Travel Diary Day 1:
*It began with a flight delay at the Fort Myers airport, ugh! With a number of hours to kill and limited food choices we had to eat at Nathan's Famous. Hot dogs and french fries wouldn't have been my first choice of meals to begin this vacation.
*Running behind schedule we arrived at the Le Meridien hotel in Rosslyn, Virginia. We were greeted with a complementary wine bar at check-in. Already, my mood was beginning to improve. Before I continue with our itinerary, I feel the need to give you a little background on our hotel. Darin had found a good price on airline tickets and booked them prior to making any other travel plans. He asked me to start looking for a hotels within walking distance of the metro since we had no desire to rent and drive a car in DC. Little did I know that finding a hotel would become a major chore. All the hotels I found were either too full, too far from the metro or too expensive. After days of researching, I was finally able to find a Groupon for the Le Meridien in Rosslyn. I was able to book 4 out of the 5 nights that we needed. The 5th night had to be booked separately through the hotel at 3 times the price of the Groupon nights. The Le Meridien ended up as the best decision of our entire trip. The hotel was beautiful! We had a room on the 10th floor with a view of the Washington Monument. Best of all, it was only one block from the Rosslyn Metro station and only 3 stops from Reagan airport.
*We quickly checked in and jumped on the metro to Union Station. After a meal at the Union Station food court (which is on steroids) we boarded the Old Trolley "Monuments by Moonlight" tour.
*While at the FDR Memorial we witnessed our first bride and groom taking wedding pictures (this wouldn't be our last).
*By far, the biggest crowds of our trip were found at the monuments at night. We have never seen so many tour groups and tours buses in our lives but the views at sunset and the evening were amazing.
Next post: Day 2 - museums and food trucks
