If you're from the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia, not the Department of Motor Vehicles) area, you know that when your family from out of state, or out of the country, comes to visit, there is a list of places that you're most likely going to go to. You have probably become very familiar with some of these places to the point that you might as well work as a tour guide. Like me, you have probably seen that elephant in the rotunda in the Museum of Natural History more times than you can count (some of them also from being on field trips in elementary school, middle school and possibly even in high school).
Here are some of the many places that are on that list:
1. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Even though I've been here more times than I can count, it really is an amazing museum. Plus, they just keep adding more and more to what they already have, as well as renovating the old school parts of the museum. I especially love the new sections they've done, such as the mammals, human origins and the ocean hall. It's become a lot more interactive than before, which makes it a lot more interesting. They've even got a new section that features Egyptian mummies!
2. National Museum of American History
This place is awesome because you get to see, well, the history of the United States. There are things from the Star Spangled Banner to the first comic books, and even the laptop that Sarah Jessica Parker used as Carrie Bradshaw in "Sex and the City."
3. The Washington Monument
Of course, there is also the Washington Monument. You can't miss it as you're driving into DC.
4. The White House
And if you're looking out of your window at the right moment, you'll be able to see the White House across the street, which, of course is also an essential place to go when visiting -- that is, going to the front of the house where you're allowed to and taking pictures there.
5. World War II Memorial
If you take a two minute walk from the Washington Monument, you'll find yourself in the World War II Memorial. It is pretty nice and, of course, it is essential to take a picture next to the pillar with your home state on it. Or even the country you're from if it's featured there.
6. The Lincoln Memorial
And a 10-minute walk from the WWII Memorial is the Lincoln Memorial. I've always seen it from the bottom of the steps, so I never really knew what it looked like on the inside, but wow, it is really, really cool. There aren't really any other words I have for it, unfortunately. Just going in there and looking up at that statue of him is just...wow.
7. Mount Vernon
Lastly, there is Mount Vernon, the home of George and Martha Washington. It's so cool to go and visit because, well, it's George Washington's house. He walked through those halls, walked down the lawn and the paths, and you get to walk through those very same places as you take the tour. I don't really know how to describe it, but it's amazing to be within a place so historical.
There's still so many places in DC that I haven't mentioned yet -- Arlington National Cemetery, the Jefferson Memorial, the Capitol, the Air and Space Museum, Georgetown -- the list goes on. But, I would be able to go on and on about it forever, and this article would probably turn into the novel; so I leave you with these seven places.
