A few weeks ago, we flew to D.C. for a family wedding. Since I’d never been, we decided to make a week-long trip of it. It was also the first vacation-ish trip that we’ve taken with Finn without our parents tagging along for support. (We took him to Virgin Gorda, last year, but the rents were there to help.)
It was also the first time that he’s been on an airplane since he was 7 months old, as last year’s big move prevented a lot of traveling aside from Italy, which Sona and I did by ourselves.
I was a little nervous about it. As I’ve mentioned before, Finn is the world’s most energetic child. He moves CONSTANTLY. Like, he really never, ever sits still. Also, three days before we left, he was diagnosed with a double ear infection.
The plane ride to D.C. was a bit of a challenge. He did okay, but we had to wrestle him into his seat more than a dozen times, and he totally lost his shit at baggage claim in D.C. It was past nap-time, he needed desperately to get out some energy, and we were asking him to sit still and wait. On the way back, though, he was a perfect angel. So, I think some ear discomfort might have contributed to his behavior on the first flight. Or not. You never really know. Complete 180s are a pretty common occurrences with toddlers, and I always prep myself for the fact that it could go either way.
Either way, we had a good time in D.C., after we got past the first day or so of general out-of-sortedness. We rented an AirBnB in a great neighborhood, which was within walking distance of the main highlights, but we didn’t realize that the bedroom didn’t have a door. So, Finn slept in a pack-n-play in the living room and had a clear view of our bedroom. It wasn’t ideal, and it interfered with sleeping just a bit. He took forever to go down for naps, which is super unusual, and we had to hide out in the bedroom the entire time he slept. (It was WAY too bright in the bedroom for naps.) As a result, he was a little bit of a crank that first 24-36 hours.
Sona and I also had a few “Oh, so this is what traveling with kids is going to be like” moments. We needed to adjust our expectations quite a bit, as we are so accustomed to globe-trotting on our own, but once we did, everything was a lot better.
Things really improved once: 1. We recognized that Finn should lead the way, most of the time. 2. We gave up on walking miles and miles in the heat and Ubered to a lot of places, allowing more time to explore and less time spent in transit. 3. We honored nap time. 4. We gave up on trying to do a lot of indoor dining with Finn, opting for picnics and outdoor options, instead. 5. We let him walk/run more than he was in the stroller. 6. We found a playground and a splash-pad near our apartment, which gave Finn a sense of normalcy, as we do those things at home a lot. 7. We had a babysitter come after he went to bed in the evenings, giving Sona and I a chance to have adult time and explore some of the good eats D.C. has to offer.
All in all, it ended up being a really great little trip, and I’m glad we worked out the kinks of traveling with a toddler before we take a bigger trip later this year.
Here are a ton of pics:
We were super ambitious and walked to the White House pretty much as soon as we got off the plane.
We were kind of surprised that, despite a lot of greenspace, D.C. didn’t actually have a lot of parks or playgrounds that were for little kids. In Chicago, we are spoiled by a plethora of playgrounds! But we did find Stead Park, which was just a few blocks from our AirBnB, and it was a total hit!
We did the National Mall on our second day.
Finn really enjoyed our picnic by the water, watching the ducks.
The morning ceremony was at a Hindu temple about 30 minutes outside of the city. Finn didn’t do so well there, but he did enjoy the music. (Another lesson: don’t take a toddler to a wedding!)
It was nice to get dressed up–and have my BFF babysit–for the evening wedding ceremony.
The fried chicken, honey butter, hot sauce, and donut sandwich at Astro Donuts is what dreams are made of! We went three times. Don’t judge us!
Someone at the wedding recommended the paddleboats on the Potomac, and it was SO much fun!
We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with dinner at Le Diplomate. SO yum!
We had a babysitter 4 of the nights we were in town, and it allowed us to enjoy the nightlife a bit.
Our D.C. Faves and Recommendations:
- Eat at Astro Donuts–like 10 times, at least
- Rent a paddleboat from Tidal Basin
- Have pina coladas and empandas at Colada Shop
- Have dinner (or brunch) at Le Diplomate–get the gougeres and seafood tower
- Get ice cream at Ice Cream Jubilee
- Make the most of the toddler-friendly main attractions: White House, National Mall, Smithsonian Natural History Museum
- Eat at Compass Rose
- Visit Stead Park for the playground and splash pad