Great American Road Trip 2011: Washington, DC

Last Updated on February 16, 2022

Rain, rain go away…With the approach of Hurricane Irene, the weather in DC and everywhere on the East Coast has been wet and gray. What was a sunny morning turned into heavy rain by the time we were ready to go, but instead we stayed in an re-arranged plans for the road trip through the Carolinas. We won’t be able to visit Virginia Beach, the Outer Banks and some other coastal stops on the way down to Charleston. Stay tuned for where we are headed next!

Luckily, the rain stopped this afternoon, and we headed down to Obama’s house…

On our walk over, we discovered that DC has the same exact bike rental system as in Montreal, which we loved and used the whole time we were there. Dozens of Capital Bikeshare stations are spread throughout the city, and users have unlimited 30-minute bike rentals for $8 all day.

So we hopped on our bikes and rode through the neighborhoods of DC, finishing the evening with a visit to the National Mall and saw the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building and all the grand buildings along Pennsylvania Avenue regally lit under a clear night sky.

Tomorrow, rain or shine, we’ll be out again for our last day in DC. We’d love to hear your rainy day suggestions for DC just in case, or ideas for where to spend the day in the neighborhoods of the capital, in addition to all the classic Washington DC attractions.

Don Faust

Friday 26th of August 2011

Put on your raincoats and see the Smithsonian museaums - that could take you a couple of days to do, unless you get bored first. They're free too!

Once museum I found very fascinating was the Newseum - it's a museum of the development of the the press in the US, and has some very significant moments in news coverage - wars, equal rights, freedom of speech, 911, etc. It's privately owned, so I think it costs you about $18 to get in. I spent 8 hours in there over the course of two days.

jess

Sunday 28th of August 2011

Don, we were lucky and the rain didn't come until Saturday. We still went into a couple of museums - the only places with air-con, the heat was unbearable! Really wanted to go to the Newseum, but we just ran out of time. Made it to the Air & Space Museum and the Spy Museum. With the Capitol Building tour, the monuments, the National Archives and the Memorials our day was packed :) Had a great day - perfect timing before the storm hit :D

Jaime

Im glad to see cities in the US have the bike rentals. I had never seen them in my life until I got to Europe and thought why don't we have these at home. Well now I know it's TEXAS that doesn't have them...lol!

Dani

We have to admit that we were very surprised to see the bicycle share system in the U.S.!! We didn't think they'd launch them here but I am sure that they will spread out throughout the country in the next few years. I want to see them in every city!! :) What a great concept.

Paige

Welcome! You should have a nice, sticky, calm-before-the-storm kind of day today! So many fun neighborhoods to explore: Capitol Hill and Eastern Market; H St. NE with its tons of quirky restaurants and bars (and Dangerously Delicious Pies); Columbia Heights has some fun spots: the Museum of Unnatural History, BloomBars, and my favorite wine bar, Room11; 14th Street art galleries - check out tiny Transformer at 14th and P, and be sure to go to any location of Busboys and Poets - inspirational and delicious hangout.

Thanks Paige! You were right with the 'calm before the storm' - there were barely any visitors in the Capitol Building, we were in a group with only 6 other people, the guide said usually there are 40 to 50! Thanks for all the recommendations, we didn't make it to any bars & restaurants except for the Capital City Diner and Ethopian for dinner, but we will make sure to check them out on our next visit.

Related posts: