Did you know that there is a place in Washington DC where you can find incredible stained glass windows, Gothic architecture, and intricately carved gargoyles? Just a few miles up the road from the popular National Mall and museums sits the massive Washington National Cathedral. Not far from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, the cathedral, considered to be the 6th largest in the world, is an amazing place to tour. Visitors can spend time searching for gargoyles and grotesques
around the exterior of the cathedral, then explore details of the magnificent stained glass windows and beautiful chapels. If you are lucky, you might hear the ringing of the bells. These photos will allow you to experience some of its beauty and interesting features we found on the Behind the Scenes Tour and hopefully inspire a visit. Read on to see what else we learned during our guided tour at Washington National Cathedral, and see why the Washington National Cathedral is included in our 20 Things to Add to Your Washington DC Bucket List.
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Is it just me, or does February often feel like the longest month of the year? No matter the month, a day trip is a great way to take a break from the daily routine. Recently we decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm winter weather and make the drive to Richmond, Virginia. It’s just over 100 miles from the DC area—roughly a two hour drive on a weekend. The city is a funky combination of history, art, and a thriving food and beer scene. Then top if off with miles of hiking and biking trails, the 100 acre family-friendly Maymont, and seasonal water activities on the James River. With that in mind, my husband and I had simple goals for our recent day trip to Richmond—try a few new restaurants, find unique street art, and take advantage of a sunny, winter day to connect to nature. To make the most of our day trip to Richmond, we started with breakfast, strolled the nearby neighborhood for street art, explored the grounds at Maymont, took a 3 hour food tour in Carytown, and found more street art. By the time we left the city around 6:30 p.m., our stomachs were full and we managed to log around 18,000 steps!
Washington, DC is a city that truly has something for visitors of all ages. There’s the impressive Smithsonian Institution, which includes more than a dozen free museums and galleries in the DC area, along with the National Zoo. Add to that all the history that comes alive at the memorials and monuments along the National Mall, plus places like Ford’s Theatre and the National Archives. Finally, throw in all the delicious opportunities to try cuisines from all over the world, and you can understand why DC had over 25 million visitors in 2023. But where do you start in a city with so much to offer, and so many interesting free attractions? We pulled together a list of 20 things to do in Washington, DC to get you started. The bucket list is based on our experiences as a family growing up in the suburbs of DC. It’s a mixture of some of the classic must-sees, plus a few more cool experiences that we’ve discovered over the years.
*This post was updated March, 2025 
I recently got back from a fall girls trip to the Seattle area. It had been quite a few years since our Pacific Northwest family road trip, so I was excited when my friend invited me to tag along on her visit to see family in the area. We stayed in a house on the water in Bremerton, with amazing views of Mount Rainier. Given what I knew about Seattle weather, I was prepared for cold, rainy weather. It was definitely a pleasant surprise to have sunshine the entire time! Our plans included my friend sharing a few of her favorite places around Seattle and Bainbridge Island, along with a food tour at Pike Place market. We took advantage of both the Bremerton and Bainbridge Island ferries to get back and forth to Seattle on foot. Read on to learn about 4 fun things to do in the Seattle area and bookmark this page for your next visit to Seattle.
Sometimes you just need a few days to recharge and spending an extended weekend in Hilton Head, South Carolina was just the thing after a busy summer. If you have not been to Hilton Head Island, you might be interested to know that the island has earned the top spot for islands in the continental US in the Condé Nast Traveler Awards for several years in a row! It’s the type of place where families come back year after year, and after two visits in the past few years I see why. There are so many fun things to do on Hilton Head Island that a weekend is definitely not long enough, but it was certainly a fun way to get a flavor for many of the activities the island has to offer.
We recently got back from a very relaxing family vacation on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a Caribbean island filled with spectacular natural beauty. You may remember hearing that St. John was one of the islands hard hit during the devastating 2017 hurricane season. Since then, a great deal of hard work by locals and business owners has gone into bringing the island back to normal. If you aren't familiar with the island, St. John is the smallest of the 3 main islands that make up what's known as the USVI (along with St. Thomas and St. Croix), and over half of the island is protected as a part of Virgin Islands National Park. Although there are still some businesses across all 3 islands that have not reopened post-hurricane, St. John and its residents are hoping that tourism will continue to rebound, as it plays a crucial role in the island’s economy. So if you are looking for a special place to make vacation memories in the Caribbean, here are some things to know about taking a vacation on family-friendly St. John.
Growing up on the east coast, I always considered myself lucky that the ocean was just a few hours away. Like many families in the Mid-Atlantic area, our yearly ritual was taking a beach vacation to nearby Delaware, so it was easy for me to assume that the best water vacations had to be near the ocean. Then I found myself reading more and more about the many scenic lakes scattered throughout the USA. When this blog post was originally published back in 2015, I had been inspired by an article that highlighted some of the beautiful beaches on the Great Lakes. While we still haven’t taken that Great Lakes beach to beach road trip yet, over the years we’ve had the chance to explore a few other lakes. Here’s five places to consider for a summer lake vacation, including a few accessible by car from the DC area, and some that are still on my USA travel bucket list!
*This post was originally published in April, 2015; updated May, 2022 
If I told you that winter is a perfect time of year to visit Virginia Beach, you might wonder why you would want to visit any beach during the winter that’s not in Florida or the Caribbean. Well for one, you might be surprised to find out that Virginia Beach is a popular place along the east coast for winter whale watching, as many humpback whales journey up the coast between the months of December and February. Besides whale watching, visitors can take advantage of the often mild winter temperatures and enjoy some of the natural beauty that Virginia Beach has to offer without the summer crowds. We were fortunate that during our recent January visit, we had a perfect blue sky day with temperatures in the upper 40’s. Read on to hear why I think it’s worth exploring Virginia Beach during the winter months.
Is a visit to Niagara Falls on your bucket list? I decided it was time to make the trip when I realized it was just over a 7 hour drive from the DC area. It was the perfect opportunity for a fun, long-weekend mother-daughter road trip with my youngest daughter. Not knowing if my last minute passport renewal would make it in time, I moved ahead with a plan to stay on the American side of the falls for two nights. I didn't spend as much time planning as I normally do, but definitely learned a few things during our visit. Here’s 6 helpful tips and other resources to read before planning a trip to Niagara Falls for the first time. And before you go, learn more about some interesting stops to make on a Niagara Falls road trip from the DC area.
*This post was updated January, 2024 
When my daughter and I arrived in New Orleans for a 4 day mother-daughter adventure, I wasn’t really sure that we would have enough activities to fill our time. Neither of us had ever been to New Orleans, and we weren’t really sure what to expect beyond the craziness of Bourbon Street. We had a few things on our list (mostly food related), but since we had family that lived locally, we were relying on them to show us around. Seeing the city through the eyes of a local helped us explore New Orleans beyond the boundaries of the French Quarter, discovering delicious food, history and many fun activities along the way. Here’s our list of 8 fun things to do in New Orleans that will take you beyond Bourbon Street.
*This post was updated August 2024. |
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