A brilliant friend once told me there’s a big difference between a “vacation” and a “family trip”, so let’s be clear, this was definitely a Family Trip–but a good one! As we were discussing where to go, Bart wanted to take the kids to Greece. We’ve been wanting to return since we got engaged there on Santorini in the BK (before kids) era that I can barely remember.

His very good idea was to fly to Barcelona and cruise over to Greece, so we’d get to visit Spain (which I’ve never seen) as well. A few kinks in the plan:

• Ella hates to fly (our options to Europe are a 12-hour direct flight OR to break it up in NY then go through takeoff, which she REALLY hates, twice)
• Ella gets sick on boats (we learned this on a Disney cruise, and while sea bands and dramamine work, isn’t that cruel? hopefully she grows out of it…)
• Though I speak Spanish, Barcelona is not the “Spain” I wish to see (gimme Seville or Madrid!)
• Zoe is headed to Europe (though not Spain or Greece) next year with her Girl Scout troop and excited to see it with friends

Poor Bart. I’ll admit it: I was fussy. After shooting down his great plan and asking who this trip was really for (the answer is our family, by the way), I went to ChatGPT and asked for options. For example, if we must fly a distance, why not go where there are ANIMALS or more kid-friendly sights to see? What kid wouldn’t want to watch border collies herd sheep in Ireland? Sleep in a castle in Scotland? Go to a beach in Portugal? Or maybe, just maybe, take a train up the East Coast to see DC and a Broadway show in the Big Apple? OK, maybe that one was my idea, inspired by a friend’s trip with kids at a similar age.

Anyway, the point is, I proposed that we hold a family meeting to let the girls choose, promising that I wouldn’t sway the audience. Bart was on board. And so, I made a slide deck with Magical Summer Vacation options. (That’s the actual deck. Oh, and kids prefer “vacation” to “family trip”.)

And so, since you already know it, after assuring Ella that the flights wouldn’t be that long and we’d mostly be on a train, we started planning our East Coast Summer Family Trip! I’m going to go light on story and HEAVY on photos for this post, since as they say, a picture’s worth a thousand words. But before we begin, a HUGE THANKS goes to my friend, Alison, who lived in DC for 20+ years and recently moved to Richmond. With (a lot of) her help, we started out in RVA, and she sherpa’d us through an incredible tour of our mighty capital city! Let’s do this.

RICHMOND

If you have not been to Richmond, just GO. Honestly, I would have skipped it if not for Alison, but I am now sold on what a cool city it is! We stayed in an Airbnb in Carytown, a hip area with local shops and restaurants and a fabulous vibe.

We also survived experienced a 3-mile hike in the heat around a gorgeous river area (note Bart’s neck fan), had a lovely homemade dinner in Alison’s backyard, saw a Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and dined at a local community table. You read that right. In fact, you should read this article about how one of Alison’s friends (she knows cool people) set up a stone table in her front yard where people from her community gather for lunch.

WASHINGTON, DC

Kind Alison drove us to DC and got us set up at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco. If you’re currently doubting the use of Google Sheets to plan vacations, take a moment to think about how easily I can literally revisit our itinerary (with links) for an occasion like this. Now back to the plan.

We started out at the DC Zoo, where we saw a PANDA and a TIGER in the WATER (not together, thankfully), and enjoyed a steamy walk after our drive.

We enjoyed dinner at Zaytinya, a delicious Mediterranean restaurant, then took a guided evening tour of the monuments in an electric car! Our driver was a blast, and we got to hop on/hop off at various spots to walk around and take pictures. You’ll recognize them below, I’m sure.

It was a terrific way to see a lot in a short time and minimize walking, though we got LOTS of steps every single day of our trip. Speaking of walking, the next day in DC was on foot and super fun. The next day we visited the Air & Space Museum, the African American Museum (dining in their delicious Sweet Home Cafe) AND the Natural History Museum, where Ella touched a weird insect (I recommend you not zoom in too close for that one).

The following morning, Alison headed home while we got a tour of the U.S. Capitol (you can book one yourself here), which was fascinating, then we missed out on the National Museum of the American Indian due to a power grid outage that took down several museums at once… (it looks cool).

That afternoon we headed to the International Spy Museum (of course!), which was a blast! There’s so much information on spies throughout the years and around the world, all stacked into fun interactive exhibits. Totally worth it.

PHILADELPHIA

Early the next morning, we hopped on a train to Philly, on our way to NYC. Though we were there for fewer than 24 hours, we accomplished a lot! We arrived just before lunch and headed to Reading Terminal Market, an overwhelming but worth it space with lots of food and local vendors. We had lunch there, then headed to Independence Hall, known as the “Birthplace of America” for a guided tour (which also requires reservations), then went across the street to take a picture with the Liberty Bell.

We followed that up with some Thrift Shopping on South Street, known for its “unique shops, diverse restaurants, and vibrant art scene”, then ended the day with dinner at the Queen & Rook Cafe, with over 2,500 board and arcade games.

NEW YORK CITY

Our final stop was a whirlwind, filled with the sights, sounds and energy of Manhattan. We arrived on the train into Penn Station and stepped out into the bustle of people and cars, dragging our suitcases to my favorite hotel: the EVEN hotel. We went straight to lunch at Patiala Indian Grill, a hole in the wall with incredible Indian food. That afternoon we saw Hadestown on Broadway – WOW! We have two theater kids, so we went to TWO shows, and neither disappointed. But Hadestown was awesome!

Our next packed day started with a pedicab tour of Central Park, which I highly recommend. In fact, I’ve decided I love a good guided tour, especially in cities where there’s a lot of ground to cover. Speaking of which, here’s a shortlist of our many activities on the first day in NYC:

• Metropolitan Museum of Art: Before leaving home, I had ChatGPT create a scavenger hunt to find cool Greek Mythology items (the girls like Percy Jackson) to make it fun, then we had lunch. One could spend days here…
• American Museum of Natural History: I’d also prepared some fun for this (and the DC) museum, gathering information on where to find items featured in the Night at the Museum movie series. Check out Dum Dum below (he did not have gum-gum).
• [Insert Bart losing his wallet] Before you panic like he did, thanks to CLEAR at the airport, he did not need his ID to fly home the following day. But also, his wallet, lost somewhere between Central Park and the Met in case you go there, was never found…
• CHICAGO on Broadway! We overcame adversity and powered up to go see Chicago, a show which Zoe’s high school will be performing (with her in it!) in March. Book your tickets now.

On our final half-day in NYC, despite a lost wallet, we made the most of our remaining time. We enjoyed breakfast at the Starbucks Reserve in the Empire State Building, visited the Museum of Broadway (which is incredibly well configured and filled with awesome installations!), checked out a fabulous book store near Bryant Park (Kinokuniya), and grabbed delicious asian-inspired gelato at Sundae’s Best (yum).

I have SO MANY more pictures from the Museum of Broadway, but I’ve pulled some of my favorites, in hopes of inspiring you to check it out. If you like theater at all, it’s a must. Fun Fact: There are illustrations from Al Hirschfeld, famous for his caricature art in which he has hidden the name of his daughter “Nina”, featured throughout the museum.

I’ve failed to mention the weather, and I should. In fact, I was told we were NUTS to go to the East Coast in mid-July… So yes, it was hot. Yes, it rained on us. Yes, yes, rain + hot is not awesome, BUT as you can tell from above, it didn’t slow us down one bit.

Thanks for enduring this super long post. Believe it or not, I have ONE POST LEFT to get caught up to the girls’ birthdays so I can print this blog before yearend, and this one was the BEAR I was procrastinating, for obvious reasons. PHEW. #winning