake.
Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity
Stephen – Not one thing in particular, but it was fun walking around D.C. on a few days with Truffles so that she got to explore the capital.
Shae – Oh, for sure 8 Chains North Winery.
Least Favorite Activity
Stephen – Sitting in traffic from our hotel to D.C. and back again.
Shae – I didn’t really dislike any of our activities, but I definitely didn’t feel the same after visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as I did when I visited 10 years ago. I’m not sure if they’ve changed it a lot or if I’m just in a different place, but I left missing the previous experience if that makes sense.
Favorite Hike
Stephen – We didn’t go hiking in D.C., although we did do a lot of walking around several days visiting monuments, memorials, etc.
Shae – Of the three days we walked all around D.C., my favorite day was when we went to the Jefferson Memorial and Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial around the Tidal Basin. It’s always my favorite walk and I’d not been in the Jefferson Memorial before.
Favorite Quirky Thing We Did
Stephen – I think the impeachment cocktails were about as quirky as we got.
Shae – We didn’t really do a lot of quirky stuff this time, so the cocktails were it but I wouldn’t put them as my favorite anything. 🙁
Favorite Memory
Stephen – Looking out over all four sides of D.C. from the Washington Monument.
Shae – My favorite memory was our time at 8 Chains North Winery. It was relaxing, fun, and really rounded out our time nicely. I loved seeing our friends Bryan and Mona in Manassas early in our visit. We got to meet Chanel at the US National Arboretum and we had a great lunch together. We got to have a wonderful afternoon with Sandy, Robbie and their newest good boi, Archie. Truffles and Archie got along well as long as Archie stayed away from Truffles (ha!). I also enjoyed seeing an old friend from school that lives in the area at the Chubby Squirrel Brewery – hi Craig!
Funniest Moment
Stephen – Seeing people’s reactions to Truffles dressed in her hoodie as it was so chilly while we were there.
Shae – Watching Truffles position herself near the door at the winery for maximum pets – she’s so sneaky!
Thing We Most Regretted
Stephen – Not spending at least a few days at a hotel in downtown Washington D.C. as that had a huge impact on the time we had to explore the city.
Shae – I regret not seeing a few more museums because of the drive.
Something We Missed And Want To See
Stephen – Loads of the Smithsonian museums.
Shae – I’d like to have seen the Newseum (which is closing this year) and the special Christmas lights that were in town (and only in 3 cities this year). I’d also really like to see more of the other Smithsonian museums.
Our Biggest Surprise
Stephen – How interesting the Washington Monument tour was.
Shae – How much there is to do in the area. I always think of it as a few things to do, but then I’m always surprised at just how much there is to see and do… and most of it’s free!
My Washington D.C. Drinking Game Would Be…
Stephen – Take a drink every time Truffles barks at someone going by on an electric scooter.
Shae – Take a drink every time you see a political shirt (either side of the aisle) on tourists.
Summary Of Washington D.C. In 10 Words Or Less
Stephen – Lots of free things to do, best to stay downtown.
Shae – Way more to do than expected – visit 8 Chains North!
Washington D.C. Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite
Stephen – Um…..Washington D.C.
Shae – Same.
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