Well, here we are! Traveling to Iceland for the second time in 6 months (it really is that amazing of a place!), and this time we are starting in Washington D.C. for a little sightseeing. Luckily, two of our closest friends, Jeff and Greyson, wanted to vacation with us and so we planned everything together which has made it super fun already. We’ve actually never really gone on an official “vacation” with others before so this was a first for us! Good thing we love them so much.
We all flew in Friday night, checked into our Hotel (The Capitol Hilton) which is nestled right downtown smack dab in the middle of everything. We can actually see the columns of the White House from our room! We woke up Saturday ready to explore.
After a quick survey of what was within a short walking distance, we decided on a really intriguing place called Astro’s Donghuts and Fried Chicken. I love scoping out unusual eats when we travel; this place was legit! I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. It’s a straightforward place – A walk up street shop offering 6 or so different types of gourmet doughnuts and then fried chicken served on buns, biscuits, or really however you want it.
We decided on chicken sandwiches (mine had honey butter and hot sauce!) and a Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jelly donut. So good! Our buddy Jeff went one step further and got a fried egg on his- I deeply regret not doing this too. He also got his on a cheesy biscuit! This was the perfect start to what would turn out to be a very busy day (we walked about 10 miles so I don’t feel too bad about it 🙂 )
From there we set out toward the White House which was not a very far walk at all. The weather was balmy and overcast, but the clouds would burn off later and the sun would come leaving quite a hot spring day for us!
More Walking, More Sightseeing…
We walked to the Smithsonian Castle, The Museum of the American Indian, The Capital, The Washington Monument, and all up and down the Mall. The Climate Change March was taking place (we weren’t aware of this at first but that changed quickly!). There were tens of thousands of people milling around with signs and the streets were shut down as they marched. Pretty cool to watch!
Of course all the walking around made us hungry again! Go figure. The good thing about D.C. is that you won’t want for food anywhere you go. The food truck scene is a force to be reckoned with here! Anything you could want is available. We choose Persian gyros! Plopped down in the grass in the shade and enjoyed lunch with our friends. The people watching should be the #1 rated thing to do in the city on Trip Advisor in my opinion 🙂
We kill it at group selfies.
After a very hot and sweaty afternoon of walking, we freshened up at the hotel and then we were back out a few hours later day drinking at a local dive bar called the Bottom Line. We needed to kill just a little time as we had booked a nighttime tour of D.C. by segway that started at 6pm! A co-worker of mine had recommended we do this as it’s supposed to be an incredibly fun and efficient way to see the sprawling city – and it absolutely was!
If you want to book a segway tour while in D.C. you can’t beat City Segway Tours! The experience and our guide was hilarious and awesome. It takes just a bit of time to get used to the Segway but eventually it becomes so natural that you are convinced you’re controlling it with your mind. The evening was picture perfect- 70 degrees and the sunset over the monuments was spectacular. We whizzed by everything and our guide did a great job of giving us some history and interesting facts. If you ever have a chance to ride a segway, DO IT! It’s now my preferred way of travel 🙂
A little less than 12 hours until our flight leaves for Iceland! I’ll catch you on the other side of tomorrow.
The Wayfaring Friend 