"Road Trip To DC" a Washington D.C. Travel Page by astarte00

In DC we have reservations at the Wardman Park Marriott. The National Zoo is just a few minutes walk from here and with a on-site Metro stop we found this Hotel a perfect jump off spot for any trekking through DC. I would definitely make this a repeat stay in the their tower rooms. Modern amenities in an Historic Hotel makes my day anytime.

It's off to the National Mall and attempting to get into the Smithsonian's that envelope it. Tom avoids the tourmobile like the plague via a warning from my kids. So many of the Museums on our hit list have throngs of people waiting to be searched prior to entry that we nearly give up. We walk by far too many without even attempting entry. I have to settle for yet another trip through Air & Space where we are unable to secure a seat for an IMAX show. I guess I'll need to make a return trip to see Dorothy's Wizard of Oz shoes..

Oh well...to top this all off the cherry blossoms have been knocked off by wind and rain that had occurred just prior to our arrival. Mother Nature screwed me again!

We're hungry and not in the mood to travel too far. We had counted on using one of the Hotel's restaurants.

But what?!!

Most of the Hotels restaurants are on limited schedules and menus with exception to the brunch on Easter Sunday! The bartender, a transplanted Joiseyite himself is far better than the concierge in giving us some handy suggestions regarding restaurants within a short walking distance. We are also warned to avoid the Italian restaurants since they would not be up to our Jersey expectations. We wound up at The Sake Club on Connecticut Avenue only to enjoy the best sushi I've ever eaten. The place could have afforded us an extremely romantic evening with their subdued lighting if it were not for the annoying people next to us. Your A-typical loud New Yawkers with a 12ish child in tow that they attempted to treat as an adult. I wanted to interrupt to remind them that it wasn't a Brooklyn deli they were in, and maybe the reason their son wasn't eating all that well was because it wasn't exactly a kid friendly restaurant. That is not to say that my kids didn't have sophisticated palates at an early age...but I recognized limits and respected others dining pleasures. Maybe, shoving the husbands cell phone where the sun don't shine would have appeased me more. Even with this minor annoyance it was a thoroughly enjoyable meal and evening.

Back to the room and snuggling under the thick lush covers we watch an in room movie before nodding off into la-la land.

It's Easter Sunday and we're off to Brunch but not without a run-in with the resident Easter Bunny carrying gifts of plastic eggs filled with chocolate...ut-oh...I cannot restrain myself from collecting a few he has 'hidden' in the hallways on our way down to my favorite meal, Sunday Brunch. Ok...I left enough for the many kids to hunt for.

After Breakfast it's time for me to pout and try to twist Tom's arm for us to spend more time in DC before pulling out completely. I get one concession of stopping by the Corcoran Gallery so I can view Frederic Church's massive "Niagara". I have always loved the works of those from the Hudson River School of Landscape Art. They have the ability to draw me into the work itself leaving me awed and amazed.

It's back on the road in the direction of home plotting our return trip. There was plenty more to see that we had missed on this short hop. Luckily it's not too far and I have plenty of Marriott points to spend...