Cherry Blossoms and History

I am a secret history nerd! There I said it.  I will almost always choose to watch any show about WWII  over any "chick flick",  in college I was only one of a handful  of girls in a course on the ramifications of the US Civil War, and the only adult nonfiction books I have ever read have been about American war heroes.  So it should be no surprise how much I truly loved spending my weekend in Washington D.C..

I had been to D.C. one time before, but seeing our Nation's Capital during cherry blossom season made it all seem brand new!  I could hardly contain myself as I bounced around from one monument to the other, of course taking a million pictures of cherry blossoms.

Side note:  I missed the actual Cherry Blossom Festival and Parade by a day, however, if this seems like an event in you'd like to attend in the near future,  click here for the official website and dates. I also recommend staying across the river in Arlington, Va rather than downtown D.C.  The money you will save with be worth the extra 15 minute train ride into the National Mall. 

The above picture was taken from Constitution Gardens.  The Gardens is tucked into the National Mall between the WWII and Lincoln Memorial and is a small lake and island.  On the island is a memorial to the signers of the constitution.  It is a great place to sit and relax, as there were not many visitors. I probably would not have found this place had I not taken a quick glance at Things To Do on the website IgoUgo.com that I highlighted in my last post. It is ranked somewhere around #136, but in my opinion it should be closer to the top 20.

Washington D.C. can be an expensive city to visit, but you can save a few dollars by visiting the Smithsonian Institution and Museums, which are FREE.    Because of my short time frame I was only able to visit the American History Museum.  It would take weeks to visit all 19 museums, but I highly suggest picking at least one to visit!

 Below, going clockwise, you will see the ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz, Kermit the Frog, the entrance, and Mrs. Obama's inaugural dress. 

  Did you know that the monuments are all a part of the US National Park System?  If you're new or old to visiting National Parks make sure you look into getting a National Park Passport so you can collect stamps as you travel and visit the parks.  It a fun way to document your travels with your family.  You can get the "passport" at most visitor centers.
 

 

The museums were fascinating, but what I really cherished was visiting the memorials to honor our Nationals Heroes.  I was in awe of the newest memorial, The National WWII Memorial.

See that little guy? That is Kilroy.  I found him hidden in the WWII memorial thanks to a tip from the website geocaching.com.  I had no clue why he was there or what his significance was to WWII.  Being the curious person I am, I did an in-depth and exhaustive Google search...  it lead me to this information on the little dude .... click here  if you too are curious to know.

If feel that the remainder of my post needs few, if any words to describe my experience. I think the pictures say more than I ever could.  My only suggestion for your visit to the National Mall.... wait around until dusk.  That is when you will really appreciate the enormity of what it is you're seeing.

This memorial (pictured above) was constructed 

in honor of those who served in WWII.

Listen below to the men of

 Easy Company of the US Army 101st Airborne division 

as they describe their experiences.

 

Don't Just Dream.... Start Planning

So you have decided to take the plunge and take a trip.  Congratulations! But, where do you begin? In my experience, this is often the step most people get overwhelmed and bogged down by. Not me! I relish this part of travel. Being the planner that I am, I love researching and getting as much information about a place as I can before I set off.  This way I am not stuck caring  around the ever fashionable travel book that screams "look at me, I'm a tourist!"  It also helps relieve any stress of the unknown. Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks for planning a successful adventure.

First up--  I check in with the website IgoUgo.com


 

 

I really only look at the "Things To Do" section for whatever city I am planning on visiting. It ranks sights and events in order of user reviews and comments.  Another cool feature of this website is the trip planner.  If you sign up for a free account, you can take advantage of a feature that allows you to "bookmark" attractions, hotels, trip journals, etc..  Hit print and you have an outline of your trip ready to take with you.

Once I have a general idea of the things I want to see, I  start looking for a central location to call home for the trip, for this I go to Venere.com.    I describe it as the European version of Expedia.com. I always double check all hotels  by looking at reviews on tripadvisor.com.  I like it because there are smaller hotels to choose from.  I like to stay away from the well known chain hotels.

     Since I usually rely on public metro and city airport trains to get around,      I normally start my search within walking distance of the main train station if possible. This way I am not forced to pay taxi fares or walk a few miles dragging a suitcase behind me. 

By the way, when I travel, I travel light.  One small carry-on. That's it. 

 More on this in a different post, but hence the title of the blog came from.

 

Now I know I am about to contradict my opening statement about never carrying around the "ever fashionable travel book," but once I am on the ground in a city,  I always have "Uncle Rick" tucked into my bag.  Now I don't actually have an uncle named Rick-- I am referring to the one and only travel expert Rick Steves.  I absolutely hate his travel shows on PBS, but I LOVE his travel books.  A good friend introduced me to these books three trips ago. They are a gold mine of practical information, self guided walking tours, and everything else you never knew you would want to know  about the place you are visiting. His humor is also a highlight for me.

Now I challenge you, go off and start planning the trip of your dreams. Even if you have no intention of actually going on a trip, plan it.  You never know.... 

Be brave.... comment below and share your travel dream. 

Up next ... Washington D.C. during cherry blossom season. 

 (See, I  still travel within the USA)