We had never done a ‘big’ holiday with the kids so decided we would take them to America. We booked return flights to Newark Airport from Heathrow in January for our August holiday and then planned a route. Originally we had wanted to do New York, Washington and Boston but before we had booked any accommodation I realised that I really wanted to see Niagara Falls – and this meant that we could do a circular driving route (although there were 2 long drive days in it).

Our final plan for the holiday was
– 1 night in an airport hotel (as our flight landed very late)
– 3 nights in Washington DC
– 2 nights at Niagara
– 5 nights near Boston
– 3 nights New York

Day 1 – Travel to Newark

When the holiday came round we arrived at Heathrow T5 for our 5pm flight and were all upgraded to Premier Economy which was such a surprise. Stuart sat with Tom whilst I sat with Izzy.

^{Fun on the plane!}

We landed and headed straight to our hotel (Hilton Doubletree) as it felt like the middle of the night.

Day 2 – Travel to Washington (via Philadelphia)

Due to the jet lag we were awake super early and were probably one of the first at the breakfast buffet. Stu then headed off to pick up our hire car and then we set off for Washington DC. It was just under a 4 hour drive and as Philadelphia was sort of in the middle it was the perfect place to stop for a few hours.

Philadelphia

I had booked tickets for a tour around Independence Hall but it was later in the afternoon so we parked up and headed straight to see the Liberty Bell.

^{We queued for about 15 minutes to take a picture with the bell!}

We then went for a stroll around the city and found the oldest street in the USA – Elfreths Alley.

We then wandered to the Delaware River. It was over 30 degrees and I don’t think any of us had appreciated how hot it was going to be. At one point Izzy was using a parking meter for some shade!

^{Views of the Delaware River – with the Benjamin Franklin bridge which we had driven over.}

We went back to Independence Hall for our tour which was actually really good before setting off to our Airbnb in Washington DC (with a quick supermarket and McDonalds stop on route). We all really enjoyed Philadelphia and it was a great place to stop off for a few hours.

Day 3 – Washington DC – The Mall

After a breakfast of pancakes we walked to the train station to get the train into the centre of Washington. We began by walking up the south side of the Mall and visited the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum which the kids enjoyed. We then walked up to the Capitol building.

^{Top of the Mall – in front of the Capitol}

We then headed down the north side and went to the Natural History Museum. It was so hot outside it was lovely to get into the airconditioned buildings. The highlights of the museum were definitely Tom being able to see the giant squid (he had already seen the other one in London) and all the characters from Night at the Museum!

^{Inside the Natural History Museum}

We made our way to the Washington Monument, went to see the Whitehouse and the Lincoln Memorial. We had to have some ice creams as it was ridiculously hot (or we just weren’t used to the heat) and then we headed back home after doing well over 30,000 steps!

Day 4 – Smithsonian Zoo, Great Falls Park and Washington by Night.

Smithsonian Zoo

Our first stop of the day was the zoo. Tom was really looking forward to seeing the snow leopards but unfortunately their enclosure was next to the pandas and one of the pandas was celebrating its birthday by having a party so we were unable to visit! We still enjoyed the zoo and saw the lions and tigers etc.

^{Cooling off under a water sprinkler!}

Great Falls Park

We then drove 30 minutes to Great Falls Park in Virginia to see the waterfalls. We ate our pack lunch by the car and went for a short walk. We didn’t stay long but it was very picturesque and Tom and Izzy enjoyed climbing on the rocks.

^{Great Falls Park}

Washington by Night

We really wanted to see the all the Washington monuments lit up so we headed home for a few hours and then took the car into the city. We began by visiting Roosevelt Island whilst it was still light.

^{Roosevelt Island}

We then parked up quite close to the Whitehouse and waited for the lights to come on. Washington is beautiful all lit up.

^{Washington at night}

Day 5 – Mount Vernon and Alexandria

Mount Vernon Estate

For our last day in Washington we visited Mount Vernon – the home of George Washington. It was definitely the hottest day so far! We went round the property but didn’t really enjoy it as the guides weren’t particularly helpful or friendly.

^{The Mount Vernon Estate}

We explored the grounds and made our way down to the water. It was so hot (and a thunderstorm was due) that we had to keep stopping to rest!

Alexandria

We had been advised that Alexandria was a beautiful town so we paid it a visit on our way home to pick up a few geo-caches. The buildings were full of character and we saw the ‘Spite House’ which is a really narrow building.

^Alexandria

We headed home as we needed to pack as the following day we had the long 7 hour drive to Niagara Falls!

^{August 2016}