day one in d.c.

We had such a great time this weekend in Washington D.C. for a quick lil’ getaway to celebrate both of our birthdays! So much fun, that I’ll be breaking this trip recap up in a few posts due to the photo dump scroll that is ahead (whoopsies! lol)

It was Phil’s first trip to the area, and I had been one time about 10 years ago on a small group trip with my community college. I worked many bake sales on campus with some fellow government class students one semester to enjoy that trip, and appreciated every minute of it. I’d always hoped for the chance to venture back since there is so much to see and explore! The many free museums, monuments and a diverse food scene were a big appeal to us on this trip.

Also, the perks of living on the east coast now allows us appreciate that a 6 hour drive will put us in a whole new state, or even two! We used to take weekend trips in Texas, and that same drive time would either land us in the desert of West Texas, or some just-ok-bacteria-infested-beaches along the Gulf. So we’re very grateful and excited for some more weekend road trips in the future!

We arrived on Thursday with less than an hour until check-in, so we made the executive decision to park the car near where we were staying and set off on foot in search of some patio margaritas. The sunshine, 80 degree temps, and some tequila were just calling our names!

Our rental was located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, and let me just tell you that I couldn’t have adored that area more! The residential vibe was cute, quiet, and less than a 15 minute walk to coffee shops, boutiques, restaurants, & two metro stops. It was so fun to see all of the pretty spring blooms, pups on the porch, and little free libraries in the front lawns from our quick treks to and from the metro station.

(And yes, after walking by a few for sale signs, ya girl may have excitedly pulled up Zillow… Like I could even afford any of these million+ dollar colorful townhomes to begin with. I blame it on their proximity to the nearby Trader Joe’s based off of all of the brown paper bags and flower bouquets we passed along the sidewalk. I mean, to be able to walk to a TJ’s?! A girl can certainly dream! Especially with the nightmare that is the Wilmington location’s tiny parking lot. Lol)

We bought unlimited-three-day metro passes, and definitely got our monies worth with those cards. Bless the guy we asked on our first trip who pointed us in the right direction and let us know which stop to get off at. The metro was very convenient to get across town as our primary means of transportation for the weekend.

Our self guided walking tour started at the Library of Congress and United States Capitol before venturing over to the National Mall. We then spent the next several hours exploring the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool until the sun went down for the evening and it started to get chilly outside.

After clocking in roughly 15,000 steps in just a span of 5 hours, we headed over to Bantam King and warmed up with some late night ramen for dinner before heading back to our cozy abode!