Whirlwind Day in Washington, D.C.
We ended our summer road trip of the southeastern U.S. with a whirlwind day in Washington, D.C. Thanks to the SpotHero app, we found a great place to park a few blocks from our first stop, the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.
Before we headed inside, we hit up the food trucks lining the streets and had a quick picnic outside the building. (Pro-tip: What we should have done was kept the food wrapped up, headed inside, and eaten it in the cafeteria. The food inside left a lot to be desired, and was expensive.)
Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum
The kids had a blast exploring the museum. They were especially into the space exhibits. Before we left, we caught “Journey to the Stars,” narrated by Whoopi Goldberg at the Albert Einstein Planetarium. It was a fantastic show – all four kiddos were mesmerized by the images.
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
As soon as we left the building, we headed straight for an ice cream truck. It was a much-needed treat in the almost 100-degree weather. We walked along the mall, trying to keep our ice cream from melting before we could eat it, and checking out the sites. We peeked at the Capitol building, and then made a stop at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.
After checking out the artwork, we dipped our toes in the fountain to cool off. Because it was such a hot day, all of our outdoor explorations were relatively uncrowded.
Once we cooled down, the kids made a beeline for the carousel. I braved the ride and even sat with Evan in a spinning cup.
Smithsonian Gardens
As we meandered back to the car, we made stops at the Smithsonian Pollinator Garden, Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden, and the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden. There were a lot of photo ops as the kids posed in the gardens.
Though our day in Washington, D.C. was short, we had a great time. The view of the Washington Monument as we drove out of D.C. was pretty incredible, especially with the setting sun as a backdrop.
