Washington D.C Trip

WASHINGTON D.C. TRIP

 

As most of you know I recently traveled to the D.C lands. It was a very random, but some what planned trip. I went alone and LOVED every minute. I also went on an EXTREME budget: $250.00 bucks (food, travel, and hotel expenses).

I did a lot of research prior too....Called the hotel (they gave me a lot of helpful tips). I made sure I had all the major locations I would be visiting's address to ensure I wouldn't venture off to far. I also looked into the HOTT spots.

Washington D.C. as I would describe it, it was easy to get around. In fact it was almost like a circle. I used the circular transportation to get every where (from the terminal to the hotel, hotel to Georgetown, and tried to get to the terminal, but ended up walking). This allowed me to see the city and get a better idea of my surroundings. I like using the city transportation and also talk to the other tourists to get ideas.

I got to Washington around 9:30am, found a breakfast spot and started my adventures right away. I also started off with a little sense of where things where (I got lost). Don't worry there was a local police officer and he got me back on track.

I then went back to the bus terminal station to catch the circular to finally get checked into my hotel.

Lets talk about the traveling from NYC to D.C. I got to the Penn Station NY bus terminal roughly around 5:30am, booking my one way in advance for $15.00 bucks; Megabus.com (free Wi-Fi & telephone outlets for my phone). Yes, this was a little early, but I just got home from a victory win (2:30 am) for the Seahawks game that they won and had a lot of energy to burn, plus it was the start of my "mini" vacation. My trip was 5 hours from NYC, and I slept the whole way to my destination which was PERFECT. I can sleep anyway and anywhere (I'm young, I workout, and I'm flexible)... I woke up from my morning nap at 9:00, just before we got to Washington D.C and booked my hotel on HotelTonight (love this app).

I got the hotel for $79.00 bucks a night. I decided to stay one night and see IF I needed to stay another night. I looked at this hotel prior, HOPING it would be the ideal hotel for my trip; Free Wi-Fi (no, therefore I did a lot of research prior to the trip), but it was a hip hotel, cute/casual/not to classy and most of all close to everything. Oh yes and most important it had a FREE HH from 6:30 - 8:00. It had Sangria, red &  white wine in a pretty decent size cup, and HH food, which ranged from $2.00 - 5.00 each (dinner was $9.00 dollars and I tipped her a dollar for every drink ($5 bucks). After eating and drinking I went back to the hotel, watched TV, took a LONGGG bubble bath, and ended up falling asleep. I had planned to hit up Georgetown in the morning and find a great little breakfast/brunch spot.

Georgetown isn't like NYC where things are open early. I was there around 9:30 am and things were dead. I walked around checked out the neighborhood to find a cute Mexican spot. they weren't open, but they let me come in early. It was fairly warm; 45 degrees for 9:30am, and knew I was in for a HOT day. They had air conditioner already going and I was a little worried. I decided to have a blood orange mimosa (it was my vacation), coffee, and "Carnes Con Huevos" (skirt steak, potatoes, onions with eggs and toast on the side. I chatted with the waitress about the area and she originally was from NYC and moved to D.C. She loved it for all the reason I feel in love with D.C. The green, the location, easy access with transportation, and more.



After brunch I took a stroll through the town, scenic route down towards my hotel. I started off by hitting the streets. I went down this road (side street) with cobblestone/rustic walls/brick with fun décor throughout the pathway. I then ventured off into the waterside. It was very green, everyone was running, walking, biking (It reminded me of the Northwest), people were in their boats having brunch, kayaking, and enjoying the weather. At this point it was about 80 degrees and 11:00. I had to check out of the hotel by 12:00, which I arrived to my hotel about 10 mins before. I was already packed and ready to go. I decided to backpack the rest of the trip in workout cloths until about 4:30pm when my bus left.



The night before I had HH I went to the White House to see what was going on. Maybe they were filming "Scandal". I would probably try to be on set, so its a good thing. The next day I also went back to the White House, Smithsonian (20 different museums), the pentagon, and everything else around the area. When I was by the White House this is when I got to see the president leave his "white house". Arms, guards, police offices, and many more were all around. It was like a parade of police, black cars, under cover cars. It was quite the show.



I then decided to head towards The Warf. Once I travel through the garden (about 2.5 miles), to the waterfront, I found out they were remodeling. The restaurants and everything down there were under construction and everything was moved to ONE location, which smelt like fish (I don't do well with small areas and fishy smells), therefore I was there and left quick. I had to hike back up into the downtown area for some more touristy things. I ended up making it through Chinatown (found Georgetown Cupcakes). At this point no lines, no food, nothing sounded good in 100 degree weather with a backpack on. At this point I was exhausted.

At my arrival to the terminal I got some food at the terminal to eat on the way home. Although, it didn't seem as if I really tired. I was on a "high" of my amazing trip and wanted to book another one. I love traveling. I love experiencing all the people around you, the culture, the diversity, the locations and historical monuments that have made each state so unique. I got to my apartment in the city roughly around 10:30. It was an amazing trip and enjoy Washington D.C. very much. In fact I will return soon. I've listed a few spots I went/used which made this trip happen. I hope you decide to take a trip to D.C sometime in your near future.

Places I visited;

MegaBus
HotelHelix
Sat Brunch
Cupcake Spot
The Wharf (Yelp)
The Circulator