D.C. Day Trip? Yes, This Awesome Adventure Can Actually Be Done!

When my 15-year-old was in early elementary school, she learned there was an 8th grade school trip to Washington D.C. From that moment, she eagerly looked forward to that trip. She takes after my husband in their shared love of history, particularly American history, so to her a field trip to D.C. would be about as exciting a trip as she could possibly take. Fast forward to her eighth grade year, which just so happened to be the 2020/2021 school year. Smack dab in the middle of the pandemic, the trip was obviously completely undoable and off the table. While she understood why they couldn’t go, she was beyond disappointed.

Fast forward to the summer of 2022, and we camped for a week in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I am constantly looking for side trips we can take when we stay in a particular place. While researching Hersey, I realized that D.C. was just over two hours away. While we tend to try to stick with day trips that are a little closer, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that we going to be just a too close to not to try to make a day trip. To be honest, my husband thought it was too far. But I knew our oldest would be ecstatic to see the nation’s capital, even if just for a day. Ultimately, my husband agreed to go even if a bit begrudgingly. And as is usually the case, I was right. Our day trip to D.C. was an amazing success! Here is how we made it work:

• The Early Bird Gets the Worm. In the past, I have driven my family crazy with non-stop jam-packed trip itineraries that require jumping out of bed early every day. I tried to make sure we had the opportunity to take in “everything” in an area. Now, I realize I sucked a lot of the fun out of it. A morning person through and through, I tend to a be an early riser by nature. My husband is a night owl to the core. Most of our kids seem to have taken after him in that respect. So while I thought I was providing them with these amazing sites and activities, it really messed with their typical sleep schedules. What I found was that after a few days, everyone would hit this massive wall of full on grumpiness. Because I’m clearly a super fast learner, it only took me three years of our RV adventures to figure this out. So this season, I decided to take a different approach. For the most part, I let everyone sleep in until they wake up naturally…except the oldest, because I if I left it up to her, we would never get out before about 3 p.m. Instead of pushing everyone to be out the door by 8 a.m., it’s now closer to 10. It made for a much more pleasant experience this year. But, there are still a few days, when I know we’re doing something that is going to get incredibly crowded or where we have to drive a bit, that I do set an early alarm for everyone. A D.C. day trip definitely fell into that category. Google maps showed that it would take us 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to D.C. from our campground. Plus, we wanted to try to make it to at least a handful of landmarks and a museum or two. I knew we would need the entire day. If I had my way, we would have been on the road no later than 6:30 or 7 a.m. But I knew my family would mutiny if imposed that kind of schedule, so I compromised for 8 a.m. We made it out on time, but I probably should have gone more with my initial instinct. Due to the traffic at that time of the morning, our just-over-two-hour drive turned into an almost-three-hour drive. So I would absolutely recommend the earlier the better!

• Dude Where’s My Car? I was a little worried about parking. I had not been to D.C. in over 15 years, before my oldest had been born. We usually parked somewhere that was in proximity to the metro. Then, we’d just use that to go wherever we wanted in the city. But for day trip to D.C., not being fully familiar with the stops and schedules, and have four kids in tow, I was afraid the metro would actually slow us down a bit. So I decided we would park near the Smithsonian, since that would be the focus of our day anyway. I looked up some parking options online and found some garages, but they seemed a bit pricey for day parking. Then, I came across National Mall Parking, which is a surface lot at 1540 Maine Avenue SW. It looked convenient and from what I could tell, it seemed economical as well. But I had a couple back-up options in the event it was full. After our near hour delay getting to D.C., I knew there was zero chance there would be any open spots in the lot. Nonetheless, we decided to check to be sure. We pulled in, and initially, I thought my suspicions were being confirmed. But as we continued through the lot, we discovered dozens and dozens of open spots. You pay using a mobile app and can add time right on the app (as long as you set up an account and log in) if you find yourself out and unable to get to your car before your time expires.  We were able to park and make it to the Washington Monument in less than ten minutes. Plus, from the parking lot, you have a beautiful view of the Tidal Basin and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. It cost $7.35 for three hours, so it’s astonishingly cost effective as well. 

• Full Bellies Make for a Happy Family. We wanted to pack in as much sightseeing in our D.C. trip as possible, so we decided not to try to find a sit down restaurant. Lucky for us, food trucks lined 14th Street NW next to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Nearly every genre of food is covered here. Trucks sold Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Caribbean, and Greek food. They sold hot dogs, chicken tenders, hamburgers, pizza, pho, tacos, gyros, ice cream, milk shakes, boba, deep fried Oreos, and the list goes and on. To be clear, it was not the most economical meal. But everyone was able to get what they wanted. There was no arguing or whining, plus we were able to eat quickly. Overall, I would definitely recommend it. It let the more adventurous eaters in our family try fun, new food. The picky eaters were able to get chicken tenders and french fries. Plus, we ate right there in the National Mall surrounded by the gorgeous green space and the Smithsonian Institution. Honestly, it really didn’t matter what we ate for lunch. We were just soaking up the atmosphere.

• Museums – Check! Whatever we ate, it gave us the energy to participate in essentially what was a marathon tour of the crux of the Capitol. We focused our day on the Smithsonian Institution. It is also known as “the nation’s attic” made up of 19 museums, 21 libraries, 9 research centers, and a zoo. We started out at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History. Our youngest loves dinosaurs, so we thought she would be absolutely fascinated by the Hall of Fossils exhibit. To be honest, she was mildly entertained by it but not as much as we expected her to be. I think it was because the exhibit displays dinosaur fossils and bones. So they look a bit different than what she typically sees in pictures. Nonetheless, it is an incredibly display. We took in as many exhibits as we could: African Voices, the Ocean Hall, Mammals, Human Origins, Bones, Mummies, Live Insect Zoo, the Hope Diamond, Gems and Minerals, and Geology. We made it through most of the exhibits. Some we walked through rather quickly while others, we spent more time examining the displays more closely. Our family’s favorite exhibits were the Mammals, Ocean Hall, Mummies, Live Insect Zoo, and the Hope Diamond. You could spend hours and hours at this museum. With four kids, our family does not have that kind of attention span. We somewhat buzzed through in less than two hours. Next, we intended to go to the National Archives but the line was nearly around the block. Instead, we grabbed slashes and milkshakes from another food truck and meandered through the National Gallery of Art – Sculpture Garden. At its center is a gorgeous fountain. We were able to enjoy unique art in an unexpected and quite relaxing way for about half hour. You could certainly spend more time here though. Next, we made our way to the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History. We made our way through the America on the Move, the Star-Spangled Banner, American Democracy, Many Voices/One Nation, and Wizard of Oz’s Ruby Red Slippers exhibits. We unanimously voted that the opportunity to see, in person, the actual flag that inspired our national anthem easily won as our favorite exhibit here. At this point, we could sense that we reached our family’s daily limit of museum experiences. So we moved on to monuments and memorials. 

• The Capitol Building and White House – Check (sort of)! As we walked through the National Mall, we pointed out the Capitol Building to the kids. After spending hours in museums that we just could not bring ourselves to walking to the other end of mall to experience it any closer than that. We walked around the Washington Monument. From there, we pointed out the south side of the White House. Again, we knew we were quickly running out of steam so we did not attempt to try to walk to Pennsylvania Avenue. When tackling a trip to D.C., you have to pick and choose what your priorities are.

• Monuments and Memorials – Check! Next, we ventured to the World War II memorial. We tasked the kids with finding Kentucky’s column in this massive memorial. We sat next to the oval pool and fountain while remembering the incredible sacrifices made by our soldiers and their families during such a horrifically dark period in world history. Then, we followed along the Reflecting Pool toward the Vietnam War Memorial. Here, we encountered several veterans visiting as part of an Honor Flight. While tragically reading the seemingly never-ending names etched into the stone of the memorial, we thanked dozens of war veterans for their service. We also witnessed a group of what appeared to be Middle Eastern tourists approach several of these veterans. They ask to have their picture taken with them in front of The Three Serviceman statute. This tourist group treated our veterans with astonishing reverence, respect, and what even appeared to be gratitude. The internet often exaggerates the divisions in our society. But, in that moment, watching this interaction reminded my family that we are likely a lot more united than the media would have you believe. It was such a beautiful moment that I’m sincerely grateful my family had the privilege to experience. We then made the short trek from the Vietnam Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial. We walked up the 57 steps from the plaza to the chamber. Our third grader learned about the Gettysburg Address in school. Reading the words to it on the wall of the chamber moved her in ways it never could on the pages of her textbook. Another priceless moment on our whirlwind tour. We ventured to the opposite of the Reflecting Pool to the Korean War Veterans Memorial. The eeriness you feel as you walk past the Field of Service, seemingly with a ground squadron consisting of 19 life-size statues of soldiers, is unmistakeable. Though under construction during our visit, there is now a Wall of Remembrance. It lists the American soldiers and members of the Korean Augmentation in the United States that sacrificed their lives during the War. Then, we continued our journey through the memorials. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial marked our last stop for the day. Walking through a fairly narrow path between two massive walls of granite, you then reach a 30-foot tall statue of Dr. King. His words “out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope” truly come to life. The decidedly and appropriately impressive memorial overlooks the Tidal Basin. It also features a 450-foot long wall with various quotes from Dr. King. Each of the 14 quotes equally powerful and meaningful, the one that impacted me the most read “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” For my older girls, I asked them to read each quote and to find the one that spoke to them. Then, we discussed each quote we chose and why. Another deeply compelling moment of reflection, empathy, and understanding as a family that I will forever treasure. 

From the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, we walked a short half-mile back to the National Mall Parking lot and our car. From start to finish, we spent just under six hours and clocked about 8.8 miles in our whirlwind day trip adventure in D.C. It helped that we had fantastic weather conditions. It was partly cloudy, high of around 80 degrees, and a refreshingly consistent light breeze. Did we see all there is to see? Not even close. Did we hit everything we had hoped to? Close but, no, we didn’t. Did we experience a memorable day with our family examining remarkable artifacts, discussing history that transformed our nation, and indulging in a beautiful spring day in a one-of-a-kind setting? Absolutely.

At the end of the day, our legs throbbed and our stomachs growled. But all six of us agreed that it was worth it for this unforgettable experience. Our D.C. trip definitely ranks high on our list of our favorite adventures we have taken while traveling. Do you look for day trips while you are traveling? Leave us a comment with your favorite vacation day trips? For more adventures from G6 Adventures, click here.