Monster Road Trip Washington DC Leg

We stayed in an apartment really close to the metro in Washington DC. It was the perfect location to explore the city from, except for the fact that when we got there, we found out that the owners didn't want any of the neighbors to know that they were using the apartment as an Airbnb so we had to try to be an invisible family of 6. Tim was especially good at not making too much noise or calling attention to us. 🙄

Our first day in DC we walked a million miles to see the major monuments around the mall.  The kids were really good sports about so much walking in the heat. I think everyone's favorite was the Lincoln memorial. 1) It was a recognizable and impressive statue. 2) Everyone except Tim knew who he was. 

3) It had shade. The kids also liked finding the different states in the WW2 memorial. The kids still clearly identify as Washingtonians as they were given the choice of which state to pose in front of and they chose Washington over Texas.

 

As a reward for all their trekking across the city at the end of the first day we got exorbitantly priced, but delicious ice creams from a van. We'd earned it!

On our second day in DC we hit the museums. We went to the Holocaust Museum, which everyone except for Tim was really fascinated by and could've spent more time in. After 15 minutes Tim was done being somber and watched cartoons on mute on my phone for the rest of the time that we were there. I was impressed by how respectful and interested the kids were in such a serious topic. Unfortunately due to COVID restrictions the children's portion of the museum was closed so we couldn't do that. 

We also met up with dad's cousin, Tyson, and his baby son for a food truck lunch before hitting

the Smithsonian Museum of Natural Science, which the kids were a big fan of. Everybody enjoyed different aspects of the museum and it was fun to see what they gravitated toward. 

We also stopped briefly in a museum of futuristic inventions and a modern art museum. I wanted to go to an art museum and the modern art one was on our way back to the metro. In retrospect it wasn't the best choice. No one liked it and it didn't inspire a new-found love of art. But it was interesting! 

The last thing we hit before we left the city was the Smithsonian Zoo. As one of only five zoos in the country with pandas it was a must see. It was a fun zoo, but it was super hot and humid, and we were ready to leave and sit in the airconditioned car.