When we were discussing our plans for April, we decided that since the BF had two days off for Easter, we could go somewhere and explore. Since his dad lives in Washington D.C., and it was relatively cheap for the both of us to get there (Amtrak for the win!), it made the perfect spot. The last time I had visited D.C., I was probably about eight years old, so I was excited to go back as an adult.

On our first day, we took the Metro over to the National Mall and walked around. I am absolutely obsessed with this gorgeous fountain that is right smack in the middle of the Mall. X tells me that they turn it into an ice skating rink during the winter months.

We then headed over to The Smithsonian Institute – National Museum of Natural History, which is completely free to enter. There are donation boxes all over the museum and you should probably drop something in if you can! Here you will find the elephant from the Night at the Museum movie! I think my favorite was either the Mammal Hall or the Ocean Hall.

After that, we made our way over to the National Air and Space Museum. On the way, you can get a nice snapshot of the United States Capitol as well as the Washington Monument.

The National Air and Space Museum has the world’s largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft, which is pretty neat and interesting to look at.

On our second day, we drove over to the United States National Arboretum, which features over 446 acres of trees, scrubs, plants, and flowers. It was a really nice day so we took a very leisurely walk around the grounds. We had visited during Azalea blooming, which was beautiful to see. There is also a very extensive Bonsai Exhibit in the museum – many of them are over a 100 years old.

On our third day, we drove to Virginia to visit the Luray Caverns, which is an underground cavern system with hundreds of stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. The entire trek is about 1.5 miles long and takes about an hour to finish. My favorite part was the Dream Lake which has a mirror-like appearance. The stalactites are reflected in the water, making them look like stalagmites. The water is only about 20 inches deep, but the reflection makes it look a lot deeper.

I didn’t end up taking any food photos – I know, how dare I?! But here are some amazing restaurants that I highly recommend –

• Tico DC
• Rosa Mexicano
• Lebanese Taverna