As a kid, our field trip to the Capitol was to…Sacramento. I always envied those kids on the East Coast who got to visit DC. And even though I’ve been to Malice Domestic a few times, the closest I got to the National Mall was watching it stream by a window. This past President’s Day weekend, though, we traveled to Washington, D.C. to cheer on my kiddo in a sports tournament. Happily, I also got to squeeze in a bunch of sightseeing.
Not only did I go on a Capitol tour (thanks, local rep!), I made a few other exciting stops as well:
The People’s House: A White House Experience This is a new museum created by the White House Historical Association. I admired its mini replica of the White House and delighted in pretending I was in the real Oval Office (spoiler: it’s a recreation of the office, Biden-style). The People’s House uses technology to really get you immersed in the history and the staff who’s involved in running the Executive Mansion.
Monuments at Night A tour at night got us close to all the monuments. It was a beautiful, and chilly, experience, but I appreciated posing with iconic backdrops.
Library of Congress I went through the connecting tunnel from the Capitol to see the Library of Congress. The amazing architecture and all those wonderful books did not disappoint! Bonus: I even got a bonafide library card there! A reader’s dream come true!
FBI Experience I couldn’t pass up the chance to visit the FBI. We got to go into a special section of the FBI and chat with retired agents.
(Not pictured: Quick trips to visit the National Archives, Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library)
Have you ever finally gotten around to doing something?
Chicks on the Case 
Fun trip, Jen, and thanks for sharing your pics, too!
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Sure thing! Thanks for reading, Grant!
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Looks like a fun experience I went to the Grand Canyon and the Phoenix Botanical Gardens and that was really fun. Deborah
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I’m always in awe when I see the Grand Canyon! I think I’ve been to the Phoenix Botanical Gardens once–meltingly hot, but such neat plants & I got to see some Chihuly sculptures!
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What a fun trip. I remember doing the “DC experience” right after college with a friend of mine who lived in the area. We did all the museums, the Mall, the Capitol (but not the White House), Arlington, the memorials – the works.
I got to see the Rockies last year, even though it was a work trip.
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I’m glad I got to give my kids the “DC experience”–maybe it’ll inspire them somehow?
Visiting the Rockies would be amazing…adding to my bucket list.
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What have I finally done?
took 3 tries, but finally got married in Las Vegas by Elvis. The first two said no way, the wedding was about them.
The only thing left on my bucket list is
Maybe visiting France for a month, trying foods through the various regions,
Getting a novel published.
Other than that, nope, been there, done that.
however——— what the heck were you doing in DC and not calling me! I could have used a friendly smiling face.
Hope to see you at Malice
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That made me LOL, Hestia! It sounds like Jen didn’t even get a chance to sneeze with a schedule like that!
btw, Jen, this sounds like a fun trip. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in DC over the years doing many of the things you did. Never got my Library of Congress card, so now I’m green with envy. We were lucky to take a long trip there when my kids were middle/high school the June before 9/11 so everything was easy to get to. Did all the Smithsonians (which I love), and there used to be the great Newseum which, sadly, I think closed.
I do hope someday to spend time at the igloo hotel in Finland to watch the northern lights. We’ll see.
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There were so many Smithsonians we didn’t get a chance to see! (That Newseum sounds interesting; I’ll have to look up the history of it.)
The northern lights are on my bucket list, and I’ve read about those fun igloo hotels! (Hubby and I also talked about the ice hotel in Sweden, but I’m not sure I could handle it! Brrr!)
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Yes! The northern lights are my top choice, too, Jen! I’d love to go to Iceland. (My daughter went on one of those late-night tours to see them there.) And I bet the Swedes have some cool way to keep the ice hotel warm. I hope.
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Yay for completing most of your tasks! Hoping you get to publish a novel and visit France as a celebration!
Sorry for not getting to see you, Hestia–it really was a whirlwind!
P.S. Signed up for Malice, but I do need to check on one more thing before I totally commit.
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I you have hotel issues, as long as you don’t mind sharing, I got the two double beds, and my roommate had to cancel
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I’m glad you had a great time in DC! I have fond memories of trips there when I was a kid. Then my brother went to Georgetown, so I had fun trips in my 20s.
What I finally got around to doing just happened last week. I paraded with Mardi Gras krewes!
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Thanks, El! Georgetown is neat, and I love how it’s positioned near a waterfront.
Yay! So happy you got to parade around in NOLA!
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When Robin and I were in DC some years ago, we ended up with a counterfeit $20 bill (a vendor pointed this out to us when we tried to use it). So we decided to personally turn it in to the FBI. We were allowed into the building to speak with an agent, who accepted the bill and then chatted with us a bit. It was well worth the $20 we lost!
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What?! Whoa, Leslie! I feel like this should make its way into a short story. How exciting!
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Ha! Maybe!
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I’ve been to DC twice: once as a kid (I don’t remember much except meeting a cute boy from upstate New York and we became penpals) and once when I went to Malice. I didn’t get to do as much as you did (wow!) but I loved the museums!
As for what I “finally” got around to doing, those usually involve a task I don’t want to do. I always laugh when I have something on my to do list for a year and then I finally do it and it takes five minutes.
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How cool, Jen! I’ve never been to D.C., though my wife and one of my kids has. I need to change that.
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Jen, sounds like you hit the highlights! My sister works in DC and lives in Alexandria, so I’ve been there several times. I’ve visited Mt. Vernon a few times, including when it was decorated for Christmas, which I highly recommend. We went to the Newseum, which I really enjoyed. Have visited several of the Smithsonian galleries. Would love to tour the White House!
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Jen, I especially loved the pix of you at the WA Monument at night and in the “Oval Office,” lol. In high school I did one of those Washington Workshop sessions (I had to write a bunch of essays to apply), where you lived at a local college for a couple of weeks, met with your rep, attended tons of legislative sessions and participated in a mock Congress. There were students from all over the country so it was cool to meet kids with completely opposite views. (It was tough passing “bills” even then.) The night monument tour was a highlight, but my favorite was…the FBI! I’m scared to type the actual words so we don’t get dinged by bots, but I loved the demonstrations of skills by the pros. The accuracy, whew. I came home wanting to join the FBI as a career, but at the time both males and were required to be at least 5 feet 6. Oh, and one more thing: It was the 70s, and Watergate was all over the news. My roomie and I had someone take a snowy, bleak photo of us in front of the actual building. I still have it. (I’d had no idea it was a building. I thought it was just some super cool code name)
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Thanks for sharing your highlights, Jen! Kara Lacey, Annie McEwen and I went on a whirlwind tour of some of the DC sites the Sunday afternoon after Malice this past year. I’d love to hit up a few of the Smithsonians!
-Paula Charles
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I think the best of my bucket list was going to Peru for two weeks basically by myself in 1989 as I did not know anyone else. We met up in Miami as a group. I made many friends and spent one week in the Amazon rainforest and then a week in Peru visiting Lima and all of the archeological sites including Macchu Pichu. What a great trip. I cried when I left my husband at the airport as this was so out of my safe place. But it was fabulous. Other places to visit, this time with the husband, were the Grand Canyon, a cruise to the Inside Passage to Alaska, Costa Rica, the Florida Keys, and so many more places like NOLA, San Francisco, Carmel, Savannah, and other places that we loved to visit. Then I went to England by myself but met up with my sister and niece at Heathrow and stayed at a friend of my niece’s house for a week going all over–The London Tower, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, Bath, Stonehenge and on to Paris through the Chunnel for a birthday two-day visit. My best friend’s husband worked for AT&T and was transferred many times. I met them in St. Louis several times, Morristown, New Jersey twice when we went to New Yok many times, Boston, West Point, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Atlantic City, Amish Country, and many more places. Then they were transferred to Mexico City, and we went there to visit. I had been many times to places in Mexico as we grew up 30 miles from the Mexican border in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. I love to travel but as I am getting older, it is not going to happen anymore I do not think. Kudos to all of you, I have been lucky to visit where I have. So many more places to go, but won’t as too old.
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The first year I went to Malice, I went a day early and did a few touristy things in DC. It was fun. But it would be nice to go back.
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Wow, Jen, this is amazing! I didn’t even know you could do most of these things. Thank you for sharing the pics too.
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