Pictures - picked among 1500 pictures
Map
Intro
I have the Christmas week off from work and didn't want to stay at home for 1.5 weeks. So I started looking for short-haul flight destinations, and Southwest happens to have a sale Buffalo to Baltimore for $100 round-trip vs. much higher fares for NYC/Boston/LA/Las Vegas/Florida
I have wanted to visit Washington DC for many years (for Cherry Blossom, and that I've never been to DC), so the decision was easily made and thankfully I booked a good 4 full days in DC to truly enjoy everything it has to offer.
Lastly, all attractions are FREE in DC, so we can come in and out easily, with a baby
12/24 Travel Day
- Left home late (10 am instead of 9 am) and arrived at Buffalo airport only 20 minutes ahead of departure. Thankfully the US custom only took 30 minutes and hotel shuttle was fast. Southwest flights felt really short and rushed because we fed Ella on the plane, and SW still gives free drinks and peanuts/pretzels.
- Upon arrival at Baltimore, we had food court lunch and took the B30 bus ($6/person) to Greenbelt Metro and subway's to Crystal City to walk to our hotel, and went out for Thai food for dinner.
12/25 Christmas
12/26
12/27 the only rainy day
12/28
- Library of Congress - Thomas Jefferson Building, missed the tour as it was full
- US Capitol Tour - Definitely worth taking as guides take you to see the Rotunda dome
- Took the Maryland MARC train to BWI airport, and again, last ones to board (our names were called urgently in the PA system, that's a first)
12/29 Buffalo
- Checked out with leisure, visited Target ($40) and Walden Galleria for PF Chang Happy Hour
- Drove home to see snow @@
Transportation, Safety, Food
Overall DC is easy to get around on the Metro, unfortunately the National Mall area (especially the West Mall where monuments/memorials are) still can only be walked around vs. every attraction has a Metro stop within 5 minutes. Be prepared to WALK A LOT!!
Getting to/from airport (BWI or IAD) can be annoying though, allocate 1.5 hour each way
Safety is very good with police around all the time, never felt in danger even at night
Food We didn't dine out much, in part due to the rush schedule, holidays closing, and free breakfast/dinner from the Residence Inn hotels (3 breakfasts, 2 dinners)
Hotel
Night 1 - Radisson Reagan National Airport - $100 USD
- This was actually a last minute addition, thanks to the Radisson's "Earn 50000 points for 1 night stay". Club Carlson 50000 points is enough for one free night in Europe 5* hotel, so I shorten my Marriott stay and paid $90 (+tax/fees) for a stay at Radisson with free breakfast. Think of it as "Pay $100 for a fancy hotel stay in future". Some people even found a loophole of "phantom stay" where they found a Texas Radisson to check-in over the phone. People called from Ireland, geez
- Turns out, I earned 60000 points instead of 50K, due to bonus here and there!! I love them already
Night 2~4 - Marriott Residence Inn DC/Capitol, with Kitchen. $432 USD
- This was the highlight of our trip, because Wendy wanted a Kitchen, Fridge to prepare baby food, so our choices were very limited in DC, and Priceline/Hotwire is out of the question due to their "unknown hotel" nature, so Residence Inn it is...plus Marriott has a MegaBonus promotion running, where you earn 1 free night after 2 stays (but I won't get it as I only booked 1 stay of 3 nights, and not 2 stays of 1+2 nights...Marriott wouldn't extend the courtesy, so I won't stay at Marriott either in future)
- Best part about Residence Inn, we have free breakfast daily, and free dinner M-W. For 3 of us that was quite a saving, as we received 3 breakfast and 2 dinners in total (that's 15 meal portion). Not to mention the food is actually decent and the kitchen staff best of the best with friendly attitude and prompt speed.
Breakfast
- DIY Waffle, Sausage/Burger/Potato, Cereal, Oatmeal, Banana/Apple/Yogurt, Juice
Dinner
- Cabbage roll/mashed potato, Teriyaki chicken/noodle + Salad/Soup + Bread/Garlic bread + Drinks
Night 5 - Buffalo Marriott Niagara - $60 (=$77 USD) - Pricline
- A 5-day parking would've cost ~$60 at airport parking, so instead I just booked a hotel (with free parking) for the same price, and we get to stay over upon returning from DC, win-win. The hotel is nothing to write home about, typical 3-3.5* hotel with no amenities but many parking.
Expenses
Transportation
Flights Buffalo (BUF) to Baltimore BWI) = $120x3 ($360) - so cheap vs. flying out of Toronto
B30 Bus $6x3 ($18), MARC train $6x3 ($18), Metro cards $20x3 ($60)
Walk of the Town tips $20x2 ($40)
Gas $50
Food
Lunches = BWI $20, Post Office $20, American Indian $30, Walden $20, Capitol $20
Dinners = Urban Thai $80, BWI $35, PF Chang $55
Snacks from T&T = $40
Safeway $27
Shopping
Souvenirs $23
Target $40
Stroller Rain Covers $50
Basketball shorts $72
Old Navy $13
Tips here and there - $5, $5
Total (thanks to Excel) is about $1600 for all 3 of us, 6 days/5 nights in DC/Buffalo
Notes
- Next time, leave EARLIER than expected to not miss the flights
- DC people are really friendly everywhere
- Winter was very kind to us, giving us almost 10C sunny weather for 3 out of 4 days
- There are so many movie references - National Treasure, Nights at Museum
- What's left to see next time, and needs another 3-4 days
- National Zoo, Kennedy Center, National Air and Space Museum - Udvar-Hazy Center
- Ella - she was so cooperative in many ways: she napped in her stroller when she's tired, doesn't cry for food or nap, and she's curious to see/touch new things. We are so thankful for her kindness as we cannot imagine this trip with Ella fuzzy 24/7
Conclusion
I am glad we took the trip to truly enjoy a vacation away from home, in warmer weather. Even though we were tired from the walking, travel, baby-caring, it is a great X'mas memory. Sometime in future I would like to re-visit in DC in non-winter seasons.
