So the family had a hankering for a few summer days off. Problem was that we love DC in the summer but still hadn't checked off our yearly camping expedition. At least once a year Dad has taken anyone up for it into the backwoods of some of the coolest parks within about a 6 hour radius. We've wandered Shenandoah, the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest, the Cranberry Wilderness and New River Gorge. Amazing times- but everyone also wanted to roll in a few days wandering Washington DC with its ever-changing museums, monuments, events and (as one unnamed family member suggested) soft hotel mattresses.
Never afraid to plan a way to do it all- we packed up for a road trip to Shenandoah followed up with a whirlwind visit to DC.
We decided that one thing we've never done in Shenandoah: spend time at a historic lodge. The Big Meadows Lodge and Campground was a great location near our chosen trailhead and certainly has the historic bonafides. We stayed in one of the many cabins (though there are rooms in the cozy lodge itself), outfitted with what you need and little more. The idea is the attraction is all around so no reason to stay indoors. We got lucky and arrived at the end of nearly a week's worth of storms. We empathized with a few through hikers taking a needed rest and recharge there. We enjoyed the Spotswood Dining room for dinner and a big breakfast before setting off on our hiking adventure.
We planned an overnight outing covering about 18 miles of hiking starting on the Rockytop trail and returning on the Big Run loop. Backpacks loaded and backcountry pass in place-we set out on day one: a beautiful ridgeline hike descending eventually into the valley with early blueberries along the way. We camped in a nice clearing near Big Run River which our middle child found, we gratefully ate our favorite "camping burritos", dipped our feet into the cool water and slept as comfortably as possible (Dad left several of our inflatable mattresses accidentally in the car). After some hot oatmeal we set off for an idyllic day 2 along Big Run. After a steep and somewhat grueling (but good!) climb out we made our way back to the car, looking forward to stage 2 in DC.
The plan for DC was to find a homebase in an area of the city we haven't ever stayed. The Warf is a new(ish) and ever growing district on the Potomac and we selected the Hyatt House for it's rooftop pool and views. Full of riverside restaurants, hotels and plenty of strolling tourists and residents -the Warf was a great choice for us. We settled in, got showers, ate some great tacos at BarTaco and set off for a short walk to the Mall. We completed our required pilgrimage to the Natural History Museum and spent several hours wandering the bones and gems. This museum is big crowd pleaser for our family but the real attraction was our timed tickets to the Spy Museum. We are usually pretty circumspect about these attractions in cities but were completely blown away by the quality of the exhibits and how fascinating artifacts of espionage were. We used every single minute of our time there and could have spent another hour. That night we enjoyed some pizza and great view on the deck at The Canopy.
Out last day of this quick DC getaway featured a bike tour of the monuments. If you’ve read anything about our travels you know we love a good bike tour and the guys from Fat Tire Tours (http://fattirebiketours.com) didn’t disappoint. No matter how many times you’ve seen the standards it’s always great to check in with them with a knowledgeable guide. This time we did a night tour which was a game changer. We learned something new at every monument stop and nothing beats a nice evening ride through the capital.
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