After our exciting 3-days in New York (part 4), it is time for a road trip as we head to Philadelphia!
Getting There
The thing about a two-week vacation in the East Coast is that we really tried to cover as much states as we can. Daddy S and I both wanted to see Philadelphia for two different reasons (which you will find out later on :-)). Other than those, we felt like we can explore the rest of Philly some other time thus, we opted to go on a day trip. then head on to Washington afterwards. With that, we decided to take a rent a car . Other options of going to Philly from New York will be either by bus, train or local flight.
Hello Philly
After about two hours on the road, we finally got to Philadelphia. It was almost lunch time, just about time to tick off one of Daddy S’ item in his East Coast bucket list, which is to eat Philly Cheesesteak. We went over to one of the popular restaurants, Cleavers.
Cleaver’s Philly Cheesesteak did not disappoint. I was amazed with how big the serving sizes are. Two sandwiches were more than enough for me, Daddy S and Heinel. I personally love the one with barbecue sauce. it was filling that the three of us almost did not finish the two sandwiches.
After filling up our tank, we headed to the main reason for visiting Philly by going to the Phildelphia Museam of Art.
This is a must-see for me,and it definitely was worth the drive. It was beyond beautiful.
It also has a breathtaking view of the city. We were blessed to have come here in a such a beautiful day.
Aside from the Museum of Art, one of the major reasons why we headed to Philly was to see this famous statue. You probably guessed it by now, Rocky Balboa is one of Daddy S’ must-see in Philly.
Rocky’s statue is definitely one of the popular sites as there was long queue of people waiting for their turn to have their pictures taken. As the movie was shown in the 70s-80s, i am surprised that among the ones waiting in line are young ones who were not born yet when the movie was shown.
Enroute to the our next destination, we passed by this beautiful structure which turned out to be Philadelphia’s city hall. Majestic, isn’t it?
Another historical landmark worth seeing in Philadelphia is the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. However, after seeing the long lines to the Bell and even to the parking lots, we decided to skip these and mark it in our “next time” list,
With that, we concluded our quick stop to Philadelphia. It was definitely super short. There are more that we wanted to see. No regrets though as we were able to experience what we came here for.
We hit the road again as this time we are on our way to Washingtong D.C.
Washington D.C.
Getting there
Our roadtrip continues and this time it took us about 2.5hours to get to Washington DC from Philadelphia. I think on a regular day, the drive would have been much faster. However, since we went there on a Memorial Day weekend, traffic was kind of slow as there were a lot of vehicles going in and out of states. It’s a good thing that we have such a happy bunch inside the car which made the trip fun despite the traffic.
It was late afternoon when we arrived in DC. As being the capital of the United States, I used to just see this state in the movies especially about politics or law enforcement. It feels surreal to actually be there and see this side of the US.
Accommodations
For the duration of our stay in DC, we were checked-in at Holiday Inn. We had a very pleasant stay as the rooms are spacious yet affordable. Around the vicinity of the hotel are convenient store and restaurants. It is also near the tourist sites which make it all the more ideal location especially for those travelling with kids.
We only had one whole day to see DC and so we tried to make the most out of it. Good thing that most of the tourist attractions are in one area so it was not that hard to move around.
One can not be in Washington and miss seeing The White House. There is pretty much a lot going on by its vicinity since it was a holiday. The level of their freedom of speech and expression is actually quite very interesting to witness.
For a fee, a guided tour around the White House is available. However, one has to schedule the tour months before the travel date. Walk-ins are definitely not allowed.
Around the White House are various government offices. Its buildings are quite impressive too!
Just a few blocks from The White House is National Mall, which is probably the busiest place on a Memorial Day Weekend. In here are most of the historical landmarks in DC are located.
Some say it is not a good idea to visit DC on this holiday because of the crowds, but personally, I think being here on the day where fallen heroes are celebrated and honored adds more meaning to the trip.
First on our list on National Mall structures is one of the famous historic landmark in the United States, the Washington Monument. The structure was built in honor of the late President George Washington.
Usually, going up the Monument is allowed. However, during our visit it was temporarily closed due to some renovations.
Fun fact: when we arrived in DC, one thing that I noticed is that there are no high-rise buildings. As our uber driver told us, it was because there is a law called Height Buildings Act wherein it restricts any type of building in the city to 90, 130 or 160 feet tall depending on their zoning. With that law, the Washington Monument becomes the tallest structure in the city and can be seen above the skyline from afar. Pretty neat, right?
Across the Washington Memorial is World War II Memorial.
Daddy S and I get to refresh our history lessons while in here. It was also a great opportunity for Heinel to learn about the war and how our country was among those who fought in it.
About a mile walk from World War II memorial is Lincoln Memorial. We did not mind the distance though as the park has some stunning views.
We also got to stop for some cooling refreshments!
That was some walk! The Lincoln Memorial is crowded by this time. So we just had to take a quick photo to give way for others. But still, it was worth seeing it up close.
It was cool seeing how far we walked with this view from Lincoln Memorial..
Aside from historical structures, there are also a number of museums in National Mall. A big hit among the kids is National Air and Space Museum.
Kids and and even adults will have fun in here. There are several exhibits about different air crafts and spaceships, explaining how each has evolved over time with the help of research and technology.
The museum is also interactive as there are several hands-on exhibitions that kids can try out for themselves to help them understand various concepts such as gravity, altitude, speed and a lot more.
Hendrix was particularly interested with the solar system, especially of the live scale of the sun.
Their exhibit about the Solar System is quite impressive too.
There are also some virtual reality rides that you can try with your kids. I got to ride one with Heinel and it was really cool!
I would definitely recommend taking your family The National Air and Space museum. It will be a fun learning experience for the whole family. Since the museum closes early (5:30pm), it will be best to come early, or at least after lunch so the whole family can have time to move around and even try out the kids.
This ends our trip in Washington DC. I would say, it was an amazing experience. From being in New York city where everything feels modern and fast paced, DC kind of slows us down and allowed us to get to know more of United States as we had a glimpse of its history.
Next, me and the boys are headed to Florida for some good old theme park time! Stay tuned for our next blog!
