A capital getaway!

Q: So what do you do when you discover that you’ve got a few days vacation, a few extra points in your Marriott Vacation Club account, and no one scheduled to visit over Thanksgiving?

A: You quickly scramble to organize a spontaneous capital getaway!

And that’s what Julia and I did a few years ago and one month before our wedding date. We packed a light bag and we headed into the city, Washington, D.C. There we attending Julia’s Toastmasters club meeting, walked about the Mall, dropped into a couple of Smithsonian galleries, used the Metro to connect our budget parking space to various city neighborhoods, toured the National Geographic Museum to check out an exhibit all about Jane Goodall, and the National Botanical Gardens.

Q: Where to stay?

A: The Mayflower Hotel, of course!

As this is where American “royalty” stay along with VIPs and actual royal visitors or political dignitaries.

Julia and I definitely suggest visitors to Washington, D.C., seek out the National Geographic Society museum. If you’re in luck, you’ll see exhibits that will open your eyes to our grand world. While we were there, the NGS featured the life of Jane Goodall. There’s a long history between the Dr. Jane Goodall and the National Geographic Society. This history started with her first trip to Africa to observe chimpanzees and continues to this day with both conservation and educational programs such as Roots & Shoots.

And at the National Botanical Garden during November there are early attempts to prepare for the Christmas and Winter holidays. Model buildings are on display and holiday decorations can be seen about the city.