My Daughters and I - Are Going Historical! Part I

This week my youngest daughter's best friend is in Washington DC with her school.. When my oldest had the chance to go - I refused to pay the $2200 price tag - I felt that one day I would take her and we would do it up right... Well guess what ladies and gents... The time has come and I can't wait!! This summer I am taking my girls on a Mom and Daughters' American History Vacation...

When it comes to detailing out a vacation - You could easily say that I am very much into the details.. My main objective is to have fun and fit in as much as I possibly can... While looking at my Itinerary for our trip - I can say that every day/hour/minute is accounted for - not much time to twiddle our thumbs and ask ourselves - What shall we do next?

We are flying into Washington DC - right away we will make our way down to Williamsburg - Now Williamsburg is in the middle of two original American settlements - Jamestown and Yorktown. My kids and I are going to see up close and personal the actual places that we they studied when they were in the 5th grade... Jamestown is the first settlement - where Pocahontas met Captain John Smith and later married John Rolfe around 1614. Williamsburg has a Colonial theme and many character actors will show us how life was in the New America.. I have already signed up for a few adventures.. There is much to see here... After our 2 day adventure in the "New America" we will venture towards DC... With a long stop to visit the Father of Our Country's home - Mount Vernon.....

What I love about planning a vacation adventure is learning about the sites that we are going to see.. There is so much that can be missed if you do not educate yourself first.. While planning the trip to Mount Vernon - I learned that it is a very popular destination and if you do not have a pass (to get in the estate) in advance it could be very difficult to get into the premises... So I bought our time/date passes and booked a tour (the Internet is great, isn't it?) So now we are prepared to go visit George..errr President George Washington... I also read there are cherry trees on the estate - I wonder if any of them are direct descendants of the "Original "I cannot tell a lie" tree....

After visiting George - we head to our hotel in DC... Yeah! I have never been to DC so I have spent hours/weeks investigating what are the "Must Sees" and how to see them and experience them. I knew that the Smithsonian would be a big part of our trip.. I'm not the type of person who can stand and observe something for a long period of time.. I'm more of a "that's awesome - okay let's move on" kind of girl..." If my husband were with us - we'd be lucky if we finished one of the museums.. (we'll miss you hun). Because our time is so very limited (only 3.5 full days) - I had to evaluate what I "have to see" and what "I would like to see" and what "I could care less if I see " categories.... My have to sees are as follows: Ford Theater, Spy Museum, White House, National Air and Space Museum, Jefferson Memorial, The Tidal Basin, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korea Memorial, the Washington Monument, Holocaust Museum, American History Museum, and Museum of Natural History... The rest of the museums - would be great but they are not have to... The US Capital, Library of Congress, and Supreme Court buildings will be closed except for one day while we are there and it's not on my "Must Do" list to go inside but we will most definitely go to each of the locations and stand in awe...

I have created an itinerary with a suggested time line for each day in DC - Mostly because the museums close at certain times and to get the most out of them I have to be pretty precise.. For instance - the Holocaust museum is by far the most popular... Although it is free to go in and explore - the museum does use crowd techniques in the busier months.. A visitor must get a time stamped pass to enter the exhibit and many days the passes are gone before noon... Well thanks to the Internet - I was able to obtain passes for the day we would like to go.. With that in mind - the rest of the day's exhibits work around this visit.. Another thing to keep in mind - the Museum of Natural History is the only museum that I discovered charges an entrance fee - mostly to preserve the fragile displays... The entrance is $16 per adult - Paying money to get into this museum may make you want to allot your time more wisely... I know I did...

There is much more to tell you about this Incredible Adventure - I will save it for my next post.