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  • Home
    • Disclosure Policy
    • About Me
  • What's New! (Blog)
  • Low-Carb Lifestyle!
    • Trim Healthy Mama-inspired Grocery Lists
    • THM-style Beverages >
      • Mock Starbucks Mocha Frappuccinos
    • Family Favorite Recipes (Not Low Carb) >
      • Snacks >
        • Delicious Homemade Gooey Granola Bars!
        • Healthy Peanut Buttery Treats
      • Soups and Stews >
        • Jamaican Seafood Chowder
        • Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
      • Salads >
        • Red Cabbage Coleslaw
      • Main Dishes >
        • Beef >
          • Beef Stroganoff
        • Chicken >
          • Chicken Fiesta
          • Chicken Nachos
          • Marinated Zucchini and Chicken Sandwiches
          • Chicken or Turkey Enchiladas
          • Hungarian Chicken Paprikash
          • Green Chili Chicken Lasagna
        • Lamb >
          • Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder
        • Seafood >
          • Chilled Quinoa and Salmon Salad (E)
          • Shrimp and Zucchini Tostadas
        • Pasta Recipes >
          • Baked Lemon Pasta
          • Paccheri (Pasta) with Cauliflower and Tomatoes
      • Desserts >
        • Cookies >
          • Free Christmas Cookie cookbook download!
          • Healthier Gingerbread Man Cookies
          • Healthier Holiday Cut-Out Cookes
          • Maple Leaf Cookies - YUMMM!
        • Donuts
        • Frozen Desserts >
          • Lemonade Ice Cream Pie
    • Recommended Ingredients and Foods >
      • Inspiration Mixes - Gluten/Dairy/Caseine/Wheat Free and delicious!
      • Organic Maple Syrup
  • Homeschooling
    • Homeschool Curriculum & Product Reviews >
      • Homeschool Curriculum Reviews >
        • Art >
          • ARTistic Pursuits
          • Simply Draw!
        • Grammar >
          • All About Homophones - (Marie Rippel)
          • Time 4 Learning
          • Daily Grams
        • Handwriting >
          • Cursive Handwriting - New American Cursive
        • History >
          • The Mystery of History >
            • MOH vol. 3 Audio MP3's
          • Tapestry of Grace History
          • U.S. History >
            • America, The Last Best Hope (William Bennett)
          • Winter Promise
        • Latin >
          • Latina Christiana, by Memoria Press
          • Visual Latin
        • Literature-based Unit Studies >
          • Beyond Five in a Row
          • Further Up and Further In by Diane Pendergraft
        • Logic and Reasoning >
          • Building Thinking Skills (Critical Thinking Skills Co.)
        • Math >
          • Math Mammoth
          • Math Tutor DVD.com
          • MathRider: Horselovers' Math Facts Software Game!
        • Music and Composers
        • Online Educational Courses >
          • Aleks Online Courses
        • Science >
          • Apologia Science >
            • Apologia Science's Notebooking Journals
            • Zoology 1 - Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day
          • Science Weekly newsletters
        • Spelling >
          • Phonetic Zoo (by IEW)
        • Writing >
          • The Write Foundation: Level 2 - Paragraphs
          • WriteShop's StoryBuilders
      • Homeschool Product Reviews >
        • eBooks >
          • College Success Begins at Home (TOS eBook)
          • Dreams and Designs—Homemade Supplies to Complement Your Homeschool
          • Help, Lord, I'm Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler!
          • The 2010 Schoolhouse Planner
        • Online Educational Website Memberships >
          • KB Teacher
        • Science >
          • Polymer Crystals
    • Driver's Education for Homeschoolers
    • Foreign Language >
      • Latin >
        • Christmas Songs in Latin
        • Latina Christiana (Level 1) >
          • Latina Christiana Level 1 Lesson Links >
            • Charts and Helps
            • Year One Sayings
            • LC1 Intro and Lesson 1
      • Latina Christiana (Level II) >
        • Latina Christiana Level 2
        • LC2 Intro and Lesson 1
    • Forms and Charts >
      • "Week At A Glance" Planner
      • 2012-2013 Homeschool Attendance Form
      • 2012-2013 Homeschool Attendance Form
    • Free Audio Books to Download
    • Free Homeschool I.D. Cards!
    • Government and Civics
    • Handwriting
    • History: Classical / Chronological >
      • The Mystery of History, by Linda Lacour Hobar
      • The Middle Ages (MOH vol. 2)
      • Ancient History (MOH vol. 1) >
        • Ancient Rome >
          • Roman Architecture
          • Roman Houses
          • Roman Town (software game by Dig-It)
          • Roman Trade and Commerce
    • Language Arts
    • Science
  • Free Printables
    • Holidays >
      • Christmas
  • Book/DVD/Audio Reviews
    • Children's Movie/DVD Reviews
    • Other Product/Company Reviews
  • Home & Family
    • Frugal Living
    • Gardening and Herbs
    • Marriage - God's Way
    • Life at Home
    • Godly Kids & Teens >
      • Godly Womanhood
      • Sharing God With Your Children
      • Training Our Daughters to be Keepers at Home >
        • Keepers At Home - "Beginning of Club Year" Helps
        • Keepers At Home - "End of Club Year" Helps
        • KAH Skills >
          • Bible Memory >
            • Memorizing New Testament Books and Their Meanings
            • Proverbs 31:10-31
          • Cake Decorating
          • Card Making >
            • Stitched Cards
          • Computers
          • Character Studies >
            • Contentment and "I'm Bored" phrases
            • Willingness
          • Decoupage
          • Hospitality
          • Library Skills and Literature Pins
          • Sewing >
            • Beauty and the Pig - Goldie Doll
            • Edwardian-Style Aprons
            • Paper Piecing
      • Children >
        • Bible Study Bookmarks
        • The Church History ABCs (for kids!!!)
        • The Lord's Prayer - copywork
        • Some Thoughts...Family Bible Time
        • Running Away...with permission
      • Young Adults (Teens) >
        • Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss
        • Deeper Roots: Discovering Our Amazing God
  • Frugal Family Trips to Washington, D.C.
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Seeing it all in Washington, D.C. (Frugal Family Trips series)

2/19/2015

11 Comments

 
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     Okay, I'll admit it.  It's impossible to see everything in Washington, D.C. in seven days.  You could spend months in Washington, D.C., and not see it all.

     But we certainly did our best!  

     We knew that our once-in-a-lifetime trip to Washington, D.C. as a family was an amazing opportunity, so we didn't want to waste any time at all - and we were determined to see as much of the area as we could.

     Here are my tips and our family's schedule so we were able to see more than most people see in seven days' time:

  • Realize that you won't be able to see every display or object in every museum, so plan ahead and figure out which floors and exhibits you'll want to explore at different Smithsonian museums
  • To save a lot of time, eat at restaurants that are more like "fast food" but still very good (like many of those at Union Station)
  • Use the Metrorail instead of driving a car and spending hours trying to find a place to park
  • Walk a bit more on the brisk side instead of meandering slowly from place to place. It's great exercise!
  • Plan your trip out ahead of time, knowing that you may need some flexibility in case your Metrorail car is delayed due to power outages or breakdowns
  • If you have more money to spend, consider a tour of the National Mall on a rented bicycle or a Segway

     Here is my family's schedule that we followed during our week in Washington, D.C.  Keep in mind that our children were ages 16 and 14 at the time.  One of them loves history and museums, and the other one likes them but also enjoys other activities when traveling (shopping, American Girl Dolls store, etc.).  We did our best to accommodate both of them.  ☺


Day One:

*Breakfast in our hotel in Alexandria, Virginia (to save time and money)
*Ride the Metro from the hotel to Reagan International Airport to rent a car for the next two days
*Drive to George Washington's vast estate, Mt. Vernon Memorial, in Mt. Vernon, Virginia for the remainder of the daylight hours (this was my family's most favorite part of the week!)
*Dinner in the Mt. Vernon area
*Drive back to Washington, D.C. and view the National Mall memorials at night


Day Two:

*Breakfast in our hotel in Arlington, Virginia (to save time and money)
*Drive to Manassas National Battlefield Park in Manassas, Virginia (allow about 1 hour for your visit)
*Chick-fil-A for lunch in Charlottesville, Virginia (trust me, if you've never eaten at Chik-Fillet, it's a neat experience!)
*Drive to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate, located in Charlottesville, Virginia (allow yourself at least 2 hours to visit)
*Dinner in Charlottesville, Virginia


Day Three:

*Breakfast in our hotel in Arlington, Virginia (to save time and money)
*Return car rental to Reagan International Airport
*Tour Arlington National Cemetery and view Changing of the Guard
*Tour Arlington/Lee House
*National Museum of the American Indian (eat lunch in cafeteria there for a wide variety of Native American foods)
*Tour the U.S. Capitol Visitor's Center
*Tour the Library of Congress
*Walk around the White House area
*Dinner at Union Station (inexpensive and moderately priced dining options, many international)


Day Four:

*Breakfast in our hotel in Arlington, Virginia (to save time and money)
*Ride Metro to visit the Pentagon and 9-11 Memorial
*Ride Metro to the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima)
*Take Metro to the Rosslyn stop to go up extremely long escalator!
*Coffee at Panera Bread
*Ride Metro to Fords Theater and Petersen House where President Lincoln died
*Lunch at the National Gallery of Art
*National Archives Museum
*Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
*Metro to Kennedy Center for a FREE performance! (and walk past Watergate)
*Dinner at Union Station (inexpensive and moderately priced dining options, many international)


Day Five:

*Breakfast in our hotel in Arlington, Virginia (to save time and money)
*Smithsonian Castle (This was our one disappointment.  It's just an administrative building, best viewed from the outside.  No tours are provided.  I would recommend not visiting this castle.)
*Crime & Punishment Museum
*Lunch at Union Station (inexpensive and moderately priced dining options, many international)
*National Cathedral
*Dinner at Whole Foods near Metro stop



Day Six:

*Breakfast in our hotel in Arlington, Virginia (to save time and money)
*Bureau of Engraving and Printing
*United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
*The National Museum of American History (lunch in cafeteria)
*Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum
*Dinner at Union Station (inexpensive and moderately priced dining options, many international)



Day Seven:

*Breakfast in our hotel in Arlington, Virginia (to save time and money)
*Metro to Union Station for Starbucks ☺
*Smithsonian National Postal Museum
*Back to hotel to check out
*Airport and fly home


Questions?  Helpful tips?

     If you've traveled to Washington, D.C.  in the past and have suggestions or tips, please let us know!  And if you have a question, please ask.  Thanks! 

     Read my other "Frugal Family Tips for a Visit to Washington, D.C." here!

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11 Comments
Joanne Wilson
2/20/2015 11:08:27 am

For those reading this, I was along for this trip and was the unofficial tour guide for the Miller family. Julieanne did a great job summarizing our trip, and I thank you, Julieanne, for this blog post. Julieanne and I did a lot of study before we went, and I appreciate all she did to find the best price for airfare, and we both investigated motels, and ended up staying at the same motel I had stayed at for 2 of my other previous 5 trips to DC. I will stay there again if I ever go to DC in the future, and I strongly recommend this motel. Choosing it will save you hours of online research!

It is important for any of the readers of the blog to understand that one of reasons we were able to see as much as we did was that we had a schedule of the hours the attractions were open, and visited attractions that were open all the time when the museums were closed. So if you want to see as much as we did, I would recommend following the itinerary as closely as possible.

In addition, Day 1 was Sunday, and Mt. Vernon is open every day of the year, if I remember correctly, although it might be closed on Christmas Day. The museums in DC are closed on weekends.

If you fly into Reagan National Airport, you can take the Metro to a stop close to your motel if you plan it that way, and you won't have to hire a taxi, or rent a car unless you visit places outside the Metro area. The motel we stayed at was the best for the best price, while still allowing us to use the Metro.

I would as also recommend contacting your Senator to have him or her set up a tour for you of the Capitol Building, because you will get a better tour than if you set it up on your own. But you have to do it at least 3 months before your trip. We weren't able to do this since we didn't have that much prior notice of our trip. Your Senator will also be able to set up other tours for you, but you are not obligated to attend any or all of them.

Washington DC is a great place to visit, but if you want to see a lot, sleeping in will not be an option, and your feet will get really sore by the end of the day, but it is completely worth it!

Reply
Julieanne link
3/4/2015 08:27:12 am

Joanne, you did such a wonderful job helping us plan our trip and having a fantastic visit to the Washington, D.C. area! :) We are so thankful you came along with us.

Joanne is correct; the reason we were able to see so much was because Joanne had arranged the stops on our trip to fit in well with its location and the days/times they were open. It was an amazing itinerary that kept us moving but not running or feeling exhausted. We loved it!

Reply
Joanne
3/6/2015 05:35:48 am

It was a group effort, and I feel that we all had a part in making this a trip that was fun, frugal and a good use of time.

Donna Gause
5/14/2015 09:26:00 pm

What was the name of your hotel? How much did you budget or spend on your trip?

Reply
Joanne
5/15/2015 12:09:12 am

Donna, please see Julieanne's link to the motel on her narrative on Day 7. One thing I would add to the Day 7 narrative, is that we actually checked out of the motel in the morning before starting our day, but because our flight didn't leave until mid-afternoon, the motel graciously locked up our luggage for us after we checked out, so we could do some sight-seeing before our flight home. We returned to the motel, got our luggage out of jail and took the free motel shuttle to the Metro, which took us to the airport (If you want to avoid taxi fees and utilize the Metro subway system, be sure to make your reservations to and from Ronald Reagan National Airport when traveling to D.C., since it is the only airport in the area that the Metro services.).

Reply
Joanne
5/15/2015 12:22:08 am

On further review of Julieanne's blog, I see that there is a link to the motel on every day at the breakfast comment. I also must add that the bed was extremely comfortable! Probably the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on at a motel. This is so important, because the days of sight-seeing were exhausting, due to trying to cram as much as possible into every day! One suggestion I made to someone at the motel was to have a masseuse there to provide foot massages at the end of a long day of sight-seeing/walking! I don't know if they will take it to heart, but it could be another money-maker!

Reply
Alisha
2/28/2017 12:20:35 am

Thank you so much for posting this! It is a game changer for our trip! It makes planning so much easier!

Reply
Joanne
2/28/2017 09:58:39 pm

I hope you enjoy your trip! Get ready to be exhausted, but it is worth it!

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