The first time I did a tag along trip to D.C. with Steve several years ago, I had low expectations. Big government town, ho hum. But, I was blown away! We took free walking tours, visited the fabulous Smithsonian museums (also free) and enjoyed a few of the best meals we’ve ever had. So, we knew we had to tack on a proper long weekend in the heart of D.C. after the conference Steve was attending, which was at National Harbor, Maryland.
FRIDAY
Monuments
During our last visit we saw most of the monuments, but the Jefferson Memorial was closed for maintenance so we visited that one this time around.
Then we had to revisit a couple of favourites. Mine is the Korean War Memorial. Not sure why this is my favourite – something about the scale and motion of it. It kind of takes your breath away when you first come upon it.
Steve had to see the Lincoln Memorial again because it’s a historical figure he admires.
I like the view of the National Mall from the top of the Jefferson Memorial. I can completely imagine it full of protesters listening to Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech. Breathtaking.
Capital Bikeshare!
No better way to get around D.C. than the Capital Bikeshare program. It’s a bit pricier than we’ve seen in other major cities such as Paris and London, but still worth it. You can ride for $8 a day for 30 minutes at a time from station to station. We found there to be a good number of bike paths making it easy to get around.
Newseum
Because we had hit up most of the Smithsonian museums last trip, we decided to see some others. The Newseum was excellent. If you’re a news junkie (as we are) you will be completely engrossed in the history of news coverage, the lengths that journalists have gone to get the story, and the evolution of media to present day.
Each day, the Newseum displays the front pages of newspapers from around the world outside its front doors. It was interesting to see what made headline news the day we were there.
The Pulitzer Prize journalist photo exhibit was absolutely riveting. How ironic I was using my iPhone and my rudimentary photo-taking skills to try to capture the images.
This is why I really love travel: The exhibit on news coverage of the Vietnam War featured this photo of the “Five O’Clock Follies” daily news briefing at the Rex Hotel in Saigon. On our earlier trip to Vietnam this year we had a Five O’Clock Follies cocktail at this very hotel. Full circle!
An unexpected bonus – The outdoor terrace of the Newseum offers a great view of the Canadian Embassy. We waved hello to our U.S. ambassador, Gary Doer (who was once the premier of our province). Not really, but we imagined he was standing out there waving to us.
Blue Duck Tavern
Steve treated me to a lovely belated birthday dinner at the sublime Blue Duck Tavern. This totally made up for spending my actual birthday alone.
The scallops with white asparagus I had were outstanding.
Loved the open kitchen concept. It’s always a pleasure to watch people cook for me.
SATURDAY
Morning Run at the White House
You know I love an iconic running photo. Last time we visited D.C. I did not get near the White House, so this time I had to get a running shot.
International Spy Museum
In the afternoon, we visited the super fun International Spy Museum, which features all kinds of cool spyware over the decades as well as exhibits featuring stories of actual spies.
Upon entering the museum, you are assigned a spy alias that you are asked to recall at a couple of points as you tour the museum. I cheated by taking a photo of the details as well as choosing someone that is only 33 years old (hey, spying makes you look older than you really are).
The museum’s exhibit Exquisitely Evil: 50 Years of Bond Villains featured film memorabilia and had us jonesing to watch one of the early movies. In fact, since returning home, we’ve watched the first two.
Quarterdeck
The few times we’ve travelled to the Eastern seaboard, we’ve always been determined to become better at eating whole blue crabs. This time, we chose Quarterdeck in nearby Arlington, Virginia for our continuing education.
This place was hopping on a Saturday night with both inside tables and the vast outdoor patio full of Maryland crab-loving folks.
Before heading out we got a refresher on how to eat these tasty crustaceans courtesy of this YouTube video by kahl777:
We went the all-you-can-eat route as we had been told previously that if you’re not very experienced at eating crabs it’s better to do all you can eat because you’ll end up wasting meat. I can happily say that after this venture, we’re ready to simply order a dozen crabs next time.
This was a perfect D.C. weekend getaway; it was a great way to end my tag-along trip with Steve to the Agile 2015 conference.
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DC! I hope to get to DC this summer, it’s on my list! I went to Lexington right berofe the holidays and it was wonderful. I am planning a Boston, a DC and an Atlanta trip for this year. Glad you had a lovely weekend. XxCallie
You will love DC and Boston as well. Both are great cities with lots to see and do. Enjoy your travels and thanks for checking in!
The Korean War Memorial is effectively creepy, isn’t it? And I can’t wait to hit the Spy Museum on my next trip. Thanks for the post!
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[…] Washington D.C. offers way too much to do in one weekend so visitors have lots of choice. Monuments and museums should be on everyone's list. […]