Sometimes it can be tough to live so far away from my family. When I left Kentucky for good after college it was definitely bittersweet saying goodbye to my parents. They have been so incredibly supportive of me all my life! But, I think that 700+ miles can sometimes be good for our relationship because when we do get to see each other, we really enjoy our time together. When my mom mentioned going on a ‘girl’s trip’ just the two of us I was totally gung-ho! Usually when I see my parents, we’re all together but as I grow older I’ve come to realize the importance of getting to know my parents separately as individuals. Seeing my parents as people and not just ‘parents’ is one of those parts of becoming an adult that no one really mentions. My mom and I decided on DC for the trip and it was an incredible trip! We stayed at the historic and beautiful Watergate Hotel nestled perfectly between the National Mall and Georgetown. Here’s some photos of the property – special thanks to the team at the Watergate for accommodating us over the weekend! We enjoyed treatments at the spa and dined at the incredible Backroom at the Kingbird.
As for the sightseeing, fortunately we had wonderful weather for most of the trip (save for a few hours in a wet monsoon) so we were able to walk everywhere and racked in over 12 miles during our weekend.
Our first day we met up at the airport in the morning and had our mother-daughter favorite oatmeal before heading to our hotel. We freshened up and hit the streets! Because I love biking, I convinced my mom to try the DC Bike Share Program, similar to CitiBike in NYC. We parked the bikes just outside the National Mall and toured the monuments and memorials. Washington D.C. is so gorgeous in the fall! During the course of the weekend we visited Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, The White House, The United States Capitol, The Smithsonian and the incredibly harrowing Holocaust Museum. One of my favorite sights was the indoor botanical gardens which are filled with plants from all over the world! Gerry was actually in D.C coincidentally with our friend Cullen who was competing in a bike race in the Capitol city so the three of us checked out Georgetown together. I just love the restaurants and shops in that area!
