Roadtrip Part 1! Family quick trip to Washington DC!

Let me start by saying, road trips have never been my thing. I am more of the drive a few hours, stop, see the city, sleep, get up early, repeat.... type. This summer is the summer I have been dreaming of for the last year. As my days in the Navy winded down, I wanted nothing more than to get in the car  with my family and explore a few spots I've been waiting to see before going to my hometown to see my parents before returning to Virginia for school. So we planned it all out and we did it. At the end of June, my family from Miami flew up (My father in law, mother in law and my sister in law) and we headed to Washington DC for a few days. The trip to DC went very well. While we expected everyone to sleep, no one did. My son Don was singing and requesting songs the entire time. I think he was more excited about having all the family together than anything else.

Once we arrived in DC, we stopped by our hotel, and they were booked completely. I was very exhausted (as I hate road trips), hungry, and upset. Before I could say anything the hotel clerk, who was extremely kind, told us that she had booked us a hotel down the street at the nearest 4.5 hotel she could find. The best news was that the night was on them because of the error. We didn't have to pay for the first night, which means we saved about $300.00! I was happy about that. After we checked into the new hotel, we settled in and loved the room. It had a waterfall shower that I absolutely loved! Then we checked out the MLK Jr. memorial. It was stunning!

We stopped by the Lincoln memorial and took a few photos. In fact, we all stood exactly where MLK Jr. stood when he gave his famous speech.

 The next day we checked our car and luggage into the hotel we originally were supposed to stay at and headed to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The food trucks were lined up and we decided to eat before heading in. Once in the Museum, we were in awe of all of the exhibits. It started with us getting in a extensive line to wait to go to a elevator. The place had just opened not even a hour before and they were extremely packed.  We waited for about 30 minutes and finally made it to the elevator. The elevator took you down about 5 stories and as you went down, it showcased years of importance on the floors you pass. It was really cool but then the elevator guide explained what it all meant with such emphasis, we were super hyped about getting off and exploring.

 Once off the elevator, the exhibits were so detailed and intense that our group didn't stay together. I found myself spending a lot of time in the Slavery and Freedom 1400-1877 floor. It had so much to read about and so much information I never knew before. Like, did you know, that the Central Park in New York City was once a independent village of Black freed slaves? There was a girl from Brooklyn there who told me she lived there all her life and never knew that! While exploring I seen books which fully described the slaves that were sold in Charleston, SC. These descriptions shook me to my spirits. "Mulatto, 30 years of age, can read and write, sew, and cook. Has one baby about 12 months old. Can be sold with or without child." This description sat in my head all weekend. My son is almost 3 but I fit that description. It had me in tears at the museum. Other descriptions reminded me of my friends, family members, etc. I had to force myself to visit the other floors. On the way up, I learned about so much stuff it was slightly overwhelming. I learned so much about Prince Hall, founder of the Black masonic lodge, and his work as a activist.




I seen the shawl Harriet Tubman wore in the famous photo. I couldn't list all I learned if I wanted to. But as we migrated higher up the floors, the years progressed closer to date. There was floor dedicated to the civil rights movement and it highlighted little known folks whom out history books left out. There were sections dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen, sections dedicated to the positive work the Black Panther organization provided as well as movies played on each floor that gave in-depth explanations on what the next floor was concerning. I could go on and on about the museum but Ill stop now to give yall something to look forward to. Regardless of your race, African American heritage and their influence on this Country is apart of your history too as an American. The museum had folks of all races there and it was beautiful seeing so many people interested in learning about Black history and culture considering that we are living in a time which hatred is once again embraced, in certain aspects. OK moving on....

After the museum, we stopped and ate at a cute little bistro outside about three blocks from the museum. Don was glued to his Nana and Papa.

After a hour or so we headed to drive around to see the monuments. Then we went to the hotel, checked in, checked into our rooms and got ready for an adult night out. As we gave our  son to his Auntie, we snuck off to a really cool restaurant that served modern Asian dishes. Blown away. Stuffed, we took an Uber and explored the monuments on capital hill which was the best decision ever! No one was there and we had the whole thing to ourselves. We rode bikes from one monument to the next, which was a great idea. A mile isn't that bad at night when you are riding a bike although Bryan said I looked like something from a scary movie as my dress flowed behind me in the dark.  When we finished all of the tourist stuff, we went back to the room for much needed shower and rest. The next day, we went to breakfast at a cute little affordable restaurant near the hotel and prepared to wrap up for  our trip to head back Norfolk.
This trip was awesome and we did a lot in a few days. We traveled back to Norfolk and rested and prepared for our road trip to Florida. I hope you all enjoyed the pics and this post I can't wait until the next family road trip to DC. Its so big and full of stuff to do. We already have ideas of things we want to add to the list when we go again. What is your favorite part about DC?