I was visiting my brother in Baltimore and the plan was to leave Saturday for the University of Virginia to see Oregon play Virginia. Friday morning we decided to drive to Washington D.C. and stay there for the night. So we did Washington D.C. in 12 hours starting at 10 a.m. and finishing up at 10 p.m.
Our first stop was our hotel, the beautiful Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. The Capitol Building was a few blocks away so we walked there first and walked around the massive building. From there we headed back to our hotel to grab the truck and go get some lunch.
We decided to go to Ben’s Chili Bowl for lunch. This is a Washington D.C. landmark and is legendary. Food is better than average but both my brother and I got the half smoke with Chili so we didn’t delve deep into their menus. You won’t be disappointed and you won’t spend a bunch of money.
From Ben’s we headed to 1600 Pennsylvania to see the most famous house in the country, The White House. We walked around the exterior and viewed the iconic statues and fountains. It was about this time that both of us mentioned the overwhelming size of everything in D.C.
From there we decided to hit the monuments. We started by going out to the Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial). We stumbled upon the awarding of some medals to two Marines which was pretty cool to see. The way Washington D.C. is set up from this memorial you can see all the way to the Capitol building, which is very neat to look at.
Next we went to the Lincoln Memorial. Like the White House the Lincoln Memorial was packed. This monument is famous and has really incredible. Lincoln’s amazing speeches are etched into the walls. Something I learned while we were there is the statue depicts Lincoln in a struggle. Half of the statue appearing relaxed and open and the other withdrawn and clinched.
Next we walked towards the Washington Monument which wasn’t very impressive because it was being renovated after suffering damage in an earthquake. But we stumbled upon the very impressive WWII monument on the walk. Looking back at the Lincoln Memorial is quite a sight to see.
Next we went to the Jefferson Memorial. A little off the beaten path this was the least crowded of all the monuments. Very impressive and a very beautiful view as you look back over Capitol Hill.
From here we went back to the Hyatt and decided where to go for dinner. Our pick, Good Stuff Eatery. Handmade burgers, hand-cut fries and handspun milkshakes. I had a toasted marshmallow shake with Spike’s Sunnyside Burger and Spike’s Village Fries. This place was awesome. We didn’t have anything to go anyplace fancy, and frankly this place was more our speed. Again not super pricey or exotic but none the less very, very good.
From there we walked home and called it a night. I could have easily spent a week in Washington D.C. but felt we saw a whole lot in a very short and fast day in the Nation’s capital. One last tip, remember to people watch. Washington D.C. is full of unique and colorful characters. Enjoy your travels!
Tanya Lynn Williams says
How awesome! Great pics hubby! 🙂