My sweet friend Kayla and I took our second summer trip to Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago. By now, we feel like we have the city pretty much pegged down. Kayla is the perfect friend to travel with because we love the same things – history, books, museums, discussing deep topics, and walking absolutely everywhere. Honestly, I think we could have solved all the world’s problems given a little more time.
Kayla and I stayed at the BEST Airbnb in DC – it was just a 10 minute walk from the nearest subway station and we quickly found a place for breakfast and pastries that we loved that was on the way. We slept in a great basement apartment, and it felt like home by the end! And it didn’t hurt that our hosts’ home was just beautiful.
Places you need to see
Capitol Hill Books
Kayla and I are both huge readers, and I think the first thing we planned to do in DC was go to Capitol Hill Books.
I’ve been to a lot of bookstores. A lot. But I think Capitol Hill Books outranks them all! Books are crammed into every corner from floor-to-ceiling – in the bathroom, on windowsills, stacked on the floor. It’s a must-visit!
National Museum of African American History & Culture
This visit quite simply changed my life. We were there for 4 hours and only got through half the museum because it is just packed with artifacts, pictures, paintings, and quotes from centuries of African American history. From slavery to the presidency of Barack Obama, each exhibit is beautifully designed and incredibly thought-provoking and heartbreaking.
You learn the horrible history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, see a slave cabin, and learn things never taught in schools about the Jim Crow era South. Then, a chilling memorial to Emmett Till, the 14-year-old boy who was lynched for flirting with a white woman. Every artifact tells a terrible and sobering story about our country.
There is just so much that I had never learned about. The museum showed me the holes in my education, and even blind spots in my own thinking. I want to road trip back to DC just to go back to this museum.
Botanic Gardens
The Botanic Gardens in DC are simply beautiful. And a great respite from the oppressive heat and humidity. There was a whole room full of cacti – so you know that made my heart happy. If you’re a plant lover, I would recommend checking these gardens out.
National Portrait Gallery
It’s so easy to spend hours in the National Portrait Gallery. Kayla and I mainly focused on the American Presidents exhibit, which housed both familiar and unfamiliar paintings of our presidents. Obviously, our favorites were the official Obama portraits, which are amazing in person. They both show so much skill and thought and I was so excited to see them!
There was also a fascinating collection of portraits and busts of leaders of the civil cights movement – including Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. I was in the middle of a book about the civil rights movement at the time, and it was awesome to see 3D representations of the people I was reading about.
The monuments
We wanted to sightsee around the DC monuments in a unique way, so we decided to rent bikes and explore! It gave us such a rush to experience the city in a totally different way. There were a surprising amount of people out and about, and sometimes it was difficult to navigate cars and people and remember biking rules, but it was so fun!
Favorite memories from the trip
Reading in coffee shops
One of the great things about traveling with another reader is that we both loved to take a break from walking and sightseeing to read and reflect on what we’d seen. This kept us energized AND allowed us to constantly be learning – which is the best thing about traveling!
Learning + mourning over our nation’s history
It’s so important to learn, to acknowledge wrongs, and to be motivated to seek justice. This is what visiting the National Museum of African American History & Culture did for me. I can’t describe how life-changing this experience was. I realized how I’ve benefited from others being disadvantaged. I realized that mourning over the injustice of our history isn’t worth anything if it doesn’t move you to action.
Being a minority for the first time
Kayla and I realized that, until we entered the National Museum of African American History & Culture, we had never been in the minority before. It was such a needed experience. I need to be out of my comfort zone, I need to experience what African Americans experience every day in our white spaces.
Our time in DC was special because it was so full of stretching and growing our minds. I’ll remember this trip forever.
