Off to Washington DC - Just me and my 3 kids!

     Last summer before we relocated to Nevada and still living in Florida I decided to take my kids to DC.  Originally I thought my husband would go to.  Unfortunately, about a month prior to the trip it became apparent he would be unable to go.  I decided to push forward with the kid's trip without him.  My kids did stellar in school last year and this was the reward I had been planning for them.  We drove!  That's right, I drove 20+ hours in the car with all three kids one way just to do this and no I did not take ear plugs.  In case you were wondering the kids do not like to ride in the car.




I had hoped to be at a hotel that was a little closer to all the monuments, but because I did not plan the trip far enough in advance there were not a lot of hotels available.  At least, not any that I could afford.  Luckily the week before we went Travelzoo.com ran a deal for $130 a night at The Melrose Hotel.  When I checked in the kids were very exhausted and somewhat spun up after being in the car for 7/8 hours and the guy took pity on us, by upgrading us to a very lovely and spacious suite.  I do have to mention the hotel advertised themselves as close to several of the monuments, but after a mile walk from our hotel I felt as if they had exaggerated their proximity! 

Here are the kids looking at the Reflecting pool, the Washington Monument and the Abe Lincoln monument.  The kids were all still in good spirits despite making them walk that far.













My son did not realize Abe would be so big.  Underneath Abe is an area where a museum is set up.  It is neat to look at and that is where the elevator is.




The kids are standing in on the back side of the Lincoln memorial with the Arlington bridge in the background. This is the bridge that leads into Arlington cemetery where JFK is buried and many soldiers. It is also home to the tomb of the unknown soldier.






In front of the Lincoln memorial.

Next we walked along the reflecting pool to the WWII memorial.  This is a long walk as well.  It doesn't not look like it would take very long, but looks are deceiving.









































We only got this far the first day because it was getting dark. We had a little over a mile long walk back to the hotel. I ended up pushing Eden in the stroller and carry Jonah on my back!  It was a long walk.  We took a different way back to the hotel and much to my delight about 10 minutes before we got to the hotel we passed a subway station.  The next day we rode the subway!  I sure wish the guy at the hotel had mentioned it was such a short way away when I ask where we should go first.  Oh well it was worth the walk.