We kicked off our summer with a trip to Washington D.C., Both D.C., and New York are an easy ~2 hour ride from Philadelphia presenting themselves as natural contenders for a weekend getaway.
I wouldn’t say that traveling with the girls proved easy mostly because Eliza, who is just about to turn two, has decided to become a highly selective eater. We made the most of our trip despite Eliza’s refusal to nap, a newly acquired penchant for french fries, and the belief that she has a right to declare an end to our meal whenever.
The journey is just as important as the destination. We took the girls on the train which was an exciting experience for them and a more or less relaxing one for us.
Did you know that you could ride the train in this arrangement, too?
Once in D.C., we spent our time visiting the Postal Museum, the National Building Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery. The girls loved the Kogod Courtyard at the National Portrait Gallery; Eliza couldn’t get enough of the “feet-in/hands-on” water features and Sophia spent her time coloring and drawing. She must have been inspired by what she saw at in the exhibits.
The building museum was new to us and we loved their hands-on building exhibits for children. They had a child-sized home complete with a kitchen and a living room. Sophia donned on an apron and started to cook.
Eliza was fascinated by all things building blocks and trains.
One of the exhibits at the building exhibit was called “Small Stories” and featured doll houses from as early as the 18th century. The detail and craftsmanship was extraordinary as were the stories of the families who owned these works of art. There was one doll house, built in 1740, which was passed down from mother to oldest daughter. Each daughter added and embellished the house until the early 20th century when it was sold to the Victoria and Albert museum in London.
At the postal museum, the girls started their very own stamp collections and … 
even made a custom stamp. 
They learned how mail used to be hand-sorted by hand-keying the first three numbers of the zip. Sophia and Eliza also tried sorting packages into special bins organized by state/city/region.
As usual with getaways and vacations, our visit was far too short. Everyone got back thoroughly tired and hungry but enriched from all the new things that we saw, experienced, and learned. Until next time, Washington, D.C., We will definitely back—later for longer.