DISCLAIMER: Sorry, but this is going to be a long post!!
This weekend it was REALLY cold weekend in Washington, DC with highs only in the 30’s and wind chills even lower! But we braved the chill to enjoy the capital all dressed up for the holidays and were rewarded for our efforts.
After a late start on Friday night, we arrived at the Omni Shoreham. What a classic hotel- a grand dame of DC. The lobby is decked out with over a dozen individually themed and decorated Christmas trees that people bid on, with the proceeds donated to the Special Olympics. Abby’s favorite was the Disney themed tree, its ornaments being stuffed animals.
Saturday was a self-guided walking tour. On the Ellipse- the National Christmas Tree and Ye Olde Yule Log, the White House and Treasury Building were the mornings sights. We started to get hungry and luckily Abby decided that she was not in the mood for the food court, so we kept walking and stumbled onto a Pret a Manger- probably one of our favorite cafes in the world! After a visit to a Christmas Market, it was back to the Shoreham for a break before the ZooLights at the National Zoo.
Sunday brought a cold, rainy day. We toughed out the weather and headed to the Noon Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Really pretty church that took over 80 years to complete. We then took a late brunch at Dupont Circle before wandering through the Kramerbooks and wandering through the stacks. We finished the day at Kennedy Center for the Holiday Pops concert- which was a nice treat!
Staci was in her conference all day Monday, leaving the day to just Abby and I. Abby made her choices and we were off! National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Castle and the American History Museum were the days activities. The evening brought the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial and the Willard Intercontinental Hotel. Dinner warmed us up before a freezing trip back to the Ellipse to see the tree and yule log lit up at night!
We spent Tuesday morning recovering! I took Abby across the street to Open City for an excellent breakfast and then packed up for the trip home. On the way, we took a detour to Monkton to hang out with Alec and Megan. Had a great time hanging out and a good dinner out of it too!
And to cap off an awesome weekend: On US 1 in Nottingham, PA we saw a really big display of Christmas lights from the highway. We made a U-Turn to see what it was…and it turned out to be a treat! The Herr’s factory has the ‘Holiday Tradition Family Lights’ display. 400,000 lights are displayed as you drive around the Herr’s grounds. Awesome display and definitely worth the trip if you’re local! Here’s a link to check it out for yourself! Herr’s Holiday Lights Family Tradition
Lastly- here’s a slideshow with some of the highlights! Click the balloon icon to see any captions that might pop-up…
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Rambling, rantings and musings... 