Independence Day week in our Nation's Capitol -- UPDATED 8/22 About This Page:

[DopeyGirl]

It’s been a while since I have been able to do a proper trip report . . . but then, it’s been a while since I have been on a trip that would necessitate an entire report, so . . . without further ado . . .


Hi.

We haven’t, all three, been on a family vacation since Disney World in December 2005. Sure we’ve gone around doing day trip type things in the area . . . and moving from the Florida panhandle to Virginia in November 2006 (driving 2 separate cars and just trying to “get here”) did NOT count as “vacation”. So, we’ve been “in need” of a family vacation/getaway of some sort for some time now, but due to DH’s military schedule, it’s made it awfully difficult to do so. I am fairly sure it is safe to say that he has been gone a lot more than he’s been home since we moved up here. But, so is the Navy life when the carrier and air wing are doing their qualifications for their upcoming 6-7 month deployment.

So, knowing that we were in need of a vacation . . . and that the normal pre-deployment leave period in August may be pre-empted due to a possible promotion in rank for DH (where they do a 4-6 week long hazing type initiation period) that would fall at the same time . . . we made a plan to go “somewhere” at the end of the month of June when he gets back from yet another trip. Being that we live just a short 3.5 hours from Washington D.C., and we still haven’t been up to visit since we moved here almost 2 years ago, we decided that was it! We’re going to D.C.! We set our dates, initially, as June 27th through July 3rd . . . we planned on getting out of there before things get WAY crazy in the Capitol on July 4th.

Now, allow me to introduce you to our cast of characters:



This is DH, Mike. (Hey, it’s the best picture I could find at the moment. ) He is coming up on 12 years in the Navy . . . and, due to being lucky enough to have been stationed at squadrons that are primarily shore-based for the first 10 years of his entire enlistment, he is preparing for his first EVER 6-7 month deployment. Therefore, we have decided that we’re going to try and soften the blow of having to float around for 7 months or so by taking a vacation before and after he leaves (gee, I wonder where we might go for our “Welcome Home, Daddy!” trip in May. )



This is DD, Emilie. She is seven years old and, these days, kind of like a walking tour guide to Washington D.C. As soon as we made the decision to visit, she HAD to go to the library and check out each and every book she could on Washington D.C. Coincidently, our decision to visit came just as her first grade class was doing a unit on National Monuments and Symbols, so she took her library books and her now infinite knowledge of all things monumental in D.C. to share with the class.



Aaaaaaand, finally . . . this would be me. Me and “the belly”. The belly which will, in late-September/early to mid- October, be known as our new DS named Evan. There isn’t much to say about me . . . I’m just here. I waddle around now, day in and day out, doing “stuff” . . . real exciting, I am.


Plans . . .


Well, the first thing we needed to decide on was where we were going to stay. Last time Mike and I went to D.C. was 1999. We stayed at a Hilton in Arlington. We got an $88/night rate through a little website much like Hotels.com and had a great time. Of course, the first thought was to check out that Hilton and see what we could find. HA! We couldn’t find anything less than $250/night . . . and that was just a tiny bit too rich for our blood. SO . . .

The next idea was the Navy Lodge, which was recommended to us by folks that Mike works with. The rate would have been great ($70/night ) BUT, everyone who told us about the Navy Lodge mentioned that we’d have to take a bus/shuttle of sorts to get to a MetroRail station to get where we wanted to go, either that, or drive to a Metro station. Hmph. Don’t really want to drive if I don’t have to . . . and I don’t really want to have to add extra time getting where we want to go because we have to wait for a shuttle and THEN the Metro. THEN . . .

I started poking around Hotels.com to see what kind of rates and other types of hotels I could find. They had the Key Bridge Marriott listed with a rate of $119/per night, so I started considering that. I actually decided to go and look at the Marriott website to compare the rates between booking through them directly or booking through Hotels.com . . . and found the same rate, but WITHOUT the nearly $100 booking fee that Hotels.com was charging! ($100 just so another website can book a room for you . . . HOW CRAZY IS THAT?!?!?!) Marriott also has a “Stay for Breakfast” program that was $15 total per night extra and allows 2 adults and 2 children to eat breakfast for free in the restaurant or buffet! Considering we’d likely spend more than that going out to eat breakfast each morning elsewhere between the 3 of us, I figured $15 extra on the room rate wasn’t too bad a deal! So, I booked the room direct through Marriott and was ready to start planning out our days.


Now . . . I tend to be one of those planners who has to have at least a “good idea” of what we are doing and on which day. And I DID have just about everything all planned out to the day, when Mike decided he wanted to contact his congressman and attempt to get in on a tour of the White House. We contacted the congressman and I have been back and forth in touch with his assistant since mid-April. We found out today (Monday the 16th) that they were not able to fit us into any tour groups as the tour schedule for that week was very full. We’re just glad we found out enough ahead of time though as when we first put in the request, the congressman’s office told us that it may be as late as while we are ON our trip that they could have let us know for sure.

Mike still doesn’t want to be pinned down by having specific things planned for specific days though. I kind of would like to plan out SOME sort of schedule but . . . argh.


As we were kind of sitting on our “non-plans” and waiting for the trip to come around, Mike noticed that the band Coldplay was going to be playing in concert at the Verizon Center on July 2nd. We both really like that band and it is “Emilie-friendly” music so we jumped out there and spent extra money on concert tickets. We were all really looking forward to going on the 2nd until just this past week when I got an e-mail from Ticketmaster letting me know that due to production issues within the band’s camp, they were postponing the first few dates of their American tour, thus making the new tour date in Washington August 3rd. So, we won’t be concert goers during our visit to the capitol . . . BUT . . . we will be going back the first weekend of August to see the show and maybe do anything we might have missed or want to do again!


SO . . . essentially . . . the only thing we have absolutely “set in stone” is our trip up the Washington Monument (which we’ve already gotten timed tickets for) and we plan on taking the Twilight Tour on the first evening we arrive. That, and we know we are going to the zoo “one day” . . . and up to Mount Vernon on “another day” . . . and will be hitting the museums and Arlington National Cemetery on the “other days”.



COMING UP NEXT: Did I forget anything? Make any last minute tweaks? And how on Earth is this “day-by-day planner” going to make it without a day-by-day plan?!

[TroianRae]

Great start, Sarah!!
I'm excited to read all about your trip, especially since that was supposed to be our 2008 vacation destination. It sounds like you're going to be doing a lot of the "touristy" things we were going to.

[JoanW]

Dang it, we won't be back from the beach till July 5, and even that weekend is full for us.

How about a little Naval Academy tour???

[chezp]

How cool to be spending so much time up there - and then be heading back for a concert and to go back and do anything you missed first time around.

[emtpej]

Looking good. I have found decent last minute rates for DC at AAA.
Did you consider taking the Ducks tour? You might really like it, but we haven't had the chance, yet. It is a busy time around here, then.
Sorry about the concert. Are there other groups you like? The military groups also perform often...
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is also during the time you will be in DC:
2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Sarah I hope you guys have a great time

[RobDVC]

Great plans, Sarah!
Sorry to hear about the Coldplay postponement.
I'm anxious to see how you manage without a daily plan....

[Fortissimo]

Looks great!

We will be leaving DC on the 27th and driving to Williamsburg for a week. I will wave at random cars on the drive in hopes that one the cars is you!

[Lemap760]

Great start.

[DopeyGirl]

Originally Posted by Fortissimo

Looks great!

We will be leaving DC on the 27th and driving to Williamsburg for a week. I will wave at random cars on the drive in hopes that one the cars is you!

This will be us . . .



Only, on our back window, you will see a Disney family, a big yellow "O" and . . . shock and surprise . . . a white Dopey decal.

[NanaTink]

Yay, Sarah! Sorry about the concert! And if it makes you feel any better, I STILL haven't gotten into the WH...and I only work 7 blocks up (down?) Pennsylvania!
You HAVE to let me know when you will be in the area of the Navy Memorial! I want to say ! I work across the street from the FBI at DoJ.

[emtpej]

Originally Posted by NanaTink

Yay, Sarah! Sorry about the concert! And if it makes you feel any better, I STILL haven't gotten into the WH...and I only work 7 blocks up (down?) Pennsylvania!
You HAVE to let me know when you will be in the area of the Navy Memorial! I want to say ! I work across the street from the FBI at DoJ.

We could set up a meet -- I was thinking I would take off the 27th and go to the Folklife Festival.

[christiejay]

Sounds like it will be a fun trip. But I'm with you, I need those daily plans! Last summer we went to Myrtle Beach without them and I didn't know what to do. I need those plans to get my indecisive family out the door every morning!

Have a great trip, looking forward to hearing all about it.

[lauren-roxy]

Great start Sarah!! We always love visiting Washington DC!! I can't believe how great you look and how much Emilie has grown! What a little lady!

[katspjs]

Great start Sarah! Too bad about the WH tour and Coldplay, but I'm glad you'll be going back.