Travel Missteps: 1 Thing Not To Do In Washington DC

Protesters in front of the Jefferson Memorial at night.

So I pushed myself hard. On the first day I went on a guided tour of to the National Archives, then browsed the special exhibits of the Smithsonian Castle. Next I headed over to the Natural History Museum excited to see the Dinosaur hall. I then attempted to see the Holocaust Museum but all the tickets for the day had been taken, so I wandered around the children’s area before heading out. After the long walk back to the National Mall I walked through the Freer Museum, the Slacker Gallery, and the African Art Museum (mainly because all 3 of these are connected via underground passageways.) At that point it was 5 PM and all the museums were closed…except for the Natural History Museum so couldn’t pass up seeing it again on the way back. By this point my feet were really hurting, but I pressed on to walk multiple blocks to the National Portrait Gallery as it was still open, and near my hotel. I then made it back to the hotel and passed out.

For those counting, that was 8 different museums visited in one day. The Holocaust Museum being the only one I didn’t walk through every exhibit. And I was talking the entire time from my hotel all the way down to the mall, then off to the Holocaust Museum, and then walked the long way to the National Portrait Gallery. It was crazy! I later learned I walked past over 5 metro stations between the hotel and the museums! I really should have looked into using the metro beforehand. But it was such a nice day that it didn’t even cross my mind. And I was having such a great time.

The next day I had great plans of conquering the rest of Smithsonian Museums but it took sheer willpower to just see all of the American History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. (Side note for those that don’t know, seeing those museums in that order is a great way to see the history of travel methods.) I was starting to get museum out. I couldn’t focus on reading any more information cards on the objects I was seeing. Thankfully those museums have great showpieces and are engaging. But I felt bad about not reading the insightful info cards.

It was midday and I was walking towards the National Gallery of Art when I couldn’t continue any further. I knew if I sat down on a bench I wouldn’t get up for ages, and it was hot.  I walked through the sculpture gardens and then suddenly came upon a giant fountain. And my prayers were answered, people were talking off their shoes and soaking their feet. I joined them, and sat there for a good long while. The fountain had an amazing view of the National Archives and was very cool on a hot summer’s day. After relaxing by the fountain I made my way back to the hotel to take a short nap before going on a night monuments walking tour. The night tour was great, but at this point I was exhausted and was just moving for the sake of moving. I thought if I stopped moving, I’d never get back up. But I made it back to the hotel in one piece.

This was heaven!

The third day I once again got up extra early but this time took the metro to save my poor feet. I had a tour of the Capitol which was nice to see. I had an opportunity to meet with my state representatives, but when I found out I would need to go to their offices to get passes for the floor….I said screw it. I wasn’t going to be wandering around the Hill chasing down politicians. Instead I took the connecting hallway from the Capitol building to the Library of Congress. It was so beautiful that I just sat in the Library of Congress for a long time. Partly from pure exhaustion and partly because I was so mesmerized by the fine detailing of the architecture. By the afternoon I was too exhausted so sent back to the hotel to sleep. I knew the next day would be a completely full day and so I had to save my strength.

Walking up to the Capitol

The last day my mother joined me and we went on a river tour to Mt. Vernon. Instead of lots of walking on concrete pathways, my poor feet were greeted with steep and dusty trails, and long lines to see George Washington’s grave and house. Later I quickly walked through the accompanying museum and then eagerly awaited the return of the boat to take us back.

Then I had an important choice.  This was the last day, should I rest? Or should I see one last bucket list item? I decided to keep the momentum and take a metro to the National Zoo to see the Giant Pandas before it closed for the night. I rushed there, and was able to see the Giant and Red Pandas. I stayed there for a while just taking it all in. I then walked back to the metro, and was thankful that there was a metro stop that exited into the building my hotel was attached to. I made it back, and fell fast asleep.

I would have definitely wanted to see more on this trip, but my poor choice to walk everywhere on the first day screwed up my schedule as I was just dead on my feet. The trip was quick, and amazing but I learned a very valuable lesson on pacing oneself.

Travel Missteps is an every-other week series on how sometimes part of the journey is making mistakes and getting lost.