Charlotte 2 Canada - By Car - The Capitol State #roadtrip #travel_blog

It was the year 2006. The very first time I visited Niagara Falls. Mesmerized by its elegancy and the grandness I was standing there looking at the people in the long distance. By pointing at the Rainbow Bridge and the Giant Wheel on the other side of the falls my Husband exclaimed that "the falls might look more beautiful from the Canadian Side I Believe"!!!

As a true Indian Immigrant we planned our Canada trip as soon as we received our Green Card. To refresh our Kids' memory we planned it as a road trip and decided to visit places along the way.

N.C to D.C

One fine morning we started our drive from Charlotte, N.C. After 6 hours of driving with couple of pit stops and crossing Virginia State we checked in at our hotel around 4:00 in the evening. Usually most of us will stay in suburbs like Fairfax, Dulles(VA), Baltimore(MD). We too did the same and booked ours in Camp Spring, MD.

We freshened up ourselves quickly and drove (20mins due to traffic) to the Metro station and took a direct train to the White House. It was a breezy evening and we took our share of pics in front of President's house and walked towards Washington Monument. It was a quick 10 minutes walk. Sun was setting behind us so we were able to take some beautiful silhouettes  at the monument surrounded by all those  flags.

Next morning we drove just 10 mins and parked our car in one of the train stations. This time we had to transit two metro trains (WMATA) to reach our destination - National Malls and Memorial Parks where all the museums are located.

Usually we park our car at the Union Station (need to pay for parking) and take DC circulators or cabs to roam around the attractions but this time we utilized the facility of Metro Trains pretty well. The tickets come as a prepaid cards which we swipe at the entrance and the exit. You could get on and get off at anywhere you would like. 

The card itself costs certain $ so it is wise to save up the card and recharge it as we go. If you buy one day pass ($14) you could also use it in the Metro Buses which goes around the attractions but unfortunately not valid with the Circulators.

There is no parking fee in the metro stations except in Park&Ride. I wouldn't suggest this way of commute for senior citizens as it involves stair climbing and walking (only few foots though).

Washington monument enables you to enjoy the sky view of the city at certain elevation. Those tickets had to be purchased in advance online or limited tickets will be issued everyday somewhere closer to the monument at 9 A.M. We didn't plan well so missed to enjoy the view. May be next time!!

All museums will be opened at 10 A.M and closes at 5 P.M. so it is better to visit monuments ( Lincoln, Jefferson, Martin Luther King) and Attractions like White House, War Memorials in the evenings. (reserving the morning time for the museums).

It is wise to eat lunch inside the museums which saves time and energy.

All Smithsonian Museums are free yet timed entries are in place so it is advisable to book our time slots online prior to our visits. There are some other attractive museums such as Spy Museum and Children Museum are there but they are ticketed!!!

Since it is our 4th time in Washington, DC we decided to skip the popular National History Museum and Aero Space Museum. We entered the Asian Art Museum spent an hour or so then rushed (that's what we do!) to The Black History Museum.

You need solid 3-4 hours at the Black History Museum as it is filled with lots of information. Even though it was overwhelming and was difficult to process all those history in this short time, it is a worthy place to visit IMO. 

"The Mint Museum - where we can see how the money is printed and the coins are engraved" was in our list unfortunately it was closed for the public during that time.

Later in the Afternoon we visited Holocaust Museum. As we all much familiar with this history it was interesting and engaging at the same time. It required couple of hours to the max. In the same building there is a exhibit about Burma's Path to Genocide which we didn't visit as we were really tired.

After this we hopped on to DC Circulator (Bus) to visit Monuments and Capitol Building. Finally We went into the closest sub way station and caught the metro to our stop. Finished our dinner (Costlier!) in one of the Indian Restaurant (Alexandria, VA) and got back to the hotel room.

It was our last day in Washington D.C. We went to Shiva Vishnu Temple And Murugan Temple of Washington. Both the temples are close by. 

Again we drove to the closest metro station, parked and rode the train to the same location. (As it was closer to afternoon it was difficult to find parking at the stations)

Around lunch time we entered American History Museum. This place is designed as a mall and more entertaining. Good Mall to visit with kids and might need at least 3 hours to cover all the floors.

Out time in Washington D.C came to an end around 5:00 in the evening. With tiring body and overflowing mind we bid farewell to the Nation's Capitol and started driving towards Garden State.

More Miles to Cover..