(4/2/24) Arrived in DC around 5pm… Weather is in the 50s
Pavlina picked us up at the airport and took us to her lovely home.
I see my first cherry blossom sighting in front of her house
That night, she cooked us dinner (salmon and broccoli) and we catch up
It’s been exactly 1 year since our kumono Kudo hike!
She made us 1st nettle soup!
We called Eric together that night.
After dinner, we took a stroll around her neighborhood by the lake and went to sleep
Day 1 (4/3/24) Country Roads, Skyline Drive, and Nettle Soup
Full day in Virginia with Pavlina despite having heavy rain in the forecast.
Woke up in Manassas, Virginia in Pavlina’s home.
Today we drove to see the countryside of Virginia; here are places we visited.
- Grace church-church was closed, but with Pavlina’s magic, we were able to pay a quick visit inside to pray in the sanctuary
- Visit June the healer- greet with Charlie (the dog) and then a nice garden that feels like you’re in the countryside Europe. She invited us inside her farmhouse for tea and chat; I enjoyed watching her feed Cardinals and sparrows.
- Sky Meadows State Park- quick 1 mile hike in the mist and rain… feeling like Kumono Kudo one year ago.
- Delaplane Cellars- escape rain to wine tasting! We had wine with Virginia sampler (charcuterie) and a view!
- Shenandoah National park- rain subsided a little. I love Skyline drive with fog. It was so mysterious … then we stumbled upon Appalachian trail!
- With little sunlight left, Pavlina took us to Manassas Battlefield- to see the famous bridge, Colonel Sherman’s sign, and Virginia bluebells!
- Thai food for dinner
- Nettle soup… I’m into foraging… so when Pavlina went out to her yard and pick nettles and made soup for us, I was fascinated and delighted by this grass that can heal gout and many illnesses. More on that later.
- Dessert(coconut ice cream) to end the day.
Day 2 Cherry Blossoms, Potomac River, and Luthier
(Stay with Pavlina)
(4/4/24)
- Kenwood Cherry Blossoms Community- Instead of Washington DC, we visit this cute neighborhood in Maryland. In the early 1930s, a local developer planted cherry trees as a way to promote the neighborhood to home buyers. Now there’s over 1,200 trees here. Since blossoms peak after DC, we still get to see them, such a beautiful neighborhood with nice houses.
- Stopped by Potomac river to see a canal lock, more bluebells and Pavlina found Nettles by the river!!!
- Pavlina used to be a luthier (person who makes violins). This day she took us to make some business at a local Violin Shop. We were pleasantly surprised to see so many violins in the house.
- Secret Door Museum in DC- This is a mansion made up of 5 townhouses, over 100 rooms and 70 secret doors to explore. It has wide collection of music and sports memorabilia, everywhere you turn, there is a surprise! The coolest part is when you discover a secret door with your favorite band and music inside the room. We saw Prince, Audrey Hepburn, Rosa Parks, Beatles, and Michael Jackson’s rooms. Some of us can stay here for a long time while others may find it a bit overwhelming. There’s also a garden outside in case you need a break.
I had fun looking for secret doors, it was harder than expected. The other fun part is looking at collection of music and sports memorabilia. Paul could have stayed longer
- Pho for lunch
- This is the sad part- Say goodbye to Pavlina
- Walked to White House; Then Lincoln Memorial; where MLK gives the famous speech over looking at Washington Monument. Such a powerful location; full of history!
Day 3 National Mall, Museums, and a Greek/Lebanese/Italian Restaurant (4/5/24)
(Check in to Westin DC)
Fun fact: Both kids have visited Washing DC, Paul and I the last in our family to visit!
During our visit; we saw lots of monuments, museums, neighborhoods, learned so much history about our country, our presidents. I am still processing and probably will be processing for a while. I didn’t know how much I miss East Coast until I visited Washington DC; it has reminded me so much of Europe. After all, British and French used to occupy there. Metro system works like a charm!
As if that’s not enough, we had a serendipity moment of running into Torrance, Nicole, and the family!
(We see lots of 8th grader since we’re there during spring break.)
This morning we took the Metro in DC to
- the Capitol Building!
From there, we went into visitor center, surprisingly we were able to get the same day tour to see 3 rooms in the Capitol including the crypt, rotunda, and statue rooms.
- Botanic Garden
- the American History Museum, meander through the Star-Spangled Banner Exhibition to learn about the war, song, and legacy of the American flag. Step back in time to see a uniform worn by President George Washington from 1789 until his death in 1799.
- American Natural history museum.
- Asian Art Museum
Imagined Neighbors: Visions of China in Japanese Art examines Japanese artistic understanding of China from the late 1600s, Japan’s period of seclusion, to its age of modernization after the mid-nineteenth century. It focuses on ways Japanese painters from the late 1600s to the twentieth century pictured China, both as a real place and as an imagined promised land.
- Greek/Lebonese/Italian restaurant
Day 4 Windy day, Monument Tour, and Airport
Last day in DC (4/6/24)
Today I booked a monument tour with Rob from TripHackDC.com 9-12pm
Grab a croissant from WaWa and took Metro to Smithsonian Station.
We then walked to Thomas Jefferson Memorial to meet Rob
- Saw Stumpy
- Still some cherry blossoms
- Thomas Jefferson Memorial- learned he likes coffee, and not tea (hates British)
- Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial- largest memorial for a president due to his longest time served during depression and WWII
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial- Out of Mountain of despair, comes out Stone of Hope
- Korean War Veterans Memorial
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial
- World War II Memorial
Call your Mother Deli- one of the best bagel in DC!
Time to go home!
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