"Capitol Cool" a Washington D.C. Travel Page by emilienoelle

It had been nearly 20 years since I had visited the Capitol of the US, the last time being on a class trip when I was in the 7th grade. On that trip we took the overnight Amtrack train from Boston and were mercilessly dragged around the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum (You will note the omission of this venue from my "Things to Do"!) all day by my science teacher before having a greasy burger lunch and another overnight train ride home.

Well this time my visit was different, I am happy to say. I had a great time! This time I took the 1 hour Southwest Airlines shuttle from Manchester, NH with my best friend from childhood. She is working on her PhD and needed to do reseach at Howard University, so I jumped at the opportunity to go to DC with her and take a much needed break.

Much of the time that I spent in Washington on this trip was spent by myself exploring while my friend was working. At first I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find enough things to do to keep myself busy all day long for 4 whole days, but as it turned out I didn't even have enough time to do all of the things that I wanted to. There is so much great stuff to see and do in this city! In addition to the Smithsonian's many excellent (and free) museums, there is the White House, The Capitol, The Library of Congress, The Supreme Court, The US Botanical Gardens, The US Postal Museum, and many, many wonderful monuments and memorials such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, and the newly dedicated World War II memorial. DC is also home to the National Zoo, one of the best in the country. In addtion, I have to say that DC had one of the best selctions of restaurants that I've seen outside of cities like New York and New Orleans, not to mention really great shopping.

Not only was I impressed by all that Washington DC had to offer, but I am convinced that it is a perfect place to bring kids. There are so many interesting and free things to do that even the most active kids wouldn't get bored, and since many of the attractions are free it makes alot of sense budget-wise for families. I plan on taking my daughter here sometime soon.